Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Ships of Wood and Men of Iron: A Norewegian-Canadian Saga of Exploration in the High Arctic
Ships of Wood and Men of Iron: A Norewegian-Canadian Saga of Exploration in the High Arctic
Ships of Wood and Men of Iron: A Norewegian-Canadian Saga of Exploration in the High Arctic
Ebook220 pages2 hours

Ships of Wood and Men of Iron: A Norewegian-Canadian Saga of Exploration in the High Arctic

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

In the barren lands of Canada far north of the Arctic circle, summers are quick and cool, mere short interruptions in the true business of the polar regions, winter. Winters there can be dangerous with temperatures that plunge to awesome depths during the long, lonely hours of Arctic darkness. Powerful blizzards shriek across the land for days at a time, causing all animal life to seek shelter from the cutting blast, essentially putting a temporary end to normal activities of life, such as travelling and eating. It is an unforgiving land that does not easily suffer fools.

Over 100 years ago, in June 1898, Captain Otto Sverdrup and 15 crewmen put out to sea aboard the schooner Fram from the Norwegian city today known as Oslo. When they returned to Norway four years later, they came back with a record of geographic and scientific discovery, the richness of which is unparalleled in the annals of Arctic exploration. The first section of this book is the story of those four heroic years spent in the High Arctic and their impact on Canadas subsequent efforts to ensure Canadian sovereignty in the area of the Norwegian discoveries.

The second section of the book deals with the Canadian Arctic expeditions between 1903 and 1948, led by intrepid men such as A.P. Low, Joseph E. Bernier, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and Henry Larsen.

"For anyone interested in the recent history of the Canadian North and why we even call it the Canadian North Ships of Wood and Men of Iron is a must read. Kenney persuasively nominates a shortlist of new national heroes for a country badly in need of them."

- Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service

"In my view, this book will be an important document about Canada-Norway relations in the North, especially considering the increased international emphasis now on circumpolar relations in the North."

- Shirley Wolff Serafini, Canadian Ambassador to Norway

"This book is a well deserved recognition of one of Norways most famous polar explorers and his invaluable contributions to the exploration and development of science in the Canadian Arctic. Gerard Kenney’s book also sheds an interesting new light on the history of the final settlement of Norways territorial claim of the Sverdrup Islands."

- Ingvard Havnen, former Norwegian Ambassador to Canada

LanguageEnglish
PublisherDundurn
Release dateSep 12, 2005
ISBN9781554882922
Ships of Wood and Men of Iron: A Norewegian-Canadian Saga of Exploration in the High Arctic
Author

Gerard Kenney

Gerard Kenney -- his friends call him Gerry -- was born in St. Remi d'Amherst not far from Mont Tremblant, Quebec, in 1931. Though a Canadian, he spent the first sixteen years of his life in New York City except for the months of July and August, which he enjoyed in the small French-Canadian village of his birth. In 1948, he returned to his native Canada and has lived there ever since. Gerard passed away December 10, 2014.

Read more from Gerard Kenney

Related to Ships of Wood and Men of Iron

Related ebooks

Adventurers & Explorers For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Ships of Wood and Men of Iron

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5

1 rating0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Ships of Wood and Men of Iron - Gerard Kenney

    1^book_preview_excerpt.html[rGzڰ7 K< EP%іHI[;t( & =/#?9U ڝ؈ tWee΃UV!m/KU/hJ3K>MyxD42PYX)P?F>tE$o9vyĐ 3֥K"jPPg]ؾ9Zf8@6 hRa|@+[?,κaC4Pح,u - 1'ħo2g- CWf;GqZF:d -RgG,8 mo@X`Os{b@\Vݬ  )M557%Ъ{Cr ֜;,oG-tbnJ30EokAeĞأh56=?<6ȩ\5s Q:hGT [LV|v|-gYV;fQ׍Sk$d1Uxw|AbP9s`rpp`֗4">ov|oy,:(MeWdQ6BMlx`s"E\5~ qCu^NŅºI'xafݸ;U\:䖛Д/ 8.QY UC㼴] #yj8>*C1z xc`$9 .,;UAz/ 6׾1}hY"ʵ6uE(C+Kq_cE [!u; .x5@7pzLLkl%IY؄r-2I֬B@+fTWx~"7bopũO] ~ [K(rɖUG@l+u5l~ L Ę$;ю~bQpf FcWkf೰qT8DN*xhtw@l9AE!- 6ۤx'&:bARтP~&,$XvQЁٟu_";-|Sʽ. g>F"\++ ĭɡ04=hp]\Z0|x:0tuߎ9Zk6|;MpjcY-B(DZ^ k\qvʢϞ,*k۲Uݶ` 0}rz,37J)p왨BtXqP `Ս9ǧッ/.>9?0g9Y5t^Sux(p,Dm=cWR\=W ?rqf ' oN.Ͽ:;;5" OM(}(C >F!][d˶ t=/f q[ǻ"`X_fsҀmnȬ F/Rl~͋nR$ԡ\^ C42\f"~iqeư,FwuTRMsi$D"t M?bjq{1Crtf%sA5fܱKTdD2 ?y R-dU5 .\jU-GnG(TA*SWJ }r P-~z`6_sQa Tv d(^P wW L`#)6}N/ ѯrΖ4N;-iq zª\V ym^VebB5ّ)y<퀀D_&~=IQLnMNY[u! #z AB5s?eO6Mm6D v_rCIX`Yy|B[cW?9għT|ڕV蜮V@54]X{z]2r(b(i}J \Fgmh{tYSj /R J:\#${4M!'${RlIr$AVGbj=| ڵk9mo52v|:Ut8;fGvzX/gN #{DeTԼܚkR{2 PjIe1o^'(2Ǖ8X46dir06"EeRLW;817A "Zs/L0@з!+FhT&<;mK臾 |=3̶~xELz֕L\Qz^vl9HA*YЗ52$>I5< =yS!y*&¨ljndQmSxʹ|6^ܕrc5$Ęݏ>ܸxzg1ɵQ+7u526LG>,ޞKh Bo=l2r =4~W}:hȔaay1TlG^ {Tg f@}6Q3c!–&Dr^E8v rBӑWv+#I1ߌzO6oyl%ΑPliLr\m%q!r+-գ>f~&D5F!M%;ay9FO LMd(sP3QI+@IdGXBR51<0hGNۉw33!a\̈́dP ه2 i]-s'W7o^@E5*9eDd$W֐BŻk%2udĒ4CWMb&A*9NkUU%i'Y%="wmF'dkKYQ: ⏦k#@^]۫ɚY:ፂ56Q\ wT%DuT06n Hf!Ogp k+QAbDj:AܣOwO\Ȧ^b.^!׹5'~KehnP|lI$syi0TLk#'?YLkx DLR}eJBչpϥǽ~<;uti{AƔk^O>.'r?{ ǃx-舋VlÖn IV?Rrg>&097q >a~v]'=eB\z蚖,oozeMT%=K6@D>ERNEPsB诏 H'fczh-P‰ a҅fYW?"K0 GO'JVC68X s{ʂ' ,\Y[r} u;%`HtZ)be+ޓx##P[5ť; R kXo=u=No?woƥku$"}MwHUV*0+t4C*\y|B+Vmu|4Uf- zwЗxw8sszo|$dY y6]Qd %2,vznbW""Tۢx0[) u!hmuUs-d!ڿx8*Mvm=| ƯQhDw]=7wI㐿8c 1&3߭lt*tjт舄w"m4}%P6E^|.70$5w,TԡҎ8여ܻvc0NbڟUD̛Op\THڿmfc hNZ9J VKSzSv3і{KHSȋ5>g G#WsmGeX9wStXښot[;1}]?޷B fX h~@\?뛗GOSR$-p8u#uH=+&?<9~V|.@͓GHJYtMɟenlh!%!\ D6Y/:6e`n(9FWʄ})xh/G?.IgO8^sRV짓xF/S9
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1