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The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen QUOTES

The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen QUOTES

1 " A hero, in his mind, was not someone who suffered disaster after disaster, heroically pulling through with great endurance, but rather one who focused his intelligence and skills to avoid disaster, thus succeeding by good planning and crafty decision making. "

― Stephen R. Bown , The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen

2 " Gjøa was later presented as a gift to the city of San Francisco, remaining on display in Golden Gate Park until 1972, when it was returned to Norway. It now resides in Oslo harbour, next to two other famous Norwegian ships, Fridtjof Nansen’s Fram and Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki. "

― Stephen R. Bown , The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen

3 " Amundsen slept with his window wide open at night even in the winter, claiming to his mother that he loved fresh air, but really “it was a part of my hardening process.” He organized small expeditions for himself and a few friends, such as overnight treks on skis under a star-studded sky, enlivened by the otherworldly swirling of the aurora borealis, into the winter wilds to improve his toughness. "

― Stephen R. Bown , The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen

4 " Although I have had offers of wireless installation for the Fram,” he said in one rambling interview, “that also I declined. I don’t care for it. It is very much better to be without news when you cannot be where the news comes from. We are always more contented if we get no news. A good book we like, we explorers. That is our best amusement and our best time killer. "

― Stephen R. Bown , The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen

5 " It wasn’t Amundsen’s job to make his men happy, but to lead them to victory, alive. "

― Stephen R. Bown , The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen