Review by Choice Review
The author of this new comprehensive study of Admiral Byrd writes with authority. In 1963 Rodgers became a public imformation officer for the US Antarctic Research Program. Research on Byrd began in that year but Rodgers came up against a veil of secrecy that had been woven around the explorer, whose supporters would not tolerate close evaluation of the man himself. Based on much new material, including private papers now lodged at Ohio State University, the book reveals that Byrd was not the superhero that his relatives and friends claimed. Byrd was not one to reject challenge. In 1926 he undertook a flight to the North Pole and was planning a trans-Atlantic flight when word reached him that Lindbergh had landed in Paris. Still, Byrd and crew flew to Paris in 1927. He hankered above all for exploration and after much preparation and frustration he set off with his large party for Antarctica in late 1928. His ship reached floating ice in December, and by year's end, the site of Little America had been selected. Conflicts within the group, however, dogged Byrd and the expedition; there were also the inevitable natural hazards. Rodgers suggests that Byrd was not in fact an outstanding navigator, that quite possibly he hated to fly and may not have been on the flight that discovered Marie Byrd Land. Still, on his return to New York, Byrd was given a hero's welcome and the legend began. Byrd, however, deserves, as the book points out, credit for his skills at organization and planning. Above all, the account does not detract from Byrd as much as it demythologizes him. Extensive chapter notes and a select bibliography, including archival materials and other papers. Sixteen pages of photos. College, university, and public libraries. -W. A. D. Jackson, University of Washington
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
This specialized but outstanding volume tells the story of Admiral Richard E. Byrd's first ~antarctic expedition in the late 1920s. The text makes clear that Byrd was a major antarctic pioneer and a brave man but also abrasive, nearly an alcoholic, and often less than truthful about his own achievements. This is both a major addition to the history of American polar exploration and proof that a "revisionist" biography can still be done to the highest standards of scholarship and readability. For larger history collections. Notes, bibliography; index. ~--Roland Green
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
The ``plaster saint'' image of American polar explorer Richard E. Byrd, one of the great icons of the hero-worshipping 1920s, has been chipped away at in such books as Finn Ronne's Antarctica, My Destiny ( LJ 12/15/79) and David Roberts's Great Exploration Hoaxes (LJ 11/1/82). Now it has been shattered by free-lance author and Antarctica veteran Rodgers. Byrd was a man who ``measured against other leaders . . . comes out well,'' but who failed to live up to the image of perfection that he himself created. Byrd's demytholization shouldn't distract readers from the well-researched account of his 1928-31 Antarctic expedition, a notable achievement recounted in serviceable if uninspired prose. For readers of detailed accounts of polar exploration.-- J.F. Husband, Framingham State Coll. Lib., Mass. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
For those who thrill to the courage and foolhardiness of exploits on the ice caps, there is a new adventure waiting. Rodgers had access to recently opened private papers and utilizes these sources to bring immediacy and insight to his subject. Admiral Byrd is revealed as a much more complex character than the saint who wooed the nation for support for his explorations. Not all the Byrd inconsistencies are resolved, but the story is nevertheless fascinating. Collections that admit only one arctic adventure should have Roland Huntford's Scott and Amundsen (Atheneum, 1984; o.p.), but this is a good addition. --Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Superb reconstruction of Admiral Richard E. Byrd's 1929-30 expedition to the Bottom of the World, including a sensitive reevaluation of the famed explorer. Rodgers, a former public information officer for the US Antarctic Research Program, wastes no time stripping the gold foil off his subject's iconlike image: Byrd ""often misstated the facts to suit his purposes,"" we learn in the introduction; the brilliantly researched pages that follow (based in part on Byrd's just released private papers) underscore this assessment, revealing the legendary explorer to be a clumsy navigator, a poor pilot, a narcissist, a control freak, an alcohol abuser, and, Rodgers strongly suggests, a cheat--as when the Admiral stole a subordinate's discovery of a new Antarctic peak and claimed it as his own. At the same time, Rodgers makes it clear that Byrd was a skilled showman and a leader who ""certainly got the job done."" This last comment seems de rigueur in light of Byrd's spectacular Antarctic achievements, most notably the founding of Little America and first flight over the South Pole. These triumphs and others (as when Byrd dove into icy waters to save a drowning crewman) help turn this book into a gripping tale of high adventure, in which men's foibles--even Byrd's inexcusable lapses of leadership--become part of the harsh, danger-ladened landscape. Meticulous descriptions of pre-WW II Antarctic daily life--including innumerable rowdy parties, politely overlooked by most other historians--provide an invaluable, sometimes groundbreaking backdrop. The ""Barrier"" of the title usually refers to Antarctica's massive perimeter wall of ice, which the Byrd expedition pierced. Here, it presumably also signifies the barrier of invincibility around the Admiral. Kudos to Rodgers for celebrating the former (""a white wall stretching across the entire ocean from east to west"") and destroying the latter. This is heady, revolutionary polar history. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by School Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
