Airships in the Arctic

A little over two years ago I reviewed Buddy Levy’s book Empire of Ice and Stone, his fascinating account of the wreck of the ship the Karluk, part of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913. I called that book “a well-crafted true story that reads like an action-adventure novel” and gave it five stars.

Levy is back again with a new nonfiction book that tells the story of a forgotten chapter of Arctic exploring, when the Age of the Airships took polar adventurers out of their dog sleds and to the North Pole.

In particular Levy tells the stories of three men - American Walter Wellman, Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Italian Umberto Nobile, the pioneers of Arctic aviation. These men all led expeditions in experimental lighter-than-air craft in attempts to reach the Pole. Together these stories form the “serial history” (the author’s words) that Levy once again turns into a well-crafted book that reads like an action-adventure novel.

Walter Wellman was an American journalist, explorer and innovator who took the first airship into the polar regions in an attempt to reach the North Pole. His story starts this book, and I found myself rooting for Wellman as he overcame obstacles and almost succeeded in his self-appointed task.

While his final voyage set numerous records, he did not make it to the North Pole. Nevertheless, the public reception when Wellman returned to America was triumphant. Contemporary adventurers and explorers however, looked down on Wellman as a failure and a showman. They felt his self-promotion through newspaper deals was a stunt and made a mockery of the “serious business” of exploring.

He remained a respected journalist throughout his life though, and Levy makes a solid case that Wellman should also be viewed as a pioneer both of polar exploration and of aviation. He set a record for longest dirigible flight up to that time, over any terrain, let alone the frozen north. He went further north by airship than anyone had before him. And he was the first Arctic explorer to report his progress to the world in real-time, using telegraphic messages sent by radio from his airship.

The stories of Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile are intertwined. Their partnership brought success, but their personalities could not have been more different. Amundsen, the “last Viking” was a seasoned polar explorer motivated by going where others had not been. Nobile was an airship designer and pawn of Benito Mussolini, who seemed mostly driven by career considerations within the Italian armed forces. Theirs was a marriage of convenience, and while they were successful together, they were often at odds and drew their nations into contentious rivalry. Nobile’s second attempt, without Amundson, proved a disaster to both men.

All three of these stories are compelling — just as fascinating for the courage and daring of the men involved as for the history they tell. I have to admit that I’ve read several polar exploration books over the last few years, so that when I saw yet another one was coming out I didn’t really have high expectations. But Buddy Levy has hit this one out of the park.

RATING: Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

RATING COMMENTS: The fascinating story of airship exploration in the Arctic in the first quarter of the 20th century. Well-crafted and a fun read. If you are an avid reader of polar exploration tales some of these stories may be familiar to you - the author provides extensive notes and a bibliography detailing his sources, which include biographies of the major figures. Many of those sources are dated thought, and Levy’s book proved mostly new to me.

WHERE I GOT MY COPY: I read an advanced reviewer’s copy provided through NetGalley by the publisher St Martin’s Press. The book will be available in North America in hard cover, audiobook and ebook next Tuesday, January 28th.