... the story of Watkins’s short life, his uncanny ability as a leader and his mysterious death moves quickly, unfolding almost like a thriller ... In a rare misstep, Roberts—who wrote 30 books on mountaineering, exploration and anthropology before he died in 2021—tells us that 'the question of Gino’s sexuality, though peripheral to his exploratory achievements, cannot be entirely ignored.' Why not? In any case, none of it mattered ... In the end, Roberts illuminates but does not solve the mystery of Watkins’s affinity for leadership.
... superb ... Balancing a suspenseful account of the expedition with an overview of Watkins’s life, Roberts searches for the key to the explorer’s prodigious resolve, ultimately finding the contrast between the London bon vivant and the daring leader as compellingly mysterious as did Watkins’s contemporaries ... Placing Watkins and his team among the esteemed ranks of polar heroes like Shackleton and Scott, this is an essential read for enthusiasts of Arctic exploration and survival.
In March 1931, two men of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition (BAARE) in Greenland ventured out to relieve a fellow team member who had been manning a distant weather station solo for months, his supplies dwindling as extreme weather conditions further deteriorated...Roberts’ pulsating real-life thriller recalls the exciting and harrowing details of an expedition into the depths of the unexplored...Readers will be on pins and needles.
Polar explorers Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, and Ernest Shackleton are household names, but Henry George 'Gino' Watkins (1907-1932) rings few bells...In this fascinating biography, Roberts (1943-2021) points out that, unlike his predecessors, Watkins was neither a military man nor a seasoned traveler...Rather, he was a carefree Cambridge student fond of risky antics and mountain climbing but no expert explorer...he organized and led the British Arctic Air Route Expedition of 1930-1931, aiming to survey the obscure east coast of Greenland and gather climate data to plan a shorter air route to North America...Roberts devotes most of his book to a gripping account of this expedition, with equally fine asides on Greenland’s history and Indigenous inhabitants...An outstanding account of a great expedition led by 'a child prodigy who died before his full genius could flower'.
Climber Roberts recounts the story of 'forgotten hero' Henry George 'Gino' Watkins (1907–1932) and his 1930 Greenland expedition in this gripping narrative...The 23-year-old Englishman and his 13 teammates set sail in July with ambitions to survey Greenland’s little-known east coast and interior, collect data on the ice cap, and chart an air route from western Europe to North America...But the expedition didn’t go as planned: dangerous terrain, fierce storms, and temperatures below -50 degrees Fahrenheit derailed their efforts and threatened their lives...Roberts paints a vivid and suspenseful picture of the expedition as the team scrambled to rescue teammate August Courtauld, who was trapped alone at the weather station he manned with food stores running perilously low...Despite the mishaps, Roberts argues, Watkins’s scheme was still 'the most daring and fruitful British expedition to the Far North during the previous half-century'... Perfect for fans of adventure stories, this one hits all the marks.
