Review of Race for the South Pole: the expedition diaries of Scott and Amundsen, by Roland Huntford

Roland Huntford is the grand old man among polar historians. After his classic Scott and Amundsen in 1979 (later editions were retitled, The last place on Earth), he wrote a series of books on Norwegian and British polar heroes as well as a thorough study of the history of skiing (2006). Huntford challenged the British admiration of Robert Falcon Scott’s scientific programme and great courage*and insisted that Roald Amundsen’s expedition was far better prepared and carried out. Huntford’s scathing criticism of Scott’s fatal choices and lack of competence dared to assault this cherished British polar icon in a manner that would be unthinkable for Norwegian authors.(Published: 7 June 2012)Citation: Polar Research 2012, 31, 18741, http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.1874