REALM OF ICE AND SKY

And so who discovered the North Pole? Dogsledders Frederick Cook or Richard Peary? Matthew Henson? Richard Byrd in his Fokker airplane? Or was it an airship man? In a dirigible. A blimp. A modified Zeppelin. National honor and bragging rights, a lot of intense competition, the answer isn’t exactly settled.

This was a really terrific nonfiction book set in the early 1900s about the exploration of the polar region by airship. It focused mainly on three people and their attempts to be the first to reach the North Pole. In each case there is a very detailed description of the goals they set, the preparation for their individual trips, and results of these attempts.

Walter Wellman, American journalist with extensive business and political connections, was an early believer that the days of dogsledding to the North Pole were to be replaced by air travel. As Frederick Cook and Robert Peary attempted land exploration, Wellman’s vision of flying over the polar region set the course for future ventures. His background in the news business inspired him to use the De Forest Wireless Telegraph system to report the journey in real time from the Airship America, increasing public interest in his daring polar adventures.

Norwegian explorer Ronald Amundsen, with his successful prior expeditions to Antarctica, partnered with wealthy American Lincoln Ellsworth to attempt reach the North Pole. Beloved as a Viking hero in his homeland, Amundsen was an explorer at heart. His flight of the airship Norga resulted in historic navigational feats, and some stiff competition with Richard Byrd’s airplane Fokker.

Italian General Umberto Nobile, furthered polar airship exploration under the rule of Mussolini’s facism. National pride fostered competition among the world’s nations to be the first to the North Pole. Nobile’s voyage of the airship Italia resulted in the greatest polar rescue attempt in history.

I love to be amazed by the things that people will do, things that I wouldn’t ever even think to do. To command an airship - a dirigible - a blimp. To be responsible for a crew of many men, and fly over the polar region? Never in a million years.

All amazing stories and terrific to learn about these brave and determined men. Nothing better than learning history told in story form, and this book does it very well. Exciting and tension filled, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I both read and listened to the audiobook version, which was also very good. I would like to thank NetGalley, Buddy Levi, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for this much-appreciated historical non-fiction. This was an intensive and thoroughly researched factual account of early Arctic exploration, primarily focusing on the little-known fact that dirigibles were involved in the early 1900s. The author cannot be faulted for his detailed description of all items, situations and background, but the saying 'less is more' comes to mind regarding the general public's ease of reading. This may be precisely what readers who are fascinated with polar exploration and /or airships and are deep into their study are looking for. My Kindle version of the ARC contained no maps for the numerous Arctic sites mentioned, so I failed to have a mental picture of the various journeys. I expect this will be remedied before the book is published.
I admit skimming through the first two sections of the book, which mentioned materials, measurements, and technical language of the designing, building, and testing the earliest dirigibles in the early 1900s, at the same time that airplanes were in their infancy. It was hoped that airships would replace dogsleds and skis for exploring the far north. The first Marconi wireless was remotely set up to inform people of their progress or the possible need for rescue. Although I had difficulty following the paths of exploration, I had a minor personal picture of what it was like being stuck in pack ice. In the 1990s, I was on a small tourist ship travelling in the high Arctic in August. We became trapped in the ice, and food had run out. Luckily, a Russian icebreaker was in the vicinity and soon freed us.

The first two sections did include two of the earliest attempts to reach the North Pole by airship. They described the earliest attempts. by Wellman, the designer and builder, and the heroic Roald Amundsen to obtain scientific and meteorological knowledge while mapping the area below. Amundsen travelled with Nobile, and rivalry and animosity developed between them. The early explorers had the fame of later astronauts who landed on the moon. Now, snowmobiles have replaced dogsleds.

Early airship travel was hoped to be the most practical and efficient method of reaching the goal of standing on the North Pole. Still, early journeys revealed the difficulty due to strong winds, volatile hydrogen, sufficient gas supply, fog, and the scarcely tried airship construction, not to mention polar bears. The author believes that Amundson was not only the first man to reach the South Pole but also the first to arrive at the North Pole and that the previous claimants exaggerated or were mistaken.

It is not the author's fault that the book's first part was not what I expected. I wanted the story of the Italian crash, the efforts of the victims to survive despite horrific injuries for some, and rescue. This was an exciting, tension-packed story, but only addressed in the book's third section, weakened by the lack of maps. Of the sixteen aboard the Italian led by Nobile, only nine survived the crash, some with painful broken bones. Seven others were still airborne in part of the airship. They dropped supplies to those below and then floated away into oblivion. The Italian was sponsored for the glory of the fascist regime under Mussolini to improve their image. The Pope had blessed the journey and gave Nobile's crew a cross to leave at the North Pole. Attempts to communicate their position seemed to fail until a farmer in a remote part of Russia heard their pleas on short-wave radio and alerted the world.

Eight countries rushed to the rescue, which involved 14,000 searchers, 23 airplanes, six ships, and dogsleds. Nobile was rescued by a small ski plane, and a Russian icebreaker saved the majority still alive. An inquiry blamed Nobile for the disaster, and Mussolini's government stripped him of his military rank, profession, and salary. He had to leave the country to find employment. It was not until 1943 that he was exonerated and returned to his position in Italy, even with his back salary restored. It was determined that his leadership had been exemplary, and the crash was probably due to human fatigue and failure of the hydrogen release valves., but the public blamed him for the death of their greatest hero, Amundson, during the rescue attempt.

The beautiful cover is eye-catching, but adding illustrations inside these early airships would be helpful.

The massive bibliography is impressive. It includes books, documents from museum archives, historical newspaper resources, film, TV and a website.
The final chapter describes modern attempts to build safe airships to provide humanitarian aid and medical supplies for remote disaster areas, as well as dirigibles to offer luxury travel across the Atlantic and even an African tour. The mention of a 48-hour tour to the North Pole would cost $200,000.

I highly recommend the story of the Italia crash and its aftermath. Some of the early details seemed like fillers—immaculate and factual research.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair review. Author Buddy Levy does not disappoint. I read his book, 'Empire of Ice and Stone', which was about the disastrous Canadian arctic expedition of the Karluk in 1913, which was both fascinating and tragic. Levy's new book details the arctic adventures of three men, American Walter Wellman, Norwegian Roald Amundson, and Italian Umberto Nobile who was back by Italy's Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. All of these men attempted to fly airships to the North Pole. Their stories are chilling--literally. All three pushed the boundaries of air travel in the worst possible weather conditions. These expeditions were not for the faint of heart. Their dedication, stamina, and courage (not to mention their stubborn and headstrong traits) kept them going forward during the worst of times. These men and their teams endured unimaginable difficulties. Levy brings to life these polar expeditions and gives us not only the technical factors, but the human factors as well. This is an excellent book that I highly recommend for armchair travelers and anyone who is curious about arctic adventures.

A well written and very interesting exploration of the men and machines used to explore the polar regions by airship. Know that this is as much focused on the air ships it is on the ice but I learned a great deal about dirigibles. among other things. Those who read (as I do) pretty much everything on the Arctic and Antarctic might not find much new about the explorers themselves but the study of the airships makes this unique. Thanks to netgalley for the arc. For armchair adventurers and aviation enthusiasts.

Thank you to Netgalley for the oportunity to read and review this book. Though a long book it does not let up on decribing the adventures of airship exploration of the arctic ream. The author and narrator have done a great job in describing the dangers of this early exploration, especially in highly flammable hydrogen craft. Wellman, Amundson, and Nobile are explorers with distinct personalities that are often in conflict with each other. How do you prepare for going into the unknown? This story reads like a fast paced fictional adventure. Highly recommended.

Another doozy of a book by brilliant Buddy Levy,
an auto-read author for me. As a Canadian cold weather hater, I have no interest in exploring the Arctic (or maybe because of that), the topic of Arctic exploration always grabs me. Survival stories are usually packed with adventure and always informative. This one is just...wow. Three fearless explorers from very different backgrounds attempt the same feat by dirigible in the polar airship age, the early 1900s.

Levy details the history of air flight and elusive conquering of the North Pole. American Walter Wellman, a showman to many but underrated to others (including this reader), went first. He was the first to send the first Marconi wireless from the north, to Roosevelt no less. The flight ended disastrously but miraculously and he never flew again.

Norway's Roald Amundsen was the first to navigate the Northwest passage by boat and the first to reach the area by airship in 1926. Later, he searched for the third explorer, Italian Umberto Nobile and his lost crew but Amundsen was never seen again.

Nobile and his crew had a tragic crash and men sustained serious injuries. Their survival (and not) stories are unbelievably gripping and sad from polar bear danger to frostbite to starvation to delirium to snow blindness to lacking medical supplies. When they heard planes overhead their hopes must have soared but when the planes didn't see them at first, their horror must have been unbearable.

All men were successful in my view. They paved the way for further exploration and were able to instruct, inspire and educate others.

I like that all facets of being in close quarters with each other and having to rely on each other are described. Future exploration plans are detailed such as Pathfinder 3 and OceanSky cruises.

My sincere thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this astounding book.

When I saw this book, I knew I had to [request] read it as all my previous reads about arctic exploration have been ship-based and this is about an AIRSHIP [actually several of them when its all said and done] that makes the attempt, and it was completely mind boggling to even think about it. I mean, what could possibly go wrong, right? *grimace*

One of the things that I continue to see in book like this is, while these men were brave, daring, and smarter than I will ever be, they were also incredibly arrogant [beyond the arrogance one would need to do ANY kind of exploration] and selfish. Their inability to see past their own wants and arrogance results in unnecessary danger and quite often death [so. much. death.], and while I love the whole adventure and daring of this [and the others] book, this knowledge always tinges these book with anger and frustration for me.

That said, this was an amazing read [even with the arrogance, I cannot imagine going to the Arctic in any conveyance, much less in a hydrogen-filled {essentially} BALLOON], that was edge-of-your-seat for most of it [I DID get bogged down with some of the technical parts of it], and then you get to the final flight of the book and the crash and the rescue and BOY-HOWDY I dare you to take a breath!!!

If you love history and adventure [tinged with deep sadness, arrogance, and deep, deep, regret], this book [and any book Mr. Levy writes in my humble opinion] is 100% for you. I was captivated from the very beginning and very sad at the end and was left just marveling at all I had just read. Amazing.

Will Damron is one of my top 10 favorite narrators and once again, he does an amazing job, given that there is a lot of technical language, Swedish/Norwegian/Italian names and places, and often tough subject matter [I am not sure how narrators get through scenes like the one where two men have to leave a friend on the ice to die - I was crying my eyes out listening, and I am sure had I had to read it out loud, no one would have been able to understand me!!]. If you are an audiobook listener, this will be a real treat for you. If not, this is an excellent one to start with, especially if very cool history is your jam. Very well done!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Buddy Levy, Will Damron - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for offering me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Back in 2023 I had the pleasure of reading Buddy Levy's book Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk. So when the opportunity to read another ice adventure through the words of Levy came to me, of COURSE I said yes! I was so excited to crack this book open and it did not disappoint!

Levy is hands down one of my favorite history writers. He does his homework and gets into the nitty gritty details of whatever situation he is explaining. You can feel the emotions these men went through soaring over the North Pole in their air ships...the elation AND the devastation. I appreciate that Levy sticks to the historical documents and does not try and fluff up his writing either. I think some writers tend to express how they THINK a person would have felt, or they THINK they know what they would've done...whereas Levy only writes it if he KNOWS. The historical accuracy is what makes it that much more special.

I am such a fan of the polar explorers of the 18th and early 19th century. I can already tell you that any book Levy is writing concerning polar escapades will be at the top of my list! Even though this book is heavy in detail and backstory, it does not over encumber the narrative. The book soars by quickly once you get into it, and the emotions run high while the story is moving along! I commend these men for what they have achieved, and I am saddened for the losses along the way.

Another AMAZING HIT by Buddy Levy! If you love polar explorers, if you love air ships, if you have ANY sense of adventure...this is the book for you!!

Strike and Burn by Taylor Hutton is a captivating romantic thriller that skillfully blurs the line between danger and desire, ultimately setting it ablaze. The gripping plot had me eagerly flipping through the pages, unable to put the book down.

This book tells the story of 3 men and their attempts to be the first to get to the North Pole, not by dogsled, but by air, which had not been considered at all, let alone seriously. The first man, an American by the name of Walter Wellman, was a true visionary who knew what he wanted to do, and how, and didn't let anyone or anything stop him from trying to reach the arctic by airship (dirigible), and boy were there a lot of setbacks! Because he was attempting something that had never been done, there were many, many failures, and he never did reach the arctic, but he got further than anyone thought he would, and he set things in motion that would allow the next man to pick up where he left off.

The next man, a Norwegian explorer by the name of Roald Amundsen, had been the first man to reach the South Pole, and wanted to be the first to reach the North Pole as well. He also attempted to reach it by airship, and while he did reach the Pole, he wasn't able to explore it, although he, too, experienced many catastrophes, and he ended his voyage with bad blood between himself and his engineer, Italian Umberto Nobile, who then picked up where Amundsen left off. Nobile also ran into problems, with his being the most harrowing story of all. He did reach the Pole and indeed was able to obtain scientific readings no one else had been able to accomplish to that point, but his reputation would be forever altered by what transpired during his voyage.

In essence, we have 3 different men, all attempting the same thing, and their successes and failures, told in a very exciting way that has you on the edge of your seat, were not what you expect from your usual nonfiction book. While the beginning of the book does drag with all of the specifics of the airship building, materials, measurements, etc., the rest was fascinating.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Buddy Levy for the opportunity to read and review Realm of Ice and Sky.

3.5 stars

Another exceptionally researched and written book about polar exploration by this author. I absolutely adored his last one.

This one takes readers into the history of aeronauts from the early 20th century and their quests to conquer the north pole. This was all new information for me, and it was fascinating. It was also incredibly dangerous, which had me shaking my head and wondering how these explorers are able to do what they do.

This book follows three prominent aeronauts in particular and their accomplishments. Their stories were varied, and I found the last one by far the best. The book read more like three short stories to me, with the first two interesting but lacking in jawdropping polar adventure. For this, it lost some points.

A nonfiction worth the listen if you enjoy polar exploration stories.

Thank you, #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another winner from Levy, this one focused on Arctic exploration via airship. Levy takes three different men and their Polar attempts and frames a really well-organized book around their failures and successes. I was left feeling both fascinated and repulsed - these dangerous expeditions often have mishaps that cost an enormous amount of resources to try to rescue a handful of foolhardy men. I understand the importance and draw of exploration, but I definitely have mixed feelings about the more dangerous attempts. My one quibble with this book was that Levy's writing about Umberto Nobile in the middle section (Roald Amundsen's section) made me very unexcited about the final section, which was all about Nobile. Whether Levy meant to or not, I was left with a very bad taste in my mouth about Nobile's character. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy.

During the race for the artic, there were many brave men that tried to make the trip. However, one decided to try it with an airship. There was the thought that the airship would make the trip safer, and much faster.
Instead, there were accidents. Lots of accidents. While the ultimate goal was the artic, they met instead with death, starvation, and the brutal cold. There were no guarantees of survival or rescue. As the world waited with baited breath, the men stranded did their best to keep their spirits high, and maintain as much of their physical health as possible.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely LOVED this book. It was so very hard to put down. You could almost feel the bitter cold as the author talks through what the conditions were like. This book was hands down, one of the best that I read this year.
I had both the print and the audio version from the publisher and NetGalley. I enjoyed the print version, but the audio version really brought this one home. Being able to close my eyes, and let my mind play through the series of events that led to the unfortunate events.

Put this book on the list of books to read, because this will not disappoint! Buddy Levy never lets the reader down, and this book was no exception. Prepare for one of the best adventures yet!

If you are like me, you probably have not heard of this bit of history. This book covers several attempts to use dirigibles-airships to find the North Pole. It was quite a process. This took place in the early 1900's. The book is easy to read and interesting. I received an ARC and am leaving a review of my own free will.

This book had adventure and survival to the max. I knew nothing of the three Arctic missions the author described in the book before I read it. The missions were also captivating and chilling. While this is a nonfiction book, I felt this author was able to describe these events in a way that felt very narrative.

Buddy Levy's arctic expedition books continue to not disappoint. I've read both Labyrinth of Ice and Empire of Ice and Stone, and rated both of those an enthusiastic 5 stars. This one, with its inclusion of the history of airship travel and the arctic, was no different, to no surprise of mine. There's just something incredibly compelling about these explorers who endure so much in the name of planting a flag.

This book's three parts tell the reader about a different airship attempt in each part. We first are introduced to Walter Wellman and the Chicago Record-Herald Polar Expedition, whose struggles to get airborne set the stage for what comes after. The second part brings in Roald Amundsen (a familiar name for anyone who's read about polar expeditions in the past) and his journey on the Norge, where both him and Umberto Nobile become rivals and enemies at the conclusion. Finally, part three involves the Italia, Nobile's attempt to cross the north pole, funded by Italy and Mussolini, that ends rather poorly. It turns out quite a lot can go wrong with giant bags of gas in a cold environment.

As usual, each part is well researched and well written, with footnotes included, as well as an extensive bibilography at the end. I evidently really need to read Amundsen's biography The Last Viking, because his inclusion (history spoilers(?) here) and conclusion was a huge surprise for me. I wasn't a huge fan of Nobile as a historical figure, but I sort of felt bad for the guy on his return.

Just a fun, informative, tense book all around. The only reason it took me so long to make it through this one is because life happened and I didn't get much time to read until now. I binged the last 50% in two days, it was that good.

This book is about the Arctic exploration, the men who tried, what they used to try to get there, and the adventures they had trying to succeed. There is so much history, and the descriptions, I could feel what they were going through. This was a different book than I usually read, but reading what this book was about, made me want to find out the details, feel the struggles, the determination, and all that they went through. Reading the book. I learned a lot, and discovered what it was like during this time.
I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this new history that looks at the exploration of the Arctic regions from the air, the success, the tragedies, and the brave men who dared, and those that paid the ultimate cost.

The polar regions have cast a siren's song on many men, leading some to glory, some to death, and some for a lot of miserable experiences. Women of course were excluded from this as they were women, though one enterprising woman paid for her own boat and expedition, and quite a few native women were dragged along to cook and clean as camp people. Men for some reason are drawn to the poles, both North and South and both full of extremes. Extreme cold, extreme desolation, and extreme danger. Though as one famed explorer once said, it is cold, it is barren, it is deadly, and I love it so. Few things have brought so many nations together in competition than reaching the poles, few happenings have drawn so many newsman to share one telegraph on the ice, and few events have captured the attention of the world, as each step brings polar conquest closer and closer. Or more deaths and disasters. At the turn of the twentieth century, the main transportation of exploration began to shift from dog sled and ski to aircraft, both heavier than air aeroplanes, and lighter than air air ships. One could avoid the snow, the polar bears, the ice breaking up. Yet flying brought it's own problems, one for this pioneers they would discover the hard way, ending sometimes in success, a learning experience or plain disaster. Realm of Ice and Sky. Triumph, Tragedy, and History's Greatest Arctic Rescue by Buddy Levy is a history of flying in the north, the want to discovery, the egos, the politics and the heroism of these men in the flying machines.

The book covers a lot of events but is focused on the efforts of three men, all who with varying degrees of success used air ships on their flights of discovery. Walter Wellman was a self-made man a reporter known for his writing, his ability to get things done, and for his numerous families. Wellman was the first to think of using an air ship to travel across the North and reach the poles and raised money for two different attempts, that had problems both from the cold, but from the technology of the time. Wellman also attempted the first crossing of the Atlantic with an air ship, that also had problems. Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian explorer, known as the Last Viking for his numerous expeditions and successes in polar exploration, even reaching the Southern Pole by dog sled. Amundsen raised money for an Italian air ship built by Umberto Nobile, and backed by the newly Fascist Italian leader Mussolini. Amundsen was successful flying over the North Pole and using radio to share his success with the world, buy Nobile, who was on the flight felt slighted by not being considered important, or a part of the expedition. Nobile soon planned his own flight over the frozen North, one that would end in tragedy for many.

Buddy Levy is a true chronicler of northern exploration. I have read most of his books, and I have to say I found this one to be among his best. There is such a mix of characters, a huckster American, a stoic heroic Norseman, and a Man who meant well, but allowed things to get out of control. Levy is very good at setting the scene, explaining why things are important, and why people cared, and letting the people involved tell the story. Levy is good at getting to the motivations, and not only of the big players, but the small players. A man who wintered on the ice who lost his companions on two different occasions. Levy captures the people, and gives them lives outside of stereotypes, though it is hard with a man like Roald Amundsen, who really seems like a fictional character in life an death.

A really great book, one that stays with you, especially when watching the snow fall. People interested in the north, or exploration even aviation will enjoy this one quite a bit. A good place to start reading Buddy Levy if one has not before, and become a fan.

An airship in the Arctic? What could go wrong? The answer is so, so much. Quite frankly, not nearly as much as I expected, though. As an avid reader of anything about the Arctic, I knew I would enjoy Buddy Levy's latest, Realm of Ice and Sky. Adventure and survival stories are Levy's sweet spot and I was not disappointed.

Levy tells the story of three different Arctic campaigns aimed at the North Pole. My only wish is that I knew nothing about all three before I started reading. I was aware of the Italia disaster and Roald Amundsen's trip to the pole. However, I knew nothing about their predecessor, Walter Wellman. The three stories are captivating and they work best when sitting in front of a fire otherwise you may catch a chill.

Levy is one of those authors I can recommend to anyone. Yes, this is non-fiction and history, but Levy is the master of just telling the dang story and getting on with it. While I would have loved a book twice the size, Levy knows not everyone needs to know the listing of the stores taken on each expedition. The people and their survival is all that matters. The story tells itself. Levy is just the (very well qualified) tour guide.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.)

I've heard of Roald Amundsen before, but not William Wellman or Nobile. This one statement from the book sums it all up: "What everyone knew for certain, however—including the three men aboard the America—was that their chances of dying on the journey were likely greater than their chances of surviving it." Those men were courageous, or crazy, pitting themselves against nature at the North Pole.