The Last Viking

The Life of Roald Amundsen

By: Stephen R. Bown

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

The Last Viking unravels the life of the man who stands head and shoulders above all those who raced to map the last corners of the world. In 1900, the four great geographical mysteries - the Northwest Passage, the Northeast Passage, the South Pole, and the North Pole - remained blank spots on the globe. Within twenty years Roald Amundsen would claim all four prizes. Renowned for his determination and technical skills, both feared and beloved by his men, Amundsen is a legend of the heroic age of exploration, which shortly thereafter would be tamed by technology, commerce, and publicity. Fted in his lifetime as an international celebrity, pursued by women and creditors, he died in the Arctic on a rescue mission for an inept rival explorer.Stephen R. Bown has unearthed archival material to give Amundsen’s life the grim immediacy of Apsley Cherry-Garrard’s The Worst Journey in the World, the exciting detail of The Endurance, and the suspense of a Jon Krakauer tale. The Last Viking is both a thrilling literary biography and a cracking good story.

©2012 Stephen R. Bown (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

A fascinating man

Would you consider the audio edition of The Last Viking to be better than the print version?

Audio is the only version of this book I've experienced.

What other book might you compare The Last Viking to and why?

Searching my mind for a comparison, the only things I come up with are fiction.

What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His lovely, strong voice.

Any additional comments?

After the first evening I spent listening to this book, I went to YouTube and watched everything I could find about Roald Amundsen. That led to searches on Scott and Perrie, and of course, Shackelton - whose story I already knew. IMHO, Amundsen and Shackelton are a breed apart.

A man to be admired

What an amazing story of an incredible life. I have read extensively about Mawson, Shackleton and Scott but I was compelled to read this because of a recent trip to Norway. It is an excellent read and performance of an extraordinary life.

Amazing explorer

I found this to be a very interesting book on the life of this amazing and sometimes understood polar explorer. This goes in the great depth and also places the political history around some of these explorations I felt the narrator did a very good job in this book is well

Enjoyable and worth the listen

Multiple adventure stories in one book! I enjoyed how it covers not just the race for the south pole but all his accomplishments as well as failures. I also find it interesting how he is viewed in much different light today (at least in the English speaking world) than he was at the time of his major achievements. He is not the villain or protagonist that many reporters of his time made him out to be especially when compared to Robert Falcon Scott.

An extraordinary life

a compelling narrative full of excitement and adventure in a detailed and descriptive historical setting.