Fatal Passage: The Story of John Rae, the Arctic Hero Time Forgot
by Ken McGoogan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ken McGooganEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-04
ISBN: 0786711566
Number of pages: 340
Publisher: Basic Books
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780786711567
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Fatal Passage: The Story of John Rae, the Arctic Hero Time Forgot
Book Review: Arctic Exploration
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoy reading non-fictional accounts of exploration, and have found two geographic regions particularly interesting; Amazonian and Arctic exploration. Perhaps this is because the issues faced by explorers of those regions are particularly challenging.
This book is essentially a biography of Dr. John Rae, a longtime employee of the Hudson Bay Company, who spent much of his life on or North of the Arctic Circle. The author is an unabashed fan of Dr. Rae, and even points out in his preface that the purpose of the book is to elevate Dr. Rae to a position in the pantheon of Arctic explorers, a position that the author firmly believes that Dr. Rae has been unjustly denied.
As a result, the question arises as to whether the author presents an unbiased picture of Rae and his achievements. For the greatest part of the book, this is really not a factor. There is no dispute as to Rae's exploits, his discoveries, or the incredible feats of endurance and competence he displayed in his endeavors. However, the final quarter of the book, dealing with controversy concerning his report on the Franklin expedition and the long running feud between Rae and Lady Jane Franklin certainly have the potential to present a biased and perhaps overly complementary picture of Rae's actions.
The final segment of the book, dealing with discovery of the Northwest Passage and the honors associated therewith, give the author a final opportunity to argue the poor treatment accorded Rae. While virtually every other explorer with a hand in charting the region was awarded knighthoods and cash rewards, Rae was excluded from official plaudits. Doubtless, this was a political decision as was the decision by many to credit Franklin with discovery of the Passage (which he most certainly did not). However, to simply label Rae as the discoverer of the Northwest Passage borders on hagiography. Charting the Northwest Passage was a collaborative undertaking and required the combined efforts of literally dozens of explorers over the course of decades. While it is true that Rae identified the final piece in the puzzle (though it is unlikely that he knew it at the time), to give him full credit ignores the 95% of the puzzle that was already in place.
Despite its sometimes biased viewpoints, it cannot be argued that Rae was anything other than a fascinating individual and perhaps the most physically gifted Arctic explorer on record. I can recommend this book to anyone with an interest in exploration in general and Arctic exploration in particular.
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