The Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island

Book Description

For more than a decade, author-photographer Jerry Kobalenko has traced the roots of explorers, Inuits, and famous Mounties, and broken many new trails across the amazing frozen terrain of the Arctic’s Ellesmere Island. He recounts the rivalries, the challenges, and the disasters that befell his predecessors in the 1800s, from starvation to ration thefts, executions to cannibalism.

Customer Reviews:

Wow!.......2006-02-10

It's been a few years since I've read this, but wow! Amazing

Kobalenko reads a lot up in the tundra, and it shows in his literary style. The book is a pleasure to read.

A fine read.......2002-07-27

Years ago as a child I rad something about Ellesmere Island in a magazine and thought about what a forbidding but fascinating place it must be. Reading this book made it clear that my long-ago opinion of Ellesmere was not mere childhood fantasy but the plain truth. Jerry Kobalenko makes one of the most remote places in the world much more accessible to one's imagination, even if physically getting there remains a costly challenge. Ellesmere truly is a remarkable place, and the author manages to convey his sense of awe in a way that readers far away in more hospitable climes can grasp. He also has an ability to weave travelogue and history together almost seamlessly, in a way that very few authors can. Speaking of history, the account of the ill-fated Green expedition of the 1880's is by itself almost worth the price of the book. Just the thought of being reduced to eating bird droppings and candle wax for survival is almost beyond comprehension.
My only minor criticism is that the map of Ellesmere is not as detailed as it could have been. But let me emphasize, it's a minor point. I recommend this book very highly.

The Arctic for Armchair Adventurers.......2002-04-02

It is fun to read about what makes Jerry Kobalenko happy. It will be even more fun for the huge majority of readers to realize how little fun they would have doing the same things. The minority who fantasize about being chased by a polar bear, sledding in midnight daylight, or camping at 58 degrees below zero Fahrenheit will find lots of useful information in Kobalenko's book, _The Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island_ (Soho Press). The rest of us may shake our heads in wonder, and be glad that reading the book is as close as we need get to one of the harshest environments on Earth. "Where is Ellesmere Island? Think of the little metal disk that sits on top of a globe: Ellesmere is under that." It is a Canadian island, just 450 miles from the North Pole.

He doesn't live there all the time (he lives in Canada), because he does have to make a living, which he does mostly by taking photographs and writing about his travels on his island and other inhospitable spots. For the past fifteen years, he has roamed the island in various expeditions, often solo. He has traveled, by foot, thousands of miles across and around the island, more than anyone alive. He doesn't use dogs. He has no radio. He hikes, pulling a sled full of the stuff he predicts he will need. He writes about preparing beforehand 54 peanut butter and jam sandwiches (one per day) because "long ago, I had discovered that making a sandwich on the arctic trail meant hacking for fifteen minutes at toffee-hard peanut butter with a Swiss Army knife and laying the shrapnel between crumbly pieces of frozen bread." Coated with butter, each thousand-calorie sandwich was like "vegetarian seal blubber," full of energy required for a freezing pack animal.

Much of this book tells the story of other travelers in the area. Kobalenko recreates some of the expeditions from the past, visiting the campsites from the last two centuries which the arctic cold has preserved. He is delighted whenever he finds cairns, the traditional rock piles set up as commemorative markers. Sometimes there is a note in a bottle, and he is the first to poke around and bring it back home. He might turn up rusted cans, matches, buttons, and shell casings, as he did at Starvation Camp, where most of the members of Adolphus Greely's expedition died in 1884. He feels guilty making his simple meals there. He sees for himself Crocker Land which was sighted by Perry in 1906. Perry knew that explorers make names for themselves by finding new territories, and also that they finance their expeditions by flattering those who back them. Perry named Crocker Land after a backer of his expedition. A later one sent to find it demonstrated that Perry had only seen a mirage. Combining history, natural science, and adventure, Kobalenko's surprising observations, written in smooth, calm, sensible prose, are entertaining throughout.

Extreme adventure; extremely interesting.......2002-02-18

The first point to make about Jerry Kobalenko, author of The Horizontal Everest is that he is exactly whom he represents himself to be: a resourceful, self-reliant, self-sufficient arctic trekker. My introduction to Kobalenko was while standing in the lee of Skraeling Island watching a lone skier, man-hauling a sled on the southern side of Alexandra Fiord. I had just finished a dogsled navigation of Svedrup Pass in a conflict ridden and dissension riddled group, much as had been experienced by the author on at least one occasion, and some of the treks he describes of others.

This is a well-written book, which describes on a very human level the personal and physical effort of the arctic experience. He easily brings to life personalities and events much better than the score of history books I have read of the arctic.

Three kinds of readers would enjoy this book. Firstly, the reader who occasionally randomly chooses a book in hopes of being entertained educated or enlightened. Another person who would derive pleasure is someone who has an academic interest in the arctic, or, who enjoys books of personal effort, and enjoys histories and descriptions of arcane places and events. Finally, anyone with actual arctic experience who wants to relive places and experiences would find this book captivating.

One warning: begin this book when you have a free weekend, because once you start it, you can kiss your weekend goodbye, as you will be unable to put it aside.

On a personal note, though Kobalenko gives little credibility to the Cook claim, it was a passing comment by him that got me interested in the Peary/Cook controversy such that I am now on the board of the Dr. Frederick A. Cook Society. Also, however well written, listening to Jerry describe his Gun Fight at Polar Bear Corral is much more entertaining while sitting on insulated sleeping mats, drinking hot Tang while warming one's hands on the walls of the insulated mug, near the ice foot of an island, in a frozen sea of ice.

Kobalenko is a true original.......2002-02-09

The Horizontal Everest is first and foremost an autobiographical account of one man's love affair with a very special place on Earth. Others have been seduced by Ellesmere's siren song; Jerry Kobalenko's is arguably the extreme case. "I wanted to embrace every inch of Ellesmere's 76,600 square miles." [roughly the combined area of England and Scotland]

It is also a wonderful smorgasbord of arctic history, exploration, culture, and wildlife as well as accounts of fascinating and often harrowing journeys. Indeed, many the folk you'll meet in this book don't get out alive. There are homicides, suicides, deaths by starvation and exposure, and some unsolved mysteries of explorers who simply vanished.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure. In addition, arctic history buffs will find much to chew on. For the dedicated, the book also includes an excellent annotated bibliography.

While a serious book, the author occasionally treats us to his brand of earthy humor. For example, he describes the challenge of eating enough to stay warm..."I simply could not hoover in more than 7,000 calories a day. My jaw ached from chewing, I got hemorrhoids from all the activity of a supercharged metabolism, and I ran out of things I wanted to eat. Even a whole strawberry shortcake every day palls after a while."

Kobalenko educates the reader on adaptations necessary for arctic. "Of all arctic skills, learning to relinquish expectations is the most important." "Every journey throws unnerving twists in the traveler's path. Some of us thrive on this insecurity, or at least accept it. Others crack."

Now and then Kobalenko treats us to his philosophy of living. "...hard wilderness travel...simplifies your own character, so that if you are basically good, the effort can make you purer and better..."

Although toughened by the harsh environment he frequents, Kobalenko remains awed by the sheer beauty of the land. Gazing on the ice caps of western Ellesmere, he waxes lyrically "...everything just looked incredibly pure. The perfect curves of white against an intense blue sky could have been drawn by the hand of God." On one occasion, while soaking up the spectacular beauty of Alexandra Fjord, he listened to Beethoven; "'Ode to Joy' seemed particularly appropriate" he notes.

Jerry Kobalenko is a true original; such folk come across our path only rarely but when they do, they help make this a life worth living. This book makes such an encounter available to all.

In the Epilogue, the author talks about amateurs seduced by Ellesmere. "...they proudly hump sixty-pound packs in a place where it snows in July" while their "social circle vacations in Hawaii..." He emphasizes his point by noting that one such crazy "who lost part of his big toe to frostbite considers it a badge of honor that connects him to the old explorers." Jerry Kobalenko suggested that I so regard my toe. I have had the pleasure of meeting him and listening to his tales first hand on two serendipitous occasions; both were on Ellesmere Island. Where else?

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The Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island.(Book Review): An article from: Arctic
Patrick T. Maher
Manufacturer: Arctic Institute of North America of the University of Calgary
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000ALOKRS
Release Date: 2006-07-14

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Arctic, published by Arctic Institute of North America of the University of Calgary on March 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1299 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Horizontal Everest: Extreme Journeys on Ellesmere Island.(Book Review)
Author: Patrick T. Maher
Publication: Arctic (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: Arctic Institute of North America of the University of Calgary
Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Page: 83(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Make sure YOUR weekend is unforgettable! "Have a great weekend" takes on a new and wonderful meaning with this series of easy-to-carry, pocket-sized, and colorful guidebooks to the world's most fabulous cities. From Brussels to Barcelona, Paris to Prague, Naples to New York, enjoy the best every glamorous destination has to offer. Find out how to get to the city of your choice, its unique characteristics, and the "don't-miss" sights in every neighborhood. Get the insider's lowdown on hotels where you'll happily rest your head, restaurants that will delight the palate, and stores in which to shop till you drop. Here are clubs and other nightlife that will keep you up till all hours and, for culture-mongers, the finest in theater, music, dance, and museums. Of course, the guides include maps so you'll stay on track and useful telephone numbers for information, reservations, tours and day trips, and even babysitting. You'll have the time of your life! All books include: Where to Stay Sight-Seeing Shopping Restaurants Cafes Nightlife & Bars 144 pages (all in color), 4 1/4 x 7 1/2.

Book Description

AN ALA Best Book.15 mostly original stories: Hood Martnez, Metzger, Moss, M. Sachs, Salisbury, et. al.

Customer Reviews:

A Pretty Good Collection of Short Stories.......2001-03-09

This is a pretty good collection of short stories all having a common theme: teens at work. The stories have a range of characters, from thirteen year olds to nineteen year olds, from chinese to mexican, and are all worth reading. The teens experiences range from meeting new people to discover new things about themseves and the life they want to lead. If you like short story collections or just like reading about teens, this is a good book to get.

Working Days: Stories About Teenagers and Work

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Working Days: Stories About Teenagers and Work
Anne Mazer
Manufacturer: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback

Short Story Collections | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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General | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0606253157

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Echoes Along the Delaware
Alice H. Jacobson
Manufacturer: Pepacton Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0963448706

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PEPACTON

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GP6LEI

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Pepacton
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00085JPG2

Book Description

For the largest and finest chestnuts I had last fall I was indebted to the gray squirrels. Walking through the early October woods one day, I came upon a place where the ground was thickly strewn with very large unopened chestnut burrs. On examination, I found that every burr had been cut square off with about an inch of the stem adhering, and not one had been left on the tree. It was not accident, then, but design. Whose design? The squirrels'. The fruit was the finest I had ever seen in the woods, and some wise squirrel had marked it for his own. The burrs were ripe, and had just begun to divide, not "threefold," but fourfold, "to show the fruit within."

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Pepacton and other sketches
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Wm. H. Wise & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00088D15K

Pepacton and Other Sketches (Riverside Edition- The Writings of John Burroughs Volume V)

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Pepacton and Other Sketches (Riverside Edition- The Writings of John Burroughs Volume V)
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WJPQI0

Pepacton: And Fresh fields (The writings of ... v. Riverby edition)

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Pepacton: And Fresh fields (The writings of ... v. Riverby edition)
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00087SRS2

Pepacton: The Writings Of John Burroughs

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Pepacton: The Writings Of John Burroughs
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

1881. Volume Five of Twenty-Three, Riverby Edition. John Burroughs emerged from an obscure boyhood in the Catskill Mountains to write more than thirty books, create the genre of the nature essay, and become the preeminent nature writer of his day. Through his essays in books and popular magazines, John Burroughs taught countless Americans to appreciate nature. Burroughs writes in the Preface: I have all the more pleasure in calling my book after the title of the first chapter, Pepacton, because this is the Indian name of my native stream. In its watershed I was born and passed my youth, and here on its banks my kindred sleep. Here, also, I have gathered much of the harvest, poor though it be, that I have put in this and in previous volumes of my writings. Contents: Pepacton: A Summer Voyage; Springs; An Idyl of the Honeybee; Nature and the Poets; Notes by the Way; Footpaths; A Bunch of Herbs; and Winter Pictures. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

Pepacton: The Writings of John Burroughs V5

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Pepacton: The Writings of John Burroughs V5
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0548033609

The Writings Of John Burroughs *Volume 5* Pepacton

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The Writings Of John Burroughs *Volume 5* Pepacton
John Burroughs
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WAIMY4

THE WRITINGS OF JOHN BURROUGHS - PEPACTON

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THE WRITINGS OF JOHN BURROUGHS - PEPACTON

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H1AKB6

Book Description

Provides complete coverage of the chemistry of organic fluorine compounds. Topics include fluorinating agents, fluorination processes, reactions of fluorinated compounds, modern analytical methods, and properties and applications of fluorinated compounds. Offers a critical review of the literature and provides over 4,500 references. Updates the 1976 volume Chemistry of Organic Fluorine Compounds.

Book Description

In complementarity theory, which is a relatively new domain of applied mathematics, several kinds of mathematical models and problems related to the study of equilibrium are considered from the point of view of physics as well as economics. In this book the authors have combined complementarity theory, equilibrium of economical systems, and efficiency in Pareto's sense. The authors discuss the use of complementarity theory in the study of equilibrium of economic systems and present results they have obtained. In addition the authors present several new results in complementarity theory and several numerical methods for solving complementarity problems associated with the study of economic equilibrium. The most important notions of Pareto efficiency are also presented.
Audience: Researchers and graduate students interested in complementarity theory, in economics, in optimization, and in applied mathematics.

Efficiency and equilibrium with dynamic increasing aggregate returns due to demand complementarities (Discussion paper)

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Efficiency and equilibrium with dynamic increasing aggregate returns due to demand complementarities (Discussion paper)
Antonio Ciccone
Manufacturer: Center for Mathematical Studies in Economics and Management Science, Northwestern University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006R0EVM

Book Description

Originally published under the title Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of Siva, this book traces the development of an Indian approach to an enduring human dilemma: the conflict between spiritual aspirations and human desires. The work examines hundreds of related myths and a wide range of Indian texts--Vedic, Puranic, classical, modern, and tribal--centering on the stories of the great ascetic, Siva, and his erotic alter ego, Kama.

Customer Reviews:

Misrepresentative.......2003-11-06

This author may be a self-thought scholar and the western world annoited scholar on hinduisim however, she does not quite understand hinduisim correctly or represent it correctly.

Excellent read.......2000-12-28

This is an excellent source for those interested in all the variant mythologies surrounding Siva. The information is well organized and told with an even objective viewpoint, which is perfect since Siva is fascinating in his own right, so there is no need to flower things up. The multple tellings of the same core myth really drives home the core points and character traits of Siva. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Siva or Hindu Mysticism.

Amazing.......1998-11-13

This wonderful review of the literature of Siva, by far one of the most interesting and misunderstood of the Indic gods, is already a classic. The contrasts between asceticism and eroticism are carefully and precisely laid out, without the quackery of popular psychological babble. The stories are well translated, with full notes, in such a way as to leave the ambiguities of the original intact. Absolutely lovely.

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SIVA the Erotic Ascetic
Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JVEJZC

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