What do you think?
Rate this book
Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age
The mesmerizing, larger-than-life tale of an eccentric adventurer who traversed some of the greatest frontiers of the twentieth century, from uncharted Arctic wastelands to the underground resistance networks of World War II. "An absolute joy... Wanderlust is a compelling introduction to one of the most charismatic explorers to ever cross the ice."— New York Times Book Review Deep in the Arctic wilderness, Peter Freuchen awoke to find himself buried alive under the snow. During a sudden blizzard the night before, he had taken shelter underneath his dogsled and become trapped there while he slept. Now, as feeling drained from his body, he managed to claw a hole through the ice only to find himself in even greater his beard, wet with condensation from his struggling breath, had frozen to his sled runners and lashed his head in place, exposing it to icy winds that needed only a few minutes to kill him… But if Freuchen could escape that, he could escape anything. Freuchen’s life seemed ripped from the pages of an adventure novel—and provided fodder for many books of his own. A wildly eccentric Dane with an out-of-nowhere sense of humor, his insatiable curiosity drove him from the twilight years of Arctic exploration to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and from the burgeoning field of climate research to the Danish underground during World War II. He conducted jaw-dropping expeditions, survived a Nazi prison camp, and overcame a devastating injury that robbed him of his foot and very nearly his life. Through it all, he was guided not only by restlessness but also by ideals that were remarkably ahead of his time, championing Indigenous communities, environmental stewardship, and starting conversations that continue today. Meticulously researched and grippingly written, Wanderlust is an unforgettable tale of daring and discovery, an inspiring portrait of restlessness and grit, and a powerful meditation on our relationship to the planet and our fellow human beings. Reid Mitenbuler’s exquisite book restores a heroic giant of the last century back into public view.
512 pages, Hardcover
Published February 21, 2023
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
February 12, 2023
I read a lot of Arctic/Antarctic literature. Every now and again, I wonder if I will get sick of these adventures. Honestly, sooner or later you can only read the word "pemmican" so many times before you lose your mind.
Then a book like Wanderlust by Reid Mitenbuler arrives and makes you feel like a fool for every doubting how exciting travel in extreme environments can be. Now, before you write this book off by saying this isn't your thing, I would like to point out a few things. Namely, the subject of the book, Peter Freuchen was the following things: Arctic explorer, writer, reporter, game show contestant, Danish resistance fighter, actor, and MacGyver in one of the grossest stories I have ever read in my life. Everyone likes at least one of those things.
Mitenbuler writes a book which feels effortlessly short while containing an increasingly insane amount of varied stories. And yet, I also felt like Mitenbuler could have easily written 1,000 pages on Freuchen and not gotten all of it in. The book is very well written, but even Mitenbuler would probably admit, once he chose Freuchen, the hard part was already over. It's great and you should read it, no matter who you are.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books.)
Then a book like Wanderlust by Reid Mitenbuler arrives and makes you feel like a fool for every doubting how exciting travel in extreme environments can be. Now, before you write this book off by saying this isn't your thing, I would like to point out a few things. Namely, the subject of the book, Peter Freuchen was the following things: Arctic explorer, writer, reporter, game show contestant, Danish resistance fighter, actor, and MacGyver in one of the grossest stories I have ever read in my life. Everyone likes at least one of those things.
Mitenbuler writes a book which feels effortlessly short while containing an increasingly insane amount of varied stories. And yet, I also felt like Mitenbuler could have easily written 1,000 pages on Freuchen and not gotten all of it in. The book is very well written, but even Mitenbuler would probably admit, once he chose Freuchen, the hard part was already over. It's great and you should read it, no matter who you are.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Mariner Books.)
May 10, 2023
Okay, this book isn't for everyone. I borrowed a digital copy without realizing just how lengthy it was! That being said, this man's life was absolutely fascinating. I learned so much about Greenland and about the Danish perspective of the world in the 20th century. Not to mention, Peter F. is one of a kind. What an amazing life he led!
February 17, 2023
Updated review now that Harper Collins Union has received a contract.
Fantastic! I’ve seen the picture on the book over so many times and wondered the story behind it and it’s certainly did not disappoint. This is a biography, so of course it’s full of facts and written in a certain way to give those facts. But! Between Reid Mitenbuler’s writing style and the subject himself, this reads as close to an adventure novel as a biography can get. I cannot recommend it enough. Peter Freuchen is a fascinating man who seems (and is) larger than life, completely unreal. I really enjoyed this book, truly an unforgettable reading experience!
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fantastic! I’ve seen the picture on the book over so many times and wondered the story behind it and it’s certainly did not disappoint. This is a biography, so of course it’s full of facts and written in a certain way to give those facts. But! Between Reid Mitenbuler’s writing style and the subject himself, this reads as close to an adventure novel as a biography can get. I cannot recommend it enough. Peter Freuchen is a fascinating man who seems (and is) larger than life, completely unreal. I really enjoyed this book, truly an unforgettable reading experience!
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
February 1, 2024
Peter Freuchen first rose to prominence as an Arctic explorer in the early twentieth century, but during his long adventurous life he wore many other hats, becoming a best-selling author, working in Hollywood, and being imprisoned in a Nazi prison camp for being a member of the resistance.
I like exploration stories. They introduce you to an old world that no longer exists, they have the kinds of details that boggle the mind, and are usually populated with exactly the eccentric kinds of people you'd imagine enjoy traveling to the most challenging and remote places on the planet. As such, I was perfectly happy to settle down with this comprehensive biography of Peter Freuchen.
I'd never heard of Freuchen before, and as I began to read it became perfectly clear why - though he led a long and adventurous life, he often played second-fiddle on expeditions and things to better publicized explorers. Still, I became fond of his larger-than-life personality and commitment to his personal values. The author goes into depth about his personal life and relationships, showing how deeply he became entrenched in Greenland.
However, I did wish the author had grappled more with the negative aspects of Freuchen's life. While we spend plenty of time discussing his forward-thinking nature and positive points (of which there are plenty), any grey-shaded or negative aspects (how he did not raise his own children for long periods of time, his expectation that Inuit women during the filming of Eskimo should have been sexually receptive to him, etc.) were not really dug into or discussed, making me feel a bit robbed of a more well-rounded and therefore more interesting portrait of the man.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
I like exploration stories. They introduce you to an old world that no longer exists, they have the kinds of details that boggle the mind, and are usually populated with exactly the eccentric kinds of people you'd imagine enjoy traveling to the most challenging and remote places on the planet. As such, I was perfectly happy to settle down with this comprehensive biography of Peter Freuchen.
I'd never heard of Freuchen before, and as I began to read it became perfectly clear why - though he led a long and adventurous life, he often played second-fiddle on expeditions and things to better publicized explorers. Still, I became fond of his larger-than-life personality and commitment to his personal values. The author goes into depth about his personal life and relationships, showing how deeply he became entrenched in Greenland.
However, I did wish the author had grappled more with the negative aspects of Freuchen's life. While we spend plenty of time discussing his forward-thinking nature and positive points (of which there are plenty), any grey-shaded or negative aspects (how he did not raise his own children for long periods of time, his expectation that Inuit women during the filming of Eskimo should have been sexually receptive to him, etc.) were not really dug into or discussed, making me feel a bit robbed of a more well-rounded and therefore more interesting portrait of the man.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
May 14, 2024
DNF at 50%, notes to self: not caring for the "story of one man" here, I think, because it has been a slog despite owning this on audible, lol. Will probably not return to.
February 18, 2023
Reid Mitenbuler introduces us to Peter Freuchen, one of the last great Arctic explorers. Though this is not a name well known in the western hemisphere, Mitenbuler successfully paints the picture of a very much larger than life adventurer, a man who's life spanned the golden age of exploration through the early days of Hollywood-- and managed to somehow be a part of it all. He was in turns a technician/stoker on a ship heading to the Arctic, a founder of a Greenland trading station, an anthropologist, journalist, actor, writer, public speaker, a member of the Danish resistance, and early environmentalist.
Truly well researched, documented, and very entertaining, Peter Freuchen comes to life in the appropriately titled "Wanderlust".
Truly well researched, documented, and very entertaining, Peter Freuchen comes to life in the appropriately titled "Wanderlust".
April 18, 2024
Książka niezwykła, inspirująca i budząca w czytelniku rządzę przygód. Odkrywa bowiem nie tylko człowieka, fascynującego, pełnego sprzeczności i nie do przewidzenia, jakim był Freuchen, ale również piękno arktycznych krajobrazów, Inuickiej kultury.
Książka warta przeczytania zarówno jeśli chciałoby się oderwać od rzeczywistości jak i aby poznać świat. Ponadto jest to kawał dobrej literatury historycznej w doskonały sposób ukazującej upływ czasu, rozwój cywilizacyjny i wpływ tego rozwoju na rdzenne ludności odległych krain. Jest to zatem połączenie biografii, literatury historycznej i refleksyjnej. Do tego napisanej w sposób, który przykuwa oko od pierwszych stron. Miejscami czyta się to jak świetny thriller, czasem jak dramat, niekiedy jako komedię.
Ta książka pobudza chęci poznania i doświadczania.
Jedyne co negatywnie wpłynęło na ocenę, to „biedne wydanie” które zawierało w sobie karygodne błędy, a książka wyglądała jakby miejscami nie przeszła przez ani jedną korektę. Smutne. Mam nadzieję kiedyś przeczytać tę książkę w innym wydaniu i lepszym tłumaczeniu, wtedy będzie 5/5.
Książka warta przeczytania zarówno jeśli chciałoby się oderwać od rzeczywistości jak i aby poznać świat. Ponadto jest to kawał dobrej literatury historycznej w doskonały sposób ukazującej upływ czasu, rozwój cywilizacyjny i wpływ tego rozwoju na rdzenne ludności odległych krain. Jest to zatem połączenie biografii, literatury historycznej i refleksyjnej. Do tego napisanej w sposób, który przykuwa oko od pierwszych stron. Miejscami czyta się to jak świetny thriller, czasem jak dramat, niekiedy jako komedię.
Ta książka pobudza chęci poznania i doświadczania.
Jedyne co negatywnie wpłynęło na ocenę, to „biedne wydanie” które zawierało w sobie karygodne błędy, a książka wyglądała jakby miejscami nie przeszła przez ani jedną korektę. Smutne. Mam nadzieję kiedyś przeczytać tę książkę w innym wydaniu i lepszym tłumaczeniu, wtedy będzie 5/5.
![Profile Image for [Jamie].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1665714978i/141228044._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
May 22, 2023
If I've learned anything from this book it's that Peter Freuchen is a restless man, and, that it really REALLY sucks to be a sled dog in the arctic.
I will admit that I skim read the last quarter of the book because it got kinda boring after Freuchen lost his leg and mainly stayed at home. But you cant blame the book for that, I mean the man lost his leg. Super cool how he resisted the Nazis with himself and his daughter being part of an underground resistance.
I will admit that I skim read the last quarter of the book because it got kinda boring after Freuchen lost his leg and mainly stayed at home. But you cant blame the book for that, I mean the man lost his leg. Super cool how he resisted the Nazis with himself and his daughter being part of an underground resistance.
February 10, 2024
Amazing, just loved every second of it
May 22, 2023
I found this book to be very interesting and the subject of the biogrpahy is just so incredibly likeable. It has inspired me to seek out more exploration narratives and now I really want to visit Greenland.
April 18, 2023
What a life! Just surprised I had never heard of him before. Well read in audio.
October 30, 2023
A great explorer saga, a little repetitious here and there but a fun read.
May 5, 2024
“Peter Freuchen has lived nine lives, and it could be tempting to write about them all, about Peter as a traveler, as a lecturer, as a film actor, as an abstainer, as a politician, as a freedom fighter, as an associate, as a journalist, and as a writer.”
As Freuchen learned the hard way, things might look bad—your foot might be rotting off your body—but as long as you’re still breathing, the end remains to be written.
WHAT’S THIS BOOK ABOUT?
- The mesmerizing, larger-than-life tale of an eccentric adventurer who traversed some of the greatest frontiers of the twentieth century, from uncharted Arctic wastelands to the underground resistance networks of World War II.
Note: There is some interesting info in the book and I found most of it to be mildly interesting. The last chapters threw me for a loop, though. * Spoiler alert * Freuchen had lived a long life and gained celebrity by winning $64,000 Question. He then was about to take a trip to the North Pole (something he had not done before) and falls over dead while en route. It made me consider all kinds of questions.
FREUCHEN WINS $64,000 QUESTION
- Over several rounds, Freuchen correctly answered many other questions of this nature until . . . He managed to win the top prize! He was one of very few contestants ever to have done so.
- Peter Freuchen on $64,000 Question game show in 1956: https://youtu.be/cILSmxWowOg?si=5anJn...
- In 1956, $64,000 was roughly twenty times the average American’s yearly salary: a financial windfall that put to rest any of Freuchen’s previous money concerns—“
BECOMES A MINOR CELEBRITY
- The win changed many other aspects of Freuchen’s life as well. For the past several decades, he’d enjoyed a certain level of celebrity—enough to occasionally get recognized on the street, but not constantly. Now, everybody recognized him on the street, and he was frequently asked for his autograph.
- He was suddenly more famous than many of his explorer colleagues, but not because of his accomplishments in the field. Rather, he’d done well on an American game show sponsored by a makeup company. It almost seems unjust—being known for the lesser of your achievements—but maybe this was exactly how things should have been. The incident was all so random and yet so perfect, brimming with unexpected quirks and serendipity. It was, indeed, Freuchenian.
“HE WON THE LOTTERY AND DIED THE NEXT DAY”
- Then, he received a call from a television producer offering him another intriguing opportunity. It was his chance, finally, to see the North Pole. He almost certainly wouldn’t get another.
- On this trip, Freuchen would be joined by three of his old explorer friends, all of them senior members of a fading generation: Bernt Balchen, Donald MacMillan, and Sir Hubert Wilkins…this older group of explorers would make way for the clean-shaven astronauts with their wholesome buzz cuts, straight teeth, and perfect posture.
- Then he drank a cup of hot chocolate, as he always did to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.
- There’s little doubt that Freuchen was admiring this light as he entered his room. It was one of the last things he probably saw before he felt the sudden tightening in his chest…He wasn’t moving; he’d suffered a massive coronary, ending his life in an instant.
*** *** *** *** ***
NOT SURE WHAT HE WANTED TO DO IN LIFE
- When Freuchen dropped out of medical school, he decided that some form of life at sea was probably a better fit for him. He just needed to find the right opportunity.
HE STUMBLED INTO SOMETHING OF INTEREST
- Before long, he fell into the orbit of a comedy troupe planning to do a satirical play about the Danish explorer Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, who had recently led an Arctic expedition and was now touring Copenhagen giving lectures about the experience…Eventually, he hunted down the man’s address.
- Then he asked if Freuchen would like to join [his expedition]. The younger man said yes faster than saints pass through the gates of heaven.
WHY GO TO THE NORTH POLE?
- reaching the pole offered an accomplishment where success was measured not by climbing the corporate ladder but by showing indomitable will and courage.
- Some people also felt that polar exploration reasserted old-fashioned masculine qualities that modern life increasingly threatened: independence, strength, virility, power, sanctioned craziness.
- Arctic expeditions, by contrast, offered clean victory without a mess, national honor without international controversy.
ANOTHER WORLD
- Perhaps this is one of the reasons he liked the Arctic so much: it existed in its own bubble, in a different reality, separated from the rest of the world and its madness.
- The Fifth Thule Expedition was one of the last excursions of its kind to travel without wireless communications. Its members were entirely present in their surroundings, utterly self-reliant, and undistracted by the outside world.
FOUND SOMETHING THAT HE REALLY ENJOYED
- Freuchen’s mission [on his first expedition] was to camp next to it for a year and collect data from equipment scattered in the vicinity.
- “Maybe I’ll be dead in three days, but then one thing will be certain: I will have fought to the end and never sat back and twiddled my thumbs. But I don’t ever think I regretted, even for a second, that I went along on this expedition. I belong here. I am good at something here.” Challenges like this were one reason he’d wanted to visit the Arctic in the first place: to test his mettle, earn some bragging rights, and discover his endurance.
- “That night as I lay on my ledge I understood for the first time the earnestness of what I was doing. My life, as well as my friends’ lives, was endangered every moment of the day and night. I had merely admired explorers and their adventures before but had never understood the real significance of it all.”
ENTHUSIASM
- But despite their lack of physical stamina and coordination, all of them were enthusiastic about the mission.
SACRIFICE
- After the search party went through Brønlund’s clothing, they found Hagen’s maps, which Brønlund had carefully protected so the mission wouldn’t entirely have been in vain—a heavy price to pay for just a few maps…“I perished in 79° N. lat., under the hardships of the return journey over the inland ice in November. I reached this place under a waning moon, and cannot go on because of my frozen feet and the darkness.”
FREUCHEN AMPUTATED HIS OWN TOES DUE TO FROSTBITE
- But it was nonetheless clear that Peter’s toes, worn down to their nervy roots, were beyond repair. It was time to amputate them. Freuchen thought it best to perform the procedure himself.
- He gently pinched the first toe with the pliers and then swung the hammer down on top of them, hearing the bone snap before feeling an electric jolt of pain that “cut into every nerve of my body, an agony I cannot describe.”
- Once the damage was done, he sobbed deeply, “partly from pain, partly from self-pity.” For a man whose living was made on his feet—indeed, whose very identity involved feats of strength and stamina—the loss was significant, even existential. Freuchen had survived, but at what cost?
- “Your foot will have to come off,” Berntsen said—a grim assessment. “And I’d like to amputate part of the leg as well.”…The amputation that Berntsen was talking about posed much more of an existential dilemma than the loss of a few toes.
POSITIVITY
- Freuchen’s therapy included lessons in the power of positive thinking.
- At this moment, Freuchen had an epiphany. “I realized then that it would not be a missing leg that would hamper me, but myself if I let it be so,” he wrote. “It is not the handicap that counts but the man.” From this point on, his recovery quickened.
- He understood that the loss of his foot would impede travel to places like the Arctic, but he couldn’t wallow in self-pity. Besides, he had other ambitions, so why not pursue those instead?
MISSING FOOT ENDED UP SAVING HIS LIFE
- He might have stayed and died if his aching stump hadn’t forced him to leave early. After his amputation, he’d worried that not having a foot would end his adventure seeking. But in this case, his missing foot had saved his life.
LOVING THINGS FOR REASONS THAT AREN’T APPARENT TO OTHERS
- Despite Greenland’s challenges, something about the place had taken hold of him.
TROUBLE CONNECTING
- Nor did he connect with his classmates, who now struck him as inexperienced and untested. Most had never carved seal meat or raised a rifle against a hungry wolf, nor had any of them buried a man as good as Jørgen Brønlund.
- “I felt like a stranger when I encountered my old friends,” he wrote. “During the three years of my absence many of them had become learned men and women. I was proud of my strength, and of my ability to live for long stretches without food, but these things meant nothing to them.”
- “My place, I felt anew, was not here with people who could see through me, but up there . . . I longed to go back to Navarana and the cold North.”
OVERCOMING FEAR OF DEATH
- a euphoric feeling rushed through him: he realized he didn’t care about dying anymore. “If I killed the animal we would survive, if not we would die,” he later recalled. Oddly enough, this thought stopped his hands from shaking.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
- Now that he possessed what he had pined for, he realized he resented it a little.
INUIT
- The unforgiving nature of their environment had given them a special awareness for minutiae, a fine-tuned sensitivity to the vaguest flutters of change happening around them.
- “The actual need of an individual determines the price,” Freuchen wrote…In Europe and America, prices were set by the seller, whereas in northern Greenland they were set by the buyer, based on their need. The greater the need, the more the buyer insisted on paying, even if the seller wasn’t asking much.
- But Freuchen wanted to emphasize to outsiders that, even though the Inuit genuinely were some of the most cheerful people he’d ever met, their buoyant optimism was often a way of dealing with tremendous pain.
- While traveling with Cook, Ittukusuk had left his wife behind in Etah. After Peary arrived in the region, he hired her as a seamstress, then took her with him to the expedition outpost at Cape Columbia. While there, another young hunter told Peary he desired a wife, and Peary, for some unknown reason, gave him permission to marry Ittukusuk’s wife. In the patriarchal and polygamous culture of the Inuit, treating women like property certainly wasn’t uncommon, nor were marital arrangements like this one, but it certainly wasn’t Peary’s place to act as he did. As a result, Ittukusuk returned home to an empty hut.
- This was another trait he admired about these people: the way they rolled with the punches…It was an important lesson, to take things in stride.
- This decision to wander was how the Inuit, a nomadic people, often recovered from sadness. Freuchen explained his reasoning in a letter to his parents: “At least I have the remedy that is often applied by the polar Eskimos: to go far away to forget one’s sorrows.”
- This custom of savoring the long wait time before receiving good news was likely something he picked up from the Greenland Inuit.
- “As usual with the Eskimos, there were no farewells,”
IMPORTANCE OF VALUING OTHER CULTURES (AND YOUR OWN)
- Both men were sensitive to the impact of change—understanding that it came with perils as well as possibilities—and approached northern Greenland in the spirit of having a cultural exchange, ready to receive as well as to give.
- Navarana was wary of living in the south for so long. Her friend Eqariussaq had once told her: “When you go down to the white man’s country, be careful not to absorb too much of their spirit. If you do, it will cause you many tears, for you can never rid yourself of it.”
- There was genuine spiritual fulfillment to be gained from Christianity, but Freuchen didn’t like how some missionaries tried to ban certain Inuit cultural practices, forcing the Inuit to take those traditions underground.
- Yes, the First Thule Expedition had been unconventional, but plenty of better-organized expeditions had suffered fates much worse than theirs. The men defended their approach of doing things as the Inuit did them: living off the land, making do with as little as possible, and not being wasteful.
- The locals asked Freuchen why Thule should suffer because of a war happening so far away, but he didn’t have a good answer. The question demonstrated just how much their culture had changed because of the trading relationship. Ten years earlier, these people wouldn’t have missed anything coming from Europe, but now they did. Despite their best intentions, Freuchen and Rasmussen had helped create a dependency.
- “She was a finer and better person than anyone I have ever known, but the world saw her only as a little Eskimo girl who was to be looked down upon or ignored.”
- The line of questioning was insensitive, and Freuchen was told that his marriage to Navarana wasn’t real. This woman who had been so important to him was dismissed simply because she didn’t have a long trail of paperwork attached to her name.
- since the children had been born before 1921, the year the Thule District officially came under Danish control, the children technically didn’t have Danish nationality. This problem was resolved when Freuchen “adopted” his own children. It was a long and difficult process, and needlessly humiliating.
*** *** *** *** ***
GOOD QUOTES
- “What is it about the present that makes it so eager to judge the past? There is always a neuroticism to the present, which believes itself superior to the past but can’t quite get over a nagging anxiety that it might not be.”
- If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.—LAO TZU
- The chance and hazard of existence brings many surprises, and you soon learn to seize and enjoy what life offers. —KNUD RASMUSSEN, THE PEOPLE OF THE POLAR NORTH
- Peary then addressed his men, telling them exactly what to expect from this mission: “The only variation in the monotony being that it occasionally gets worse.”
- “When you stop to consider it, it is amazing how little one year matters.”
- “Before the arrival of children a man is seldom aware of the need for them. Afterward, he can scarcely credit life as holding any interest without them.”
- One is tired of living in the country, one moves to the city; one is tired of one’s native land, one travels abroad; one is europamüde, one goes to America, and so on; finally, one indulges in a dream of endless travel from star to star. —SØREN KIERKEGAARD, EITHER/OR (1843)
- “Those of us who go to the far corner of the earth cannot help but be God-conscious,” Wilkins said. “And when we travel in the lonely, desolate spaces of the polar regions we have time for contemplation. There we feel conscious of the greatness of God.”
FACTOIDS
- Norsemen settled in Greenland, they gave the island its lush-sounding name so that others would consider joining them. But the pleasant name was false advertising and many of the Norse had abandoned their settlements by the thirteenth century.
- Navigating this fractured terrain was particularly difficult because light becomes distorted this far north and warps one’s sense of distance and proportion: a point that seems ten miles away might actually be fifty miles away, while small objects can appear much larger than they really are.
- The name they chose instead, Thule, came from the ancient expression ultima Thule, which loosely translates to “north of everything and everybody.”
- American aviator Eugene Ely had become the first person to land an airplane on the deck of a ship, USS Pennsylvania,
- Sailors had long compared the color to that of drowned human corpses (the word narwhal actually comes from the Old Norse for “corpse” and “whale”).
- snow blindness, an age-old malady akin to having sunburn on the eye’s cornea. (He described it as “having red-hot knives stuck into my eyes.”) The condition was usually prevented by wearing dark goggles and sometimes treated using cocaine eyedrops,
- fata morgana, a type of mirage common in the high Arctic that occurs when temperature inversions (warm air over cold) distort an image beyond recognition, creating an impression of mountains or other objects that aren’t actually there.
- White Shadows in the South Seas (the first MGM film in which a roaring Leo the Lion introduces the studio’s logo).
- advertisements, and so forth—had started including more images of Santa Claus in a sleigh being pulled by reindeer, which were invariably depicted as cute and friendly. Once Americans started seeing the animals in this way—as cute and adorable—they suddenly stopped wanting to eat them.
- Denmark’s sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States, which subsequently named them the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. had purchased them in 1917, for $ 25 million, to prevent the Germans from seizing them as a base for launching attacks on the Panama Canal.
- one of Nobel’s many pet projects was to engineer square-shaped trees that would create less lumberyard waste. Unfortunately, he’d poured a fortune into the effort but could never get it quite right—his experimental trees kept coming out with round trunks instead of square ones.
- Nobel’s reckoning came in 1888, after the death of his older brother, Ludvig. Several newspapers had accidentally published obituaries of Alfred instead, giving the younger brother a glimpse of how his legacy was set to go down in history. The headlines weren’t flattering—“The Merchant of Death Is Dead,” read one. Appalled at being remembered this way, Nobel decided to change his legacy…he decided to dedicate his entire fortune to promoting peace through a foundation named after him. A year later, in 1896, he died.
- (A scene in The Manchurian Candidate was later inspired by the American takeover of Greenland.)
HAHA
- Freuchen watched her walk over to the bed and pull a bucket out from beneath it. When the sharp ammonia smell hit his nostrils, he realized it was filled with human urine. Then she dipped her hair in the amber liquid and began scrubbing…he learned that the gesture was Arnarak’s attempt to prove her cleanliness and make a good impression.
- He was so starved for conversation that he gave names to his cooking utensils and started having lively discussions with them. Hello, Mr. Fork! Why hello, Mrs. Spoon!
- Yet another reduced Inuit culture to a simple tagline: “The strangest moral code on the face of the earth—men who share their wives but kill if one is stolen!” (One newspaper cleverly reversed this notion, writing, “Apparently the only thing the Eskimos have in common with Hollywood is wife-trading.”)
- the actress Mae West, whose sexually charged persona—she was famous for quips like “A hard man is good to find” and “I’ve been in more laps than a napkin”—
BONUS
- Short bio of Peter Freuchen: https://youtu.be/CoNt4BVNV-s?si=FqR8h...
- Explorers Club: https://youtu.be/nqbtisPyTdE?si=tv_AM...
- Kiviaq (bird fermented inside a seal): https://youtube.com/shorts/6APPzUwPIv...
- Artic vs Antarctic: https://youtu.be/Z5VRoGTF60s?si=p7hyu...
- Phantom limb of amputees: https://youtu.be/KdihphPp1Q0?si=sMjrB...
- Life at Thule Air Base in Greenland: https://youtu.be/op8Q2QIjRQo?si=X_0bM...
As Freuchen learned the hard way, things might look bad—your foot might be rotting off your body—but as long as you’re still breathing, the end remains to be written.
WHAT’S THIS BOOK ABOUT?
- The mesmerizing, larger-than-life tale of an eccentric adventurer who traversed some of the greatest frontiers of the twentieth century, from uncharted Arctic wastelands to the underground resistance networks of World War II.
Note: There is some interesting info in the book and I found most of it to be mildly interesting. The last chapters threw me for a loop, though. * Spoiler alert * Freuchen had lived a long life and gained celebrity by winning $64,000 Question. He then was about to take a trip to the North Pole (something he had not done before) and falls over dead while en route. It made me consider all kinds of questions.
FREUCHEN WINS $64,000 QUESTION
- Over several rounds, Freuchen correctly answered many other questions of this nature until . . . He managed to win the top prize! He was one of very few contestants ever to have done so.
- Peter Freuchen on $64,000 Question game show in 1956: https://youtu.be/cILSmxWowOg?si=5anJn...
- In 1956, $64,000 was roughly twenty times the average American’s yearly salary: a financial windfall that put to rest any of Freuchen’s previous money concerns—“
BECOMES A MINOR CELEBRITY
- The win changed many other aspects of Freuchen’s life as well. For the past several decades, he’d enjoyed a certain level of celebrity—enough to occasionally get recognized on the street, but not constantly. Now, everybody recognized him on the street, and he was frequently asked for his autograph.
- He was suddenly more famous than many of his explorer colleagues, but not because of his accomplishments in the field. Rather, he’d done well on an American game show sponsored by a makeup company. It almost seems unjust—being known for the lesser of your achievements—but maybe this was exactly how things should have been. The incident was all so random and yet so perfect, brimming with unexpected quirks and serendipity. It was, indeed, Freuchenian.
“HE WON THE LOTTERY AND DIED THE NEXT DAY”
- Then, he received a call from a television producer offering him another intriguing opportunity. It was his chance, finally, to see the North Pole. He almost certainly wouldn’t get another.
- On this trip, Freuchen would be joined by three of his old explorer friends, all of them senior members of a fading generation: Bernt Balchen, Donald MacMillan, and Sir Hubert Wilkins…this older group of explorers would make way for the clean-shaven astronauts with their wholesome buzz cuts, straight teeth, and perfect posture.
- Then he drank a cup of hot chocolate, as he always did to celebrate birthdays and special occasions.
- There’s little doubt that Freuchen was admiring this light as he entered his room. It was one of the last things he probably saw before he felt the sudden tightening in his chest…He wasn’t moving; he’d suffered a massive coronary, ending his life in an instant.
*** *** *** *** ***
NOT SURE WHAT HE WANTED TO DO IN LIFE
- When Freuchen dropped out of medical school, he decided that some form of life at sea was probably a better fit for him. He just needed to find the right opportunity.
HE STUMBLED INTO SOMETHING OF INTEREST
- Before long, he fell into the orbit of a comedy troupe planning to do a satirical play about the Danish explorer Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, who had recently led an Arctic expedition and was now touring Copenhagen giving lectures about the experience…Eventually, he hunted down the man’s address.
- Then he asked if Freuchen would like to join [his expedition]. The younger man said yes faster than saints pass through the gates of heaven.
WHY GO TO THE NORTH POLE?
- reaching the pole offered an accomplishment where success was measured not by climbing the corporate ladder but by showing indomitable will and courage.
- Some people also felt that polar exploration reasserted old-fashioned masculine qualities that modern life increasingly threatened: independence, strength, virility, power, sanctioned craziness.
- Arctic expeditions, by contrast, offered clean victory without a mess, national honor without international controversy.
ANOTHER WORLD
- Perhaps this is one of the reasons he liked the Arctic so much: it existed in its own bubble, in a different reality, separated from the rest of the world and its madness.
- The Fifth Thule Expedition was one of the last excursions of its kind to travel without wireless communications. Its members were entirely present in their surroundings, utterly self-reliant, and undistracted by the outside world.
FOUND SOMETHING THAT HE REALLY ENJOYED
- Freuchen’s mission [on his first expedition] was to camp next to it for a year and collect data from equipment scattered in the vicinity.
- “Maybe I’ll be dead in three days, but then one thing will be certain: I will have fought to the end and never sat back and twiddled my thumbs. But I don’t ever think I regretted, even for a second, that I went along on this expedition. I belong here. I am good at something here.” Challenges like this were one reason he’d wanted to visit the Arctic in the first place: to test his mettle, earn some bragging rights, and discover his endurance.
- “That night as I lay on my ledge I understood for the first time the earnestness of what I was doing. My life, as well as my friends’ lives, was endangered every moment of the day and night. I had merely admired explorers and their adventures before but had never understood the real significance of it all.”
ENTHUSIASM
- But despite their lack of physical stamina and coordination, all of them were enthusiastic about the mission.
SACRIFICE
- After the search party went through Brønlund’s clothing, they found Hagen’s maps, which Brønlund had carefully protected so the mission wouldn’t entirely have been in vain—a heavy price to pay for just a few maps…“I perished in 79° N. lat., under the hardships of the return journey over the inland ice in November. I reached this place under a waning moon, and cannot go on because of my frozen feet and the darkness.”
FREUCHEN AMPUTATED HIS OWN TOES DUE TO FROSTBITE
- But it was nonetheless clear that Peter’s toes, worn down to their nervy roots, were beyond repair. It was time to amputate them. Freuchen thought it best to perform the procedure himself.
- He gently pinched the first toe with the pliers and then swung the hammer down on top of them, hearing the bone snap before feeling an electric jolt of pain that “cut into every nerve of my body, an agony I cannot describe.”
- Once the damage was done, he sobbed deeply, “partly from pain, partly from self-pity.” For a man whose living was made on his feet—indeed, whose very identity involved feats of strength and stamina—the loss was significant, even existential. Freuchen had survived, but at what cost?
- “Your foot will have to come off,” Berntsen said—a grim assessment. “And I’d like to amputate part of the leg as well.”…The amputation that Berntsen was talking about posed much more of an existential dilemma than the loss of a few toes.
POSITIVITY
- Freuchen’s therapy included lessons in the power of positive thinking.
- At this moment, Freuchen had an epiphany. “I realized then that it would not be a missing leg that would hamper me, but myself if I let it be so,” he wrote. “It is not the handicap that counts but the man.” From this point on, his recovery quickened.
- He understood that the loss of his foot would impede travel to places like the Arctic, but he couldn’t wallow in self-pity. Besides, he had other ambitions, so why not pursue those instead?
MISSING FOOT ENDED UP SAVING HIS LIFE
- He might have stayed and died if his aching stump hadn’t forced him to leave early. After his amputation, he’d worried that not having a foot would end his adventure seeking. But in this case, his missing foot had saved his life.
LOVING THINGS FOR REASONS THAT AREN’T APPARENT TO OTHERS
- Despite Greenland’s challenges, something about the place had taken hold of him.
TROUBLE CONNECTING
- Nor did he connect with his classmates, who now struck him as inexperienced and untested. Most had never carved seal meat or raised a rifle against a hungry wolf, nor had any of them buried a man as good as Jørgen Brønlund.
- “I felt like a stranger when I encountered my old friends,” he wrote. “During the three years of my absence many of them had become learned men and women. I was proud of my strength, and of my ability to live for long stretches without food, but these things meant nothing to them.”
- “My place, I felt anew, was not here with people who could see through me, but up there . . . I longed to go back to Navarana and the cold North.”
OVERCOMING FEAR OF DEATH
- a euphoric feeling rushed through him: he realized he didn’t care about dying anymore. “If I killed the animal we would survive, if not we would die,” he later recalled. Oddly enough, this thought stopped his hands from shaking.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
- Now that he possessed what he had pined for, he realized he resented it a little.
INUIT
- The unforgiving nature of their environment had given them a special awareness for minutiae, a fine-tuned sensitivity to the vaguest flutters of change happening around them.
- “The actual need of an individual determines the price,” Freuchen wrote…In Europe and America, prices were set by the seller, whereas in northern Greenland they were set by the buyer, based on their need. The greater the need, the more the buyer insisted on paying, even if the seller wasn’t asking much.
- But Freuchen wanted to emphasize to outsiders that, even though the Inuit genuinely were some of the most cheerful people he’d ever met, their buoyant optimism was often a way of dealing with tremendous pain.
- While traveling with Cook, Ittukusuk had left his wife behind in Etah. After Peary arrived in the region, he hired her as a seamstress, then took her with him to the expedition outpost at Cape Columbia. While there, another young hunter told Peary he desired a wife, and Peary, for some unknown reason, gave him permission to marry Ittukusuk’s wife. In the patriarchal and polygamous culture of the Inuit, treating women like property certainly wasn’t uncommon, nor were marital arrangements like this one, but it certainly wasn’t Peary’s place to act as he did. As a result, Ittukusuk returned home to an empty hut.
- This was another trait he admired about these people: the way they rolled with the punches…It was an important lesson, to take things in stride.
- This decision to wander was how the Inuit, a nomadic people, often recovered from sadness. Freuchen explained his reasoning in a letter to his parents: “At least I have the remedy that is often applied by the polar Eskimos: to go far away to forget one’s sorrows.”
- This custom of savoring the long wait time before receiving good news was likely something he picked up from the Greenland Inuit.
- “As usual with the Eskimos, there were no farewells,”
IMPORTANCE OF VALUING OTHER CULTURES (AND YOUR OWN)
- Both men were sensitive to the impact of change—understanding that it came with perils as well as possibilities—and approached northern Greenland in the spirit of having a cultural exchange, ready to receive as well as to give.
- Navarana was wary of living in the south for so long. Her friend Eqariussaq had once told her: “When you go down to the white man’s country, be careful not to absorb too much of their spirit. If you do, it will cause you many tears, for you can never rid yourself of it.”
- There was genuine spiritual fulfillment to be gained from Christianity, but Freuchen didn’t like how some missionaries tried to ban certain Inuit cultural practices, forcing the Inuit to take those traditions underground.
- Yes, the First Thule Expedition had been unconventional, but plenty of better-organized expeditions had suffered fates much worse than theirs. The men defended their approach of doing things as the Inuit did them: living off the land, making do with as little as possible, and not being wasteful.
- The locals asked Freuchen why Thule should suffer because of a war happening so far away, but he didn’t have a good answer. The question demonstrated just how much their culture had changed because of the trading relationship. Ten years earlier, these people wouldn’t have missed anything coming from Europe, but now they did. Despite their best intentions, Freuchen and Rasmussen had helped create a dependency.
- “She was a finer and better person than anyone I have ever known, but the world saw her only as a little Eskimo girl who was to be looked down upon or ignored.”
- The line of questioning was insensitive, and Freuchen was told that his marriage to Navarana wasn’t real. This woman who had been so important to him was dismissed simply because she didn’t have a long trail of paperwork attached to her name.
- since the children had been born before 1921, the year the Thule District officially came under Danish control, the children technically didn’t have Danish nationality. This problem was resolved when Freuchen “adopted” his own children. It was a long and difficult process, and needlessly humiliating.
*** *** *** *** ***
GOOD QUOTES
- “What is it about the present that makes it so eager to judge the past? There is always a neuroticism to the present, which believes itself superior to the past but can’t quite get over a nagging anxiety that it might not be.”
- If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.—LAO TZU
- The chance and hazard of existence brings many surprises, and you soon learn to seize and enjoy what life offers. —KNUD RASMUSSEN, THE PEOPLE OF THE POLAR NORTH
- Peary then addressed his men, telling them exactly what to expect from this mission: “The only variation in the monotony being that it occasionally gets worse.”
- “When you stop to consider it, it is amazing how little one year matters.”
- “Before the arrival of children a man is seldom aware of the need for them. Afterward, he can scarcely credit life as holding any interest without them.”
- One is tired of living in the country, one moves to the city; one is tired of one’s native land, one travels abroad; one is europamüde, one goes to America, and so on; finally, one indulges in a dream of endless travel from star to star. —SØREN KIERKEGAARD, EITHER/OR (1843)
- “Those of us who go to the far corner of the earth cannot help but be God-conscious,” Wilkins said. “And when we travel in the lonely, desolate spaces of the polar regions we have time for contemplation. There we feel conscious of the greatness of God.”
FACTOIDS
- Norsemen settled in Greenland, they gave the island its lush-sounding name so that others would consider joining them. But the pleasant name was false advertising and many of the Norse had abandoned their settlements by the thirteenth century.
- Navigating this fractured terrain was particularly difficult because light becomes distorted this far north and warps one’s sense of distance and proportion: a point that seems ten miles away might actually be fifty miles away, while small objects can appear much larger than they really are.
- The name they chose instead, Thule, came from the ancient expression ultima Thule, which loosely translates to “north of everything and everybody.”
- American aviator Eugene Ely had become the first person to land an airplane on the deck of a ship, USS Pennsylvania,
- Sailors had long compared the color to that of drowned human corpses (the word narwhal actually comes from the Old Norse for “corpse” and “whale”).
- snow blindness, an age-old malady akin to having sunburn on the eye’s cornea. (He described it as “having red-hot knives stuck into my eyes.”) The condition was usually prevented by wearing dark goggles and sometimes treated using cocaine eyedrops,
- fata morgana, a type of mirage common in the high Arctic that occurs when temperature inversions (warm air over cold) distort an image beyond recognition, creating an impression of mountains or other objects that aren’t actually there.
- White Shadows in the South Seas (the first MGM film in which a roaring Leo the Lion introduces the studio’s logo).
- advertisements, and so forth—had started including more images of Santa Claus in a sleigh being pulled by reindeer, which were invariably depicted as cute and friendly. Once Americans started seeing the animals in this way—as cute and adorable—they suddenly stopped wanting to eat them.
- Denmark’s sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States, which subsequently named them the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. had purchased them in 1917, for $ 25 million, to prevent the Germans from seizing them as a base for launching attacks on the Panama Canal.
- one of Nobel’s many pet projects was to engineer square-shaped trees that would create less lumberyard waste. Unfortunately, he’d poured a fortune into the effort but could never get it quite right—his experimental trees kept coming out with round trunks instead of square ones.
- Nobel’s reckoning came in 1888, after the death of his older brother, Ludvig. Several newspapers had accidentally published obituaries of Alfred instead, giving the younger brother a glimpse of how his legacy was set to go down in history. The headlines weren’t flattering—“The Merchant of Death Is Dead,” read one. Appalled at being remembered this way, Nobel decided to change his legacy…he decided to dedicate his entire fortune to promoting peace through a foundation named after him. A year later, in 1896, he died.
- (A scene in The Manchurian Candidate was later inspired by the American takeover of Greenland.)
HAHA
- Freuchen watched her walk over to the bed and pull a bucket out from beneath it. When the sharp ammonia smell hit his nostrils, he realized it was filled with human urine. Then she dipped her hair in the amber liquid and began scrubbing…he learned that the gesture was Arnarak’s attempt to prove her cleanliness and make a good impression.
- He was so starved for conversation that he gave names to his cooking utensils and started having lively discussions with them. Hello, Mr. Fork! Why hello, Mrs. Spoon!
- Yet another reduced Inuit culture to a simple tagline: “The strangest moral code on the face of the earth—men who share their wives but kill if one is stolen!” (One newspaper cleverly reversed this notion, writing, “Apparently the only thing the Eskimos have in common with Hollywood is wife-trading.”)
- the actress Mae West, whose sexually charged persona—she was famous for quips like “A hard man is good to find” and “I’ve been in more laps than a napkin”—
BONUS
- Short bio of Peter Freuchen: https://youtu.be/CoNt4BVNV-s?si=FqR8h...
- Explorers Club: https://youtu.be/nqbtisPyTdE?si=tv_AM...
- Kiviaq (bird fermented inside a seal): https://youtube.com/shorts/6APPzUwPIv...
- Artic vs Antarctic: https://youtu.be/Z5VRoGTF60s?si=p7hyu...
- Phantom limb of amputees: https://youtu.be/KdihphPp1Q0?si=sMjrB...
- Life at Thule Air Base in Greenland: https://youtu.be/op8Q2QIjRQo?si=X_0bM...
July 16, 2024
I picked up this biography of Peter Freuchen because of the epic cover photo of a towering bear of a man draped in luxuriant furs, and I’m happy to report that the man himself does not disappoint. Arctic explorer, Hollywood journeyman, novelist, part of Denmark’s WWII resistance movement, meteorologist, zoologist, anthropologist, journalist, and overall decent dude – Freuchen is the very embodiment of a life lived to the fullest. Many of his associates ultimately left a bigger imprint on history (Paul Robeson, Alfred Wegener, Knud Rassmussen, Fridtjof Nansen, Robert Peary), but no one had nearly his breadth of experience, and practically no one the same force of personality.
Mitenbuler does yeoman work bringing together the many facets of a varied and adventurous life, but I generally think Freuchen deserved better at the hands of his biographer, who frequently undermined his subject with handwringing asides to fret over the disconnect between Freuchen’s own time and “modern audiences” (“later generations… would probably have trouble grasping the book’s appeal”; “... he occasionally used stylistic and word choices that seem antiquated today.”; “although later generations probably wince and the book’s now-outdated use of dialect…”; ). It’s perfectly reasonable and necessary for an author to provide context to better understand his subject’s milieu, but can’t I arrive at my own conclusions without Mitenbuler’s embarrassed editorializing?
Mitenbuler does yeoman work bringing together the many facets of a varied and adventurous life, but I generally think Freuchen deserved better at the hands of his biographer, who frequently undermined his subject with handwringing asides to fret over the disconnect between Freuchen’s own time and “modern audiences” (“later generations… would probably have trouble grasping the book’s appeal”; “... he occasionally used stylistic and word choices that seem antiquated today.”; “although later generations probably wince and the book’s now-outdated use of dialect…”; ). It’s perfectly reasonable and necessary for an author to provide context to better understand his subject’s milieu, but can’t I arrive at my own conclusions without Mitenbuler’s embarrassed editorializing?
February 3, 2024
Wow! This biography shows Peter Freuchen as larger than life and a man before his time. Despite his dichotomy of interests, he was a polymath extraordinaire: an Artic explorer, hunter, writer, naturalist, anthropologist, meteorologist, movie star and even winner of the $64,000 Question. I greatly enjoyed this book and afterward, I looked up the movies made from his books and was entranced to glimpse a time that no longer exists. In the late 1940s, after the end of WWII, Freuchen was able to travel back to his beloved Greenland and was shocked by the changes in lifestyle that had occurred with the Inuit people. He warned of the climate change he saw and the magnitude of shifts that could occur in the world climate if nothing was done. I learned so much from this book as well as being entertained. It was as if I was reading the forerunner of comic book heroes or Saturday matinee serials.
August 19, 2023
This is an account of Peter Freikin (sp? I listened) a danish explorer, actor, writer, activist, game show contestant... Peter was a giant of a danish man who lived in the early 1900's. He started his "career" in Greenland as an explorer and shopkeeper where he lived among the inuit (eskimo) as one of them. Peter spoke many languages fluently including the inuit native tongue. He truly lived an eclectic life full of adventure, and travel. He lived through both World wars and was active in the Danish resistance during WW2. He was very outspoken through out his life which got him into trouble at times. He lost one of his feet to frostbite and wore a peg leg for decades. I really enjoyed this book and would have given it 5 stars but there were too many references to his sex life. Definitely worth the read.
August 17, 2023
What a man! When he died at the end (spoilers?), I was moved in a way I rarely am by biographies.
April 3, 2024
Peter Freuchen to najciekawszy człowiek na świecie. Koniec, kropka. I ja wcale nie przesadzam, bo jestem po przeczytaniu prawie sześciuset (600!!!) stron opisujących jego życie, a i tak mi mało! No i mam wrażenie, że jego późniejsze życie nie było aż tak dokładnie rozpisane 🦭❄️🧭
Peter z pochodzenia był Duńczykiem, miał zostać lekarzem, ale podczas studiów zrozumiał, że spokojne, powtarzalne życie nie jest dla niego i wtedy zaczęło się jego prawdziwe życie. Trafił pierwszy raz na Grenlandię i odkrył, że to jest jego dom 🦭❄️🧭
Kocham wszystko co związane jest ze śniegiem, a ten tytuł miałam na oku już od czasu zapowiedzi, chociaż wcześniej ani razu nie słyszałam o Peterze, co jest nieprawdopodobne, bo ten człowiek to legenda! 🦭❄️🧭
Żył jakieś 100 lat temu, ale już wtedy zaczynał mówić o zmianach klimatu, związanych z działalnością człowieka, sprzeciwiał się okrucieństwu wobec zwierząt (między innymi foie gras czy korridzie). Jasne, sam polował mieszkając na Grenlandii, ale widział różnice między polowaniem dla przeżycia, a krzywdą dla zabawy 🦭❄️🧭
Poślubił Inuitkę w czasach, gdy tych ludzi traktowano jak zwierzęta i przeprowadzano na nich eksperymenty, a potem dzięki książkom przybliżał ich życie codzienne i kulturę 🦭❄️🧭
I chociaż to biografia, zaufajcie mi, czyta się jak najlepszą przygodówkę w stylu Indiany Jonesa, tylko w zimnym klimacie, a strony same się przewracają, aż okazuje się, że to koniec 🦭❄️🧭
Jestem totalnie zakochana zarówno w postaci Petera, jak i samej książce, która jest jednym z moich ulubieńców roku (tak, wiem, wiem, mamy kwiecień) - będę wam ją polecać bardzo często, bo naprawdę warto 🦭❄️🧭
Peter z pochodzenia był Duńczykiem, miał zostać lekarzem, ale podczas studiów zrozumiał, że spokojne, powtarzalne życie nie jest dla niego i wtedy zaczęło się jego prawdziwe życie. Trafił pierwszy raz na Grenlandię i odkrył, że to jest jego dom 🦭❄️🧭
Kocham wszystko co związane jest ze śniegiem, a ten tytuł miałam na oku już od czasu zapowiedzi, chociaż wcześniej ani razu nie słyszałam o Peterze, co jest nieprawdopodobne, bo ten człowiek to legenda! 🦭❄️🧭
Żył jakieś 100 lat temu, ale już wtedy zaczynał mówić o zmianach klimatu, związanych z działalnością człowieka, sprzeciwiał się okrucieństwu wobec zwierząt (między innymi foie gras czy korridzie). Jasne, sam polował mieszkając na Grenlandii, ale widział różnice między polowaniem dla przeżycia, a krzywdą dla zabawy 🦭❄️🧭
Poślubił Inuitkę w czasach, gdy tych ludzi traktowano jak zwierzęta i przeprowadzano na nich eksperymenty, a potem dzięki książkom przybliżał ich życie codzienne i kulturę 🦭❄️🧭
I chociaż to biografia, zaufajcie mi, czyta się jak najlepszą przygodówkę w stylu Indiany Jonesa, tylko w zimnym klimacie, a strony same się przewracają, aż okazuje się, że to koniec 🦭❄️🧭
Jestem totalnie zakochana zarówno w postaci Petera, jak i samej książce, która jest jednym z moich ulubieńców roku (tak, wiem, wiem, mamy kwiecień) - będę wam ją polecać bardzo często, bo naprawdę warto 🦭❄️🧭
February 18, 2024
Man, that was a good one
March 30, 2024
Świetna, wciągająca, intrygująca biografia niezwykłego człowieka.
Dotyka wielu tematów i pobudza do sięgania po dalszą wiedzę, zgłębiania i odkrywania.
Dotyka wielu tematów i pobudza do sięgania po dalszą wiedzę, zgłębiania i odkrywania.
August 31, 2023
Absolute banger.
I mean, I knew it would be, because it's Peter Freuchen, but it was even better than I expected! Pretty harrowing at some points, over all just brilliant.
I mean, I knew it would be, because it's Peter Freuchen, but it was even better than I expected! Pretty harrowing at some points, over all just brilliant.
February 20, 2024
Great review of the life of the man in the portrait (Peter Freuchen). This has definitely piqued my interest for other adventurers of that Era. Especially, in regards to the north Arctic quests.
March 27, 2023
I read a lot about polar exploration, but this book is in a class by itself. You normally think of explorers in a completely bygone era, but Peter Freuchen's life (and adventures) kept going until 1957, so it sort of felt like a legend come to life. First he's exploring the Arctic, next he's rescuing Jewish refugees during World War II and writing screenplays in Hollywood. The author started with a thrilling life story, but his excellent writing really made this an exemplary biography. Biography lovers, rejoice.
October 19, 2023
Peter Feuchen (pronounced “Froy-ken” we are told on page 1) was born a little too late to fully participate in the heroic age of polar exploration. However, he did get in on the tail end of it but when his frostbitten left foot was amputated he regretfully and somewhat belatedly relegated himself to the sidelines. That got me to about page 300 with about 130 pages left. I parted company with the book at that point because I felt his transition to Hollywood screenwriter must have been ignominious and reading about it would be, as they say, a colossal bummer.
The writing is excellent and the story flows smoothly but to call Freuchen an explorer, especially in the subtitle is a bit hyperbolic. Also, as the author points out, Freuchen decried the decline of native Eskimo culture while through his own actions and even presence in Greenland, like many of the heroes of the American West, contributed to and perhaps even accelerated that decline.
The writing is excellent and the story flows smoothly but to call Freuchen an explorer, especially in the subtitle is a bit hyperbolic. Also, as the author points out, Freuchen decried the decline of native Eskimo culture while through his own actions and even presence in Greenland, like many of the heroes of the American West, contributed to and perhaps even accelerated that decline.
January 15, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Mariner Books for an advanced copy of this biography on an extraordinary man, his times adventures, loves, losses and lust for live and living.
As the world gets smaller so do the adventures. There aren't many places on Earth that remain unexplored, and if they are it is probably because of war, or just sheer difficulty of making a profit. Life changes quite quickly, which was noticed by the subject of this book. From being out in the wilderness of Greenland alone, with sketchy mail service that might be months late, to radios reaching the shore, to seeing the climate, cultural and physical landscape be altered in ways that he thought would take hundreds of years, but changed in his life time. Peter Freuchen saw quite a lot of the world, from trading furs to writing screenplays, and winning game shows. Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age by Reid Mitenbuler is a biography of a man who never settled for ordinary in life, his loves, his mistakes and in his many explorations.
Peter Freuchen was born in Denmark of parents who took a hands-off approach to parenting, teaching young Peter to think and do things independently, and to learn from his own mistakes. Tall, strong, good looking with a weird sense of humor, and a sense that life was more than he was seeing, he charmed his way into an early expedition of the far North, and never looked back. Freuchen fell in love with the people, literally, the land the climate, and the feeling that he was doing something important, even if he was alone on the ice for months at a time, slowly going a little batty. Working as a fur trader and explorer, Freuchen married, had children and was soon widowed. An long night on the ice cost him first toes, than a foot, but did nothing to stop him. Soon he was remarried, exploring the wilds of Canada, working in Hollywood and protecting refugees from the Nazis. And winning prizes on television game shows.
This is one of the biggest most interesting biographies about a man I had never heard of but know can't wait to tell others about. What a person, and what a life that was lived. Explorer, writer, screenwriter, actor, enemy to the Nazis, even interested in climate change. Freuchen had almost a Zelig-like life, knowing not only explorers, but Prime Ministers, directors, actors, other writers, and again being on the Nazi enemy list. Mitenbuler does an amazing job of telling and keeping the story on tract, really getting into the head of Freuchen and making readers care not only about him, but the people he cares about. The writing is very good, Mitenbuler never loses the narrative, nor does anything ever drag. Each page has fascinating facts and figures and really brings the world the Freuchen lived in to life. A very fascinating book.
This is the second book that I have read by Reid Mitenbuler and I really enjoyed it. A life in full captured well on paper, with a pace that makes it very hard to put the book down. Freuchen lived such a diverse life, that Mitenbuler had to know a little bit about a lot of things, and conveys that to the reader quite well. Recommended for people who like biographies on people who did great things, for fans of Arctic exploration, even fans of Hollywood and the making of films. This is the book you buy for someone that has a lot of interests and loves to learn more. A great Father's Day kind of book.
As the world gets smaller so do the adventures. There aren't many places on Earth that remain unexplored, and if they are it is probably because of war, or just sheer difficulty of making a profit. Life changes quite quickly, which was noticed by the subject of this book. From being out in the wilderness of Greenland alone, with sketchy mail service that might be months late, to radios reaching the shore, to seeing the climate, cultural and physical landscape be altered in ways that he thought would take hundreds of years, but changed in his life time. Peter Freuchen saw quite a lot of the world, from trading furs to writing screenplays, and winning game shows. Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age by Reid Mitenbuler is a biography of a man who never settled for ordinary in life, his loves, his mistakes and in his many explorations.
Peter Freuchen was born in Denmark of parents who took a hands-off approach to parenting, teaching young Peter to think and do things independently, and to learn from his own mistakes. Tall, strong, good looking with a weird sense of humor, and a sense that life was more than he was seeing, he charmed his way into an early expedition of the far North, and never looked back. Freuchen fell in love with the people, literally, the land the climate, and the feeling that he was doing something important, even if he was alone on the ice for months at a time, slowly going a little batty. Working as a fur trader and explorer, Freuchen married, had children and was soon widowed. An long night on the ice cost him first toes, than a foot, but did nothing to stop him. Soon he was remarried, exploring the wilds of Canada, working in Hollywood and protecting refugees from the Nazis. And winning prizes on television game shows.
This is one of the biggest most interesting biographies about a man I had never heard of but know can't wait to tell others about. What a person, and what a life that was lived. Explorer, writer, screenwriter, actor, enemy to the Nazis, even interested in climate change. Freuchen had almost a Zelig-like life, knowing not only explorers, but Prime Ministers, directors, actors, other writers, and again being on the Nazi enemy list. Mitenbuler does an amazing job of telling and keeping the story on tract, really getting into the head of Freuchen and making readers care not only about him, but the people he cares about. The writing is very good, Mitenbuler never loses the narrative, nor does anything ever drag. Each page has fascinating facts and figures and really brings the world the Freuchen lived in to life. A very fascinating book.
This is the second book that I have read by Reid Mitenbuler and I really enjoyed it. A life in full captured well on paper, with a pace that makes it very hard to put the book down. Freuchen lived such a diverse life, that Mitenbuler had to know a little bit about a lot of things, and conveys that to the reader quite well. Recommended for people who like biographies on people who did great things, for fans of Arctic exploration, even fans of Hollywood and the making of films. This is the book you buy for someone that has a lot of interests and loves to learn more. A great Father's Day kind of book.
April 1, 2024
Niesamowita historia człowieka, która całkowicie mną zawładnęła. To, aż niewiarygodne, ile może przeżyć jeden człowiek, który potrafi otworzyć się na przygodę, na drugiego człowieka, bez zbędnych uprzedzeń.
Słyszeliście kiedykolwiek o Peterze Freuchenie? Nie? Ja też nie, dopóki nie przeczytałam „Najciekawszego człowieka na świecie". Nie mogę wyjść z podziwu dla jego osobowości, dla jego dokonań. Mężczyzna porzucił zawód lekarza, aby zostać polarnikiem. W ekstremalnie trudnych warunkach brał udział w ekspedycjach, prowadził eksperymenty,zrobił mapy do nieodkrytych terenów Arktyki, a co najważniejsze pokochał Grenlandi�� jak własną ojczyznę, a to tylko część rzeczy, którymi zajmował się przez całe życie.
Autor biografii pisał o Freuchenie i jego zainteresowaniach z taką lekkością, że bezpowrotnie wciągnął mnie w życiorys mężczyzny. Wraz z nim odkrywałam tajemnice Arktyki, zwyczaje panujące dawniej wśród miejscowych zwanych Innuitami. Dzięki tej lekturze zdecydowanie poszerzyłam swoją wiedzę o tamtych rejonach, jak to wyglądało w czasach polarnika. Jeśli sięgnięcie po tę książkę, a mam nadzieję, że tak, przygotujcie się na drastyczne relacje, które bez ubarwień pokazują z czym musieli mierzyć się mieszkańcy. Nie raz walczyłam z trudnymi emocjami podczas lektury, jednocześnie rozumiejąc wybory Innuitów, które w naszym wieku byłyby nie do przyjęcia, tak jak niektóre z ich obyczajów.
Kolejnym plusem biografii jest mała ilość dat, dzięki czemu, czytanie nie jest tak przytłaczające oraz szeroki kontekst. Jeśli Freuchen brał w czymś udział, sytuacja była nakreślana z kilku stron, dzięki czemu wiedzieliśmy też o dalszych losach innych ludzi, bliskich Peterowi. Dawało to też obraz przemian jakie zachodziły na przestrzeni lat życia, a były one potężne. Mężczyzna przeżył dwie wojny światowe oraz m.in. był świadkiem przemian, które zachodziły w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Co najważniejsze w każdej sytuacji potrafił się odnaleźć, chociaż życie, gnane żądzą przygód, go nie oszczędziło.
Lekkim minusem były nieliczne literówki, które choć nie pojawiały się zbyt często i nie zakłócały odbioru tekstu, stanowiły powód mojej lekkiej irytacji. Niektóre wydarzenia opisane w książce, również się powtarzały, jakby autor nie do końca był pewien, czy czytelnik pamięta to, o czym pisał wcześniej. Z jednej strony dobrze czasami przypomnieć niektóre kwestie, zwłaszcza przy tak obszernej lekturze, jednak dla mnie, a pamięć do treści mam raczej dobrą, również było to drobnym zgrzytem, ale to już kwestia moich osobistych preferencji.
Reasumując jestem absolutnie zachwycona lekturą, dostarczyła mi wiedzy, poszerzyła horyzonty, wprowadziła mnie w fascynujące życie człowieka, niezwykle utalentowanego, odważnego. Jako osoba nieprzekonana do końca do biografii jako gatunku ( w swoim życiu łącznie z tą przeczytałam 3) z całego serca polecam wam tę książkę, nie będziecie się mogli od niej oderwać! A jeśli będzie wam mało tego wybitnego podróżnika na końcu książki znajdują się przypisy, które odeślą was do materiałów źródłowych, z których będziecie mogli wyczytać więcej ☺️.
Słyszeliście kiedykolwiek o Peterze Freuchenie? Nie? Ja też nie, dopóki nie przeczytałam „Najciekawszego człowieka na świecie". Nie mogę wyjść z podziwu dla jego osobowości, dla jego dokonań. Mężczyzna porzucił zawód lekarza, aby zostać polarnikiem. W ekstremalnie trudnych warunkach brał udział w ekspedycjach, prowadził eksperymenty,zrobił mapy do nieodkrytych terenów Arktyki, a co najważniejsze pokochał Grenlandi�� jak własną ojczyznę, a to tylko część rzeczy, którymi zajmował się przez całe życie.
Autor biografii pisał o Freuchenie i jego zainteresowaniach z taką lekkością, że bezpowrotnie wciągnął mnie w życiorys mężczyzny. Wraz z nim odkrywałam tajemnice Arktyki, zwyczaje panujące dawniej wśród miejscowych zwanych Innuitami. Dzięki tej lekturze zdecydowanie poszerzyłam swoją wiedzę o tamtych rejonach, jak to wyglądało w czasach polarnika. Jeśli sięgnięcie po tę książkę, a mam nadzieję, że tak, przygotujcie się na drastyczne relacje, które bez ubarwień pokazują z czym musieli mierzyć się mieszkańcy. Nie raz walczyłam z trudnymi emocjami podczas lektury, jednocześnie rozumiejąc wybory Innuitów, które w naszym wieku byłyby nie do przyjęcia, tak jak niektóre z ich obyczajów.
Kolejnym plusem biografii jest mała ilość dat, dzięki czemu, czytanie nie jest tak przytłaczające oraz szeroki kontekst. Jeśli Freuchen brał w czymś udział, sytuacja była nakreślana z kilku stron, dzięki czemu wiedzieliśmy też o dalszych losach innych ludzi, bliskich Peterowi. Dawało to też obraz przemian jakie zachodziły na przestrzeni lat życia, a były one potężne. Mężczyzna przeżył dwie wojny światowe oraz m.in. był świadkiem przemian, które zachodziły w Stanach Zjednoczonych. Co najważniejsze w każdej sytuacji potrafił się odnaleźć, chociaż życie, gnane żądzą przygód, go nie oszczędziło.
Lekkim minusem były nieliczne literówki, które choć nie pojawiały się zbyt często i nie zakłócały odbioru tekstu, stanowiły powód mojej lekkiej irytacji. Niektóre wydarzenia opisane w książce, również się powtarzały, jakby autor nie do końca był pewien, czy czytelnik pamięta to, o czym pisał wcześniej. Z jednej strony dobrze czasami przypomnieć niektóre kwestie, zwłaszcza przy tak obszernej lekturze, jednak dla mnie, a pamięć do treści mam raczej dobrą, również było to drobnym zgrzytem, ale to już kwestia moich osobistych preferencji.
Reasumując jestem absolutnie zachwycona lekturą, dostarczyła mi wiedzy, poszerzyła horyzonty, wprowadziła mnie w fascynujące życie człowieka, niezwykle utalentowanego, odważnego. Jako osoba nieprzekonana do końca do biografii jako gatunku ( w swoim życiu łącznie z tą przeczytałam 3) z całego serca polecam wam tę książkę, nie będziecie się mogli od niej oderwać! A jeśli będzie wam mało tego wybitnego podróżnika na końcu książki znajdują się przypisy, które odeślą was do materiałów źródłowych, z których będziecie mogli wyczytać więcej ☺️.
March 17, 2023
Interesting book. I was unfamiliar with Danish explorer Peter Freuchen but intrigued by the image on the cover; a giant furball! He was 6’5” tall and an unconventional, free spirit type of guy who loved the outdoors. He was going to study medicine, but instead took the opportunity to work on a boat headed Greenland in 1906 (then a Danish colony). He was entranced and intrigued by the polar north. The poles were the explorer’s objective at the turn of the 20th century. Robert Peary discovered the North pole in 1909 and Amundsen discovers the South pole in 1911. Freuchen sets up the Thule trading post with fellow explorer Knud Rasmussen in 1910. Freuchen was fascinated by the Inuit people inhabiting Greenland. Rasmussen was Danish/Inuit and they were accepted into the Inuit population in north Greenland. Freuchen eventually marries an Inuit woman. He had more of an anthropological interest Inuit culture, beliefs and practices. They had a subsistence hunting culture for nutrition; seals, walruses, polar bears, narwals among other artic animals. Peary took some Inuit home with him—most of them died from western diseases, but a young Inuit boy survived the “experiment” and eventually returns to Greenland. He never felt fully connected to either culture. He lives with Freuchen for a while in Greenland. SPL has a DVD about the boy titled Minick. Freuchen served as a local guide for Artic explorers coming to north Greenland (he was fluent in the local dialect). He eventually returns to Denmark with his Inuit wife after one exploration left him frozen outdoors and he had to cut off his frostbitten toes (his foot is eventually amputated.) He finds employment back home and abroad as a public speaker and writer. His Inuit wife dies in Denmark, leaving him with two children whom he needs to support. He realizes his exploration days are probably over because of peg leg/foot. He eventually finds employment in Hollywood with MGM writing a film script titled Eskimo. He remarries a Danish woman and continues his writing and speaking and during WWII works with the Danish resistance movement. He eventually returns to Greenland after the war to find the U.S. building a huge airbase in his former hometown of Thule. His beloved Greenland is essentially gone or changed into a different world. He returns to the U.S. and wins the television game show the $64,000 question. Overall, the book covers an interesting man, an interesting era of discovery and exploration and is an interesting read.
“Finally, one indulges in a dream of endless travel from star to star.” Soren Kierkegaard (1843) p. 245
“Finally, one indulges in a dream of endless travel from star to star.” Soren Kierkegaard (1843) p. 245
April 28, 2023
This stunning biography about Peter Freuchen—explorer, author, and relentless survivor—is a terrific read. It is remarkable—the brutal conditions that Freuchen endured when exploring and living in Greenland in the early 1900s. Though the writing of the book at times felt flat and dry, the first half of the book is fabulous; it describes the expeditions within Greenland of Freuchen and his friend and fellow explorer, Knud Rasmussen. One of which was to establish a trading post, the Thule Trading Station, for the Inuit people in Cape York, Greenland. Ethically, this challenged both men in different ways. For Freuchen, it was the Inuit's disregard for established prices (for trade) as fair — they often paid more for items, like a knife, that they deemed valuable. This is the kind of interesting aspect of the Inuit cultures of Greenland discussed in the book. Another was how the Inuit regarded marriage and sex—vastly different from Western values.
What made the book were the quotes taken directly from the explorers’ journals and writings (which Mitenbuler relied on extensively). I felt a sense of the brutal conditions and loneliness of the sparsely inhabited North by reading passages like this one:
Rasmussen worried that everyone would be "… swallowed by bleak loneliness. There is a seriousness about these vast wastelands that involuntarily creeps into one’s mind. Hour after hour without hearing any sound, without seeing any living thing, and you work in these solemn surroundings so long that you sort and wince at the sound of your own footsteps." (P 124)
Freuchen’s later life was quite different from the loneliness of Greenland. He traveled extensively, held lectures and talks about his adventures and the Inuit cultures, and wrote several books. He also became embroiled in Hollywood via his writings, which doesn't appear to have enhanced Freuchen’s life in any way. He worked as an advisor for many films about the Arctic and the Inuit people, including "Eskimo". This 1933 film was about the life of an Eskimo who is changed and ruined after meeting an English trader. Freuchen had a small role in the film as a ship’s captain. The film has echoes of Freuchen’s life.
Wanderlust is a fine read that gives insight into the vast and unique island within the Kingdom of Denmark—Greenland—its culture, geography, and history through the eyes of someone who knew it well.
What made the book were the quotes taken directly from the explorers’ journals and writings (which Mitenbuler relied on extensively). I felt a sense of the brutal conditions and loneliness of the sparsely inhabited North by reading passages like this one:
Rasmussen worried that everyone would be "… swallowed by bleak loneliness. There is a seriousness about these vast wastelands that involuntarily creeps into one’s mind. Hour after hour without hearing any sound, without seeing any living thing, and you work in these solemn surroundings so long that you sort and wince at the sound of your own footsteps." (P 124)
Freuchen’s later life was quite different from the loneliness of Greenland. He traveled extensively, held lectures and talks about his adventures and the Inuit cultures, and wrote several books. He also became embroiled in Hollywood via his writings, which doesn't appear to have enhanced Freuchen’s life in any way. He worked as an advisor for many films about the Arctic and the Inuit people, including "Eskimo". This 1933 film was about the life of an Eskimo who is changed and ruined after meeting an English trader. Freuchen had a small role in the film as a ship’s captain. The film has echoes of Freuchen’s life.
Wanderlust is a fine read that gives insight into the vast and unique island within the Kingdom of Denmark—Greenland—its culture, geography, and history through the eyes of someone who knew it well.
April 25, 2023
This is the kind of book that can be enjoyed by both by random people who love a good adventure story (think: what to get your distant uncle for Christmas) and by serious fans of exploration and early twentieth-century history. I fall more into the latter category, but I liked the book mostly as a window into human life. It fell a little short for me as an epic account of this adventurous guy - some chapters hit the mark (his time in Canada!) but others showed just how banal and NOT unusual his life and circumstances were. A lot of his life was just being a dude with marital issues trying to get famous, struggling through paperwork and money issues. In some ways he was exceptional, but many of the side characters in his story were equally exceptional - it seems he had a fairly normal life for a certain type of person at the time. I'm not convinced that he was (as many Freuchen fans claims) the real "most interesting man in the world."
I do think it is an excellent biography. Freuchen's life doesn't make a perfectly paced, satisfying narrative, because real human lives just don't, but also because Freuchen in particular did so many random things that are hard to tie together. I think Mitenbuler took the right approach focusing on how "explorer" was not just his field of work, it was his approach to life: constant restlessness, a hunger for acclaim, a need to test himself against the unknown, a hard-earned respect for nature and different peoples. The book did an impressive job of describing Freuchen as a respectful and genuine participant in Inuit culture without trying to gloss over some of his racist and colonialist attitudes that would be absolutely unacceptable today. I was left with the impression that Freuchen's views on Indigenous peoples and colonial intervention were complicated, often didn't line up with modern truisms, and are hard to assess as good/bad, correct/incorrect. It's only clear that his opinions were shaped by life experiences and so are an interesting part of his life story.
I do think it is an excellent biography. Freuchen's life doesn't make a perfectly paced, satisfying narrative, because real human lives just don't, but also because Freuchen in particular did so many random things that are hard to tie together. I think Mitenbuler took the right approach focusing on how "explorer" was not just his field of work, it was his approach to life: constant restlessness, a hunger for acclaim, a need to test himself against the unknown, a hard-earned respect for nature and different peoples. The book did an impressive job of describing Freuchen as a respectful and genuine participant in Inuit culture without trying to gloss over some of his racist and colonialist attitudes that would be absolutely unacceptable today. I was left with the impression that Freuchen's views on Indigenous peoples and colonial intervention were complicated, often didn't line up with modern truisms, and are hard to assess as good/bad, correct/incorrect. It's only clear that his opinions were shaped by life experiences and so are an interesting part of his life story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews