Shortly after his death in 1957, "The New York Times" obituary
of Peter Freuchen noted that "except for Richard E. Byrd, and
despite his foreign beginnings, Freuchen was perhaps better known
to more people in the United States than any other explorer of our
time." During his lifetime, Freuchen's remarkable adventures
related in his books, magazine articles, and films, made him a
legend. In 1910, Freuchen, along with his friend and business
partner, Knud Rasmussen, the renowned polar explorer, founded
Thule-a Greenland Inuit trading post and village only 800 miles
from the North Pole.
Freuchen lived in Thule for fifteen years, adopting the ways of
the natives. He married an Inuit woman, and together they had two
children. Freuchen went on many expeditions, quite a few of which
he barely survived, suffering frostbite, snow blindness, and
starvation. Near the North Pole there is no such thing as an easy
and safe outing.
In "Arctic Adventure" Freuchen writes of polar bear hunts, of
meeting Eskimos who had resorted to cannibalism during a severe
famine, and of the thrill of seeing the sun after three months of
winter darkness. Trained as a journalist before he headed north,
Freuchen is a fine writer and great storyteller (he won an Oscar
for his feature film script of Eskimo). He writes about the Inuit
with genuine respect and affection, describing their stoicism
amidst hardship, their spiritual beliefs, their ingenious methods
of surviving in a harsh environment, their humor and joy in the
face of danger and difficulties, and the social politics behind
such customs as "wife-trading." While his experiences make this
book a page-turner, Freuchen's warmth, self-deprecating wit,
writing skill and anthropological observations make this book a
literary stand out.
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