I have had this particular book on my kindle for years. I start reading it and then I set it aside and forget. Finally one day I was determined to get the book finished, and realized that it didn't captivate me in a way that kept me interested.

The story of her is fascinating but I wish it was written in a more compelling method. I would have loved to have read her adventures, but just found it hard to stay tuned with the book.

3.5 stars. The book is really so well researched! And it's got some amazing photos (I loved that part of the book the best). Really, it's worth it to read about Louise Arner Boyd if only to admire her for her courage to go out to explore such human-unfriendly, harsh-environment lands, and not just that, but the fact that she was willing to endure the honestly very shitty attitudes of a lot of the men she had to work with. Most of the time, she was the only woman on the expedition (as well as the leader of it and the one who paid for it), and the more educated the men she worked with, the more they were willing to hate her just because she's a woman (won't take orders from no skirt!!) Anything from the way she talked to the way she dressed when she was not on an Arctic ship was apparently a thing to judge her on. I can't imagine the amount of mansplaining this woman had to endure. And it does seem that she might have had a bit of a tough character, but it still comes across as if she was being judged very harshly just because she was a woman and if she were a man, such qualities would never have been considered offensive. It is really amazing all she did, especially because it was on her own money and she never really had to do any of the research she did or donate any of her materials (which she also did). An amazing explorer to say the least!

The reason why I'm giving 3.5 stars and not 4 was because, in honesty, the book bored me a little (sorry author!). That might be me and not the book! It was still 100% worth the read, and you'll love the photos. Perhaps I was just less interested in the subject than a lot of other readers could be.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33397072-the-polar-adventures-of-a-rich-american-dame" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame: A Life of Louise Arner Boyd" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508891743m/33397072.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33397072-the-polar-adventures-of-a-rich-american-dame">The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame: A Life of Louise Arner Boyd</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8071273.Joanna_Kafarowski">Joanna Kafarowski</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2264865658">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
NETGALLEY # 6<br /><br />Many thanks go to Joanna Kafarowski, Dundurn Press, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.<br /><br />Louise Arner Boyd was an heiress who also happened to explore the Arctic region numerous times from the 1930s-1950s culminating in a flight to the North Pole. <br /><br />Boyd was born to privilege and grew up in California. At a young age she lost both older brothers, which devastated her parents and left her the sole heiress to a multi-million dollar fortune. She always enjoyed reading stories about the Scandinavian region and was soon landing an expedition personally funded by her estate. She was one of the first females to explore the area and the first to pay for it herself. She even helped search for a missing fellow explorer. She has various geographical sites named for her. <br />Sadly she died close to destitution because she had spent most of her money on these trips as well as self-publishing her books and funding her traveling expenses for her appearances and award presentations. But she died satisfied. <br />What she accomplished allowed US to map the coastline of Greenland. She also worked for the Defense Dept during WWII, but it was top secret. <br />Highly opinionated and often thought as a micromanager Boyd had an influence on what the Geographical Society charted. She was a pretty important person. I am happy to add this book to my Notorious Women in history shelf.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6595648-bam-the-bibliomaniac">View all my reviews</a>

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't get past the first few chapters. Rather than using a first person voice, the author continually said "Louise would have" all of the would haves just dragged the book down. Since I did not finish it, I do not intend to publish a review.

Miss. Boyd was indeed one hell of a Dame! Let me start out first by letting everyone know what a lame brain I can be at time...mostly because I had to laugh at myself. Ms. Boyds father and friends bought the Bodie gold mine in California. I've been to Bodie. My first thought was, why the hell would anyone buy a played out goldmine in ghost-town? Duh! It was brand spankin' new back then! What a maroon! Miss. Boyd lived a fantastic life. She had many family losses and heartaches along the way, but when she found her calling, she excelled at it. Sad thing is that had she been a man she would have received far more recognition. I also think the reason she had to fund all her explorations was because not many people would have contributed, "because she was a woman," but also with her funding, she was the one in charge. I thought she made excellent choice on her Captain's, and I would have loved to be there to sail with and meet them all! Joanna Kafarowski did a great job in putting this book together. Matter of fact, she tweaked my interest enough to go to YouTube and discover more. Sadly, not a whole lot there. My thanks to the author, Dundurn Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to read for the measly price of a review!

This is an awesome book about Louise Arner Boyd who is little known in our era but back in her day was a famous Arctic explorer in the 1930s. She carefully planned and put together her expeditions because she was driven to and also because she was in a position to do as she pleased, with no one around who could tell her any differently. Sadly, she'd lost both her parents and her 2 brothers so she was all alone. But she was no shrinking violet. She may have been a society beauty, but she also loved philanthropy, environmental issues, adventure, hunting, and she knew her own mind. Louise Boyd lived quite a life and her 7 expeditions helped advance science with her still photographs and movies for mapping, along with her collecting of plants, etc. Plus there was all of the work of the professionals in various fields of study that she chose to take along with her that was collected and published too. Thanks for reading. An ARC was provided by NetGalley for an unbiased review.

Joanna Kafarowski, author of “The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame,” captured me with this wonderful recounting of a daring woman of exploration. I’m embarrassed to admit that, as a rabid lover of all things polar and before reading this book, I’d never heard of Louise Arner Boyd. My introduction to a new cold weather friend is much appreciated.

The author, also passionate about the arctic, is uniquely qualified to comment on Boyd’s exploits. Kafarowski’s Doctorate in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies and a Masters in Geography, her publications, participation in expeditions, and memberships in many geographical societies give her a unique perspective into this amazing woman’s accomplishments. Her research and writing abilities have produced a biography that is long overdue.

Louise Arner Boyd (1887-1972) was a wealthy heiress that grew up just north of San Francisco. As a young girl she romped over the hills with her brothers engaged in outdoor adventures not common for a young girl at the time. When she lost her brothers to heart problems, and her parents a few years later, Boyd inherited the family fortune. With the inheritance she began traveling in the early 1920s, becoming particularly focused on the frozen seas off Greenland.

She eventually led a series of scientific expeditions to the coasts of Greenland in the 1930s where she photographed, surveyed, and collected hundreds of specimens. She personally led and financed these rugged excursions winning many international geographic awards. It should be noted that the explorations were not aboard luxury liners with plushy coziness. These were hazardous cold weather voyages in unheated ships with no creature comforts. The food was rough but hearty, the confines not heated, and bathing and sleeping were conducted in freezing conditions. Venturing outside onto the frozen sea or ice covered glaciers was to invite disaster, but outside was where she had to conduct her experiments.

She organized and financed seven trips between 1926 and 1941. The scope of the experiments conducted was enormous; cold weather communications, photography of land and sea ice, botanical collection, topographical surveys, echo sounding to establish water depths, tidal gauge recording, magnetic declination measurements. Her second voyage in 1928 was devoted to searching for the missing explorer, Roald Amundsen.

Boyd received many honors during her lifetime including from Norway, Sweden, France, and the American Geographical Society and honorary LLDs from UC and Mills College. At age 68, in 1955, she became the first woman to fly over the North Pole. Near the end of her life some bad investments and the spending of most of her fortune on explorations, forced Boyd to sell the family home in San Rafael along with all its furnishings. She died in San Francisco in 1972.

Do I want you to read this book? Absolutely.

This is a fascinating read. I was hooked from the start. I had never heard of Louise Arner Boyd. Her courage and strength and determination shine through this book. At a time in what was predominantly a mans world she fought for what she wanted to do. Her photographs and the story of her expeditions are her legacy. This book has been really well researched and put together. She is someone who should not be forgotten.

4 stars

Firstly I must say that the title of this book offends me. It’s demeaning.

That aside, this is a portrait of a determined and driven woman who knew exactly what she wanted and went about obtaining it. I couldn’t get a grasp on what kind of woman she was; whether she was friendly, kind or ?? That she was generous to her friends was obvious, but she had some very strict ideas about her expeditions; whether the scientists could publish, accept lecture invitations and use her photographs, that it seemed as though that wasn’t a too generous or kind attitude. Some of her shipmates liked her a great deal while others were deviously badmouthing her behind her back. This is spite of the contracts they all signed when they joined the expedition.

The descriptions of the arctic, its geography and seas were enthralling and colorful. I truly enjoyed these parts of the book – from the safety of my chair in my warm home. Louise Arner Boyd’s courage and pluck are without doubt.

I like many readers, hadn’t heard of her before and it was very nice to hear of her exploits and adventures in the arctic. I’ve been on a modern-day icebreaker, but to ride the ice and the seas in a wooden whip must have been both thrilling and terrifying. Frankly I don’t know how she did it.

One cannot speak to the quality of writing in a biography suffice it to say that it was easily accessible and pretty straightforward. The plotting of the book followed Louise’s life pretty faithfully. The characters were certainly interesting.

I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable biography for me to read and enjoy.