In 1897; at the height of the heroic age of Arctic exploration; the visionary Swedish explorer S. A. Andrée made a revolutionary attempt to discover the North Pole by flying over it in a hydrogen balloon. Thirty-three years later; his expedition diaries and papers would be discovered on the ice. Alec Wilkinson uses the explorer’s papers and contemporary sources to tell the full story of this ambitious voyage; while also showing how the late 19th century’s spirit of exploration and scientific discovery drove over 1;000 explorers to the unforgiving Arctic landscape. Suspenseful and haunting; Wilkinson captures Andrée’s remarkable adventure and illuminates the detail; beauty; and devastating conditions of traveling and dwelling on the ice.
#61694 in Books Rachel Maddow 2013-03-05 2013-03-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .70 x 5.20l; .54 #File Name: 0307460991288 pagesDrift The Unmooring of American Military Power
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Required reading for the 21st CenturyBy B. Scott AndersenRarely do I give five stars. This one earned it. Maddow walks you through history showing how the US has gone from a people distrustful of conflict and war; to one where all the checks and balances have eroded to the point where we now have perpetual war. Drift is compelling; honest; with an unblinking eye toward the choices we have made as a nation.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Very Interesting!By Mike in Miami; FLVery interesting book about how America went from basically no standing army to a large; expensive military complex that originally required congressional permission to use and eventually became useable by presidential choice for virtually as long as the president wanted: A real study in political gamesmanship that has found a way around the constitutional protections our forefathers wanted to prevent wars like Iraq.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. 5 stars for Drift!By CustomerOnce again; Rachel Maddow presents facts and anecdotes clearly; calmly; and sometimes humorously. She tells sixty years of history and shows it as the result of human decisions. She winds up with a problem; and proposes a solution. Her solution calls for a lot of responsibility on our part. God luck to us.This is a good book for citizens; for young adults; for people who like history; and for people who like Rachel.Why five stars? Good topic; good analysis; good writing; good grammar; good spelling; good thinking; good questions; good answers; good timeliness.
