Portland Public Library

Wanderlust, an eccentric explorer, an epic journey, a lost age, Reid Mitenbuler

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 473-478) and index

individual biography

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Wanderlust

bibliography

1368052189

Reid Mitenbuler

an eccentric explorer, an epic journey, a lost age

"The mesmerizing, larger-than-life tale of an eccentric adventurer who traversed some of the greatest frontiers of the twentieth century, from uncharted Arctic wastelands to the underground resistance networks of World War II." -- inside front jacket flapPeter Freuchen's life seemed ripped from the pages of an adventure novel-- and provided fodder for many books of his own. A wildly eccentric Dane with an out-of-nowhere sense of humor, his insatiable curiosity drove him from the twilight years of Arctic exploration to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and from the burgeoning field of climate research to the Danish underground during World War II. He conducted jaw-dropping expeditions, survived a Nazi prison camp, and overcame a devastating injury that robbed him of his foot and very nearly his life. Through it all, he was guided by ideals that were remarkably ahead of his time, championing Indigenous communities, environmental stewardship, and starting conversations that continue today. Mitenbuler shares a tale of daring and discovery, an inspiring portrait of restlessness and grit, and a powerful meditation on our relationship to the planet and our fellow human beings. -- adapted from jacket

Preface -- Prologue -- "I was shivering in my boots" -- "I could do the job" -- "The island of my dreams" -- "Irrepressible restlessness" -- "Chaos" -- "I am good at something here" -- "Only as skeletons in a museum" -- "Hell on Earth" -- "Give me winter, give me dogs, you can have the rest" -- "Big Peter" -- "It is the dark and cold that make us think most" -- "We must pay for its beauty time after time" -- "Life loomed ahead" -- "A revolution was taking place in me" -- "One gets the idea here..." -- "A vast desert of cold and dead" -- "Some dogs do not give a damn what they eat" -- "I have hated pudding ever since" -- "Even arctic explorers need publicity" -- "But a pawn in this game of the gods" -- "I could not leave the book alone" -- "Whether she was an angel or not" -- "Tired of being a curiosity" -- "At least I have the remedy..." -- "I know good men by sight" -- "What a way to die" -- "What is so funny?" -- "I had a premonition" -- "But now it had charged me a bitter commission" -- Storfanger -- "There was no reason to choose the slower and harder way" -- "I have seen so many naked people in my time" -- "Somebody here wants to see you" -- "I want the elemental, infinite thing" -- "I'll die on that icecap sometime" -- "A turning point in my life" -- "Eat their candy and listen to their stupidness" -- "Unusual, spectacular, disturbing" -- "Hollywood perspective" -- "Strange, independent personalities" -- "Loved to serve a good cause" -- "Once all this is done with" -- "Is it worth it?" -- "The rest of my life would be a voyage" -- "But this habit of not guarding my tongue" -- "It was not easy" -- "It was business (maybe monkey business)" -- "It was love at first sight" -- "The poetry of progress" -- "Peter Freuchen has lived nine lives" -- Epilogue

Eccentric explorer, an epic journey, a lost age