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Michael Smith (3) (1946–)

Autor(a) de An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor

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10 Works 432 Membros 11 Críticas

About the Author

Michael Smith has been a business and political journalist in Britain for thirty years, working for national newspapers such as the Guardian and The Observer. Smith's fascination with Tom Crean began when, as a schoolboy, he read of Scott's ill-fated final expedition. He decided to write his mostrar mais biography when he met Teddy Evans' granddaughter. "I'm only here because of Tom Crean," she told him. Smith now writes full-time on polar history and currently lives in London mostrar menos

Obras por Michael Smith

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Outros nomes
Smith, Mick
Data de nascimento
1946
Sexo
male
Nacionalidade
Ireland

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Michael Smith is an author and journalist who specialises in the history of Polar exploration. He has written books on Polar history for adult audiences and children, lectured extensively and contributed to a wide range of television and radio programmes, newspapers, magazines and websites.

Michael’s first book, An Unsung Hero – Tom Crean Antarctic Survivor (2000) was short-listed for the Banff Mountain Book Festival 2002. His other books are: I Am Just Going Outside – Captain Oates (2002); Sir James Wordie – Polar Crusader (2004); Captain Francis Crozier – Last Man Standing? (2006); Tom Crean – An Illustrated Life (2006) was shortlisted for the Irish Published Book of the Year 2007. He has also written two books for children: Tom Crean – Iceman (2003); Shackleton – The Boss (2004).

Michael is regular public speaker on Polar history and has given talks at many leading venues, including:
MERSEYSIDE MARITIME MUSEUM, Liverpool;
NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL, Falmouth;
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND, Dublin;
QUEENS UNIVERSITY, Belfast;
ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, London;
SCOTT POLAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Cambridge;
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE CORK, Cork.

Michael is a regular visitor to schools and libraries and has frequently participated in the annual Children's Book Festival, Ireland and other events aimed at younger readers.

Michael began writing books in the late 1990s after more than 30 years as an award-winning journalist covering business and political issues. His posts included: Industrial Editor and Political Correspondent, The Guardian; City Editor, Evening Standard; Business Editor, The Observer.

http://www.micksmith.co.uk/about-the-...

Membros

Críticas

An accessible read that gives the spotlight to a long-neglected explorer. It will help to have some familiarity with the British Empire of this time period.

That said. I wanted to like this more given my current hyper fixation and the fun anecdotes from the JCR exploration era, but the heavy handed, speculative "Crozier was pining after Sofia Cracroft" thesis (that the book even concludes with) falls flat.

There also aren't nearly as many citations as there should be in such a biography and I have no idea what the sources are for many of the stories, as delightful as some of them are.

I found the frequent jabs at weight and hairlines unnecessary.

I was also disappointed that the updated chapters in this revised edition didn't focus nearly as much on the discovery of the ships as I was expecting.

So, a mixed bag here. Should you have it in your polar library? Given the dearth of Crozier bios, I would say yes; I only wish I could be more enthusiastic.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
TheKroog | 1 outra crítica | Oct 18, 2023 |
The story mostly revolves around the under-recognized explorer, Francis Crozier, an Irishman and member of the Royal Navy, who during the 19th century made over 5 polar expeditions. Crozier’s character was discussed at some length, fairly and without a great deal of partiality though it had been suggested that he didn't take the place he deserved in Arctic exploration history because of his humble beginnings. Franklin, on the other hand, was almost Crozier's exact opposite. Franklin’s various ventures had never ended well, and although genial, friendly and popular he was clearly not the seaman that Crozier was, his Arctic experience was woefully out of date, and he was an overweight 59 years old, which was years older than 59 would be considered today. It seems, as the author writes, that Franklin was given command of the expedition because everyone "felt sorry" for him following his unpleasant time and unfair treatment as Governor of Tasmania, combined with the relentless lobbying of his formidable wife. I think she just wanted him out of her way. Another individual was given the task of choosing the crew and outfitting the ship which turned out to be a very bad choice when he appointed Franklin as second in command. Over the nearly 180 years the "WHAT IF'S" have made more than one round though several generations of seamen. Would things have turned out different if Crozier had had more command and authority, or if a different route had been chosen? We will never know. Papers found later described all the trouble they ran into with the storms and the ice, the damage to one of the supply ships that had to be cut loose. Fritzjames, the man allowed to pick the crew and set the route had no Arctic experience whatsoever and neither did most of the men he chose. Can we say, "disaster going somewhere to happen"? The reader will find no stunning insights because Crozier wasn't a man to leave emotional materials behind, but the author did his homework and gathered enough of his letters and traces that we can get a genuine feel for the man. Although I watched The Terror when it was televised, this book is as far from my reading interest as the Earth is from the sun...but I found that I truly enjoyed the adventure and seeing Francis Crozier get his well-earned rewards even if they were over 100 years late.… (mais)
 
Assinalado
Carol420 | 1 outra crítica | Mar 2, 2022 |
Shackleton's life is dealt with deftly and concisely in Michael Smith's book. However, I'd already read Roland Huntford's 'Shackleton' which I found more engaging and more detailed. I didn't feel that Smith's new biography had much to add to the story Huntford had already told.
 
Assinalado
Raggybaggy | Jun 21, 2016 |
Author Caroline Alexander described Tom Crean as "a man who would perservere until the very bitter end”. His Antarctic exploits have been amply covered in dozens, likely even hundreds, of previous accounts of Antarctic exploration, and apart from these, not much of interest is known about him. Crean wrote next to nothing down, never gave interviews, and was, when it came to describing his own adventures, terse in the extreme.

Michael Smith does not let these facts deter him from writing a Tom Crean biography, and while he has written an entertaining book, it consists largely of general recaps of the two failed Scott expeditions and the aborted Shackleton transantarctic expedition. For those who are familiar with these stories, there is likely not much new here. It is the same old foolishness: Scott and Shackleton create colossal cockups that result in appalling misery and worse for their crews. Shackleton, at least, was as gifted at getting out of messes as he was at getting into them. Crean's feats are lightly interspersed throughout, and though there is some information about his life before and after Antarctica, it is fairly mundane.

For the most part Smith toes the British line with regard to this “heroic” age of Antarctic exploration, failing to strongly call out leaders like Shackleton and Scott for expedition plans and tactics that inevitably placed men like Crean in harrowing situations. There are few equivalents of these Tom Crean stories from Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole. How could there be? Amundsen made sure that his men were warm, well fed, rested, and that they had the right tools for the job: dogs and skis.

That this book does little to unwrap this enigmatic rock of a man is fitting. Unlike Shackleton and Scott, who were their own greatest apologists, all we have of Crean are his deeds, and this seems somehow to be just about right.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
maritimer | 3 outras críticas | Mar 7, 2015 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
10
Membros
432
Popularidade
#56,591
Avaliação
4.2
Críticas
11
ISBN
442
Línguas
7

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