Race to the Bottom of the Earth

October 15, 2020
Analytical accounts of two historic firsts that bookend nearly a century of Antarctic exploration: reaching the South Pole and crossing the entire continent alone and on foot. That both outings turned into races adds almost superfluous drama: Neither Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott in 1911 nor Colin O'Brady and Lou Rudd in 2018 knew long beforehand that they would be in direct competition. All four expeditions faced the same deadly natural challenges, from frigid 50-mile-an-hour winds to whiteouts and treacherous ice ripples called sastrugi. But what really stands out in the storylines that Barone moves along in parallel are the huge differences in survival techniques and gear--even as the lack of wireless equipment, for instance, kills Scott and his companions, Rudd slogs along listening to audiobooks and O'Brady phones Paul Simon for a chat. The author points out other differences too, such as the contrast between Amundsen's narrow motive to be first to the pole (the North Pole, originally, switched at the last moment after learning that Robert Peary had already gotten there) and Scott's broader geological and scientific interests. She punctuates her narratives with maps, photos, and paired quotes from her four subjects, and she positively shovels endnotes and source references into the backmatter. The otherwise all-White, all male cast is relieved only by brief mentions of wives and latter-day women explorers and of Amundsen's Netsilik Inuit advisers. A riveting tribute to epic tests of men against the elements. (index) (Nonfiction. 11-14)

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December 1, 2020
Grades 4-8 *Starred Review* This engaging account relates four of the most perilous feats of exploration ever attempted: the early twentieth-century race to the South Pole, which pitted Robert Scott of England against Norwegian Roald Amundsen, and the twenty-first-century contest between American Colin O'Brady and Louis Rudd of England to see who would be the first to achieve a solo crossing of Antarctica. Chapters seesaw back and forth, and while this may prove confusing at first, individual characters and specific survival strategies soon emerge. Readers will be caught up in the real-time action sequences and should end up rooting for everybody as these determined individuals face unimaginable physical and mental hardships. Almost every chapter ends on a cliff-hanger (sometimes literally), and quotes from diaries and interviews, archival photos, and plenty of maps help audiences keep track of all the action. Copious chapter notes and an extended bibliography make this a great research resource, and multiple STEM applications--weather, geography, animals, navigation, nutrition, and just how much hardship the human body can stand--add to the appeal. Readers will come away with increased appreciation for what conditions are like on the south end of our planet, and a profound respect for the individuals who dare to go there.

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January 25, 2021
In two parts, “The Set-Up” and “The Race,” and in six pairs of parallel chapters, Barone offers a captivating juxtaposition of two momentous Antarctic races: the 1911–1912 polar quests of English Capt. Robert Falcon Scott and Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, to be the first to reach the South Pole; and the 2018 “alone, unsupported, and unassisted” continent crossings by American professional endurance athlete Colin O’Brady and British Army Capt. Louis “Lou” Rudd. Chapters alternate between the past and present, describing each of the white men, their preparations, their motivations, and the reactions to their journeys in accessible prose (“Roald Amundsen was destined to explore the frozen, dark desert”; “Colin had found the key to success: what counts in the voice you choose to listen to, which mantras you take as your own”). Though some readers may find that the parallel structure disrupts each race’s suspense, myriad multimedia additions—including maps, photos, and direct quotes from the explorers, sourced from letters, journals, and social media posts—enliven this well-researched narrative nonfiction book centering intrepid antarctic expeditions. Back matter includes a bibliography and ample endnotes. Ages 8–12.

Starred review from May 1, 2021

Gr 4-8-In 1911, teams led by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and English naval officer Robert Falcon Scott raced one another to be first to the South Pole. More than a century later, American endurance athlete Colin O'Brady and another Englishman, army officer Louis Rudd, scrambled for the honor of finishing the first solo traverse of the Antarctic continent, unsupported and unassisted. In alternating chapters, engineer and STEM advocate Barone traces each of the campaigns, examining the personalities, training and preparation, often brutal challenges, and successes and failures of the men. Facing total whiteout conditions and temperatures sometimes exceeding -50 degrees Fahrenheit, all of the explorers confronted the limits of endurance, with Scott and two surviving colleagues ultimately succumbing to cold and starvation on the slog back from the pole, only 11 miles from a resupply depot. Blocks of text are unbroken except by embedded illustrations and the layout is plain, without any offsets or sidebar texts, making the book more appropriate for stronger readers. Plentiful photos vividly illustrate the striking polar desert terrain, as well as showcase the explorers and some of the gear required for enduring such an extreme climate. The volume concludes with a 10-page bibliography, including numerous books, articles, and websites, and more than 300 endnotes with source references. VERDICT A compelling narrative focused on science and technology, embedded in a cluster of thrilling adventure stories, this will be an easy sell for middle schoolers and many older elementary students. Highly recommended.-Bob Hassett, Luther Jackson M.S., Falls Church, VA

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