Barrow’s Boys – Fergus Fleming

Barrow's Boys - Fergus Fleming
Barrow’s Boys – Fergus Fleming

If you can ignore the very bloke-ish blurb on the covers and the fact that Fergus Fleming is Ian Fleming’s nephew, this is a thorough set of biographical snippets on an Arctic, Antarctic and Saharan explorer theme. After all, what is a desert but a hot dry version of the icebound wastes at the poles.

I still delight in the fact that one of the earlier and most astute explorers was William Scoresby. For a long time I’d assumed Philip Pullman had made up the name Lee Scoresby. Perhaps he did – although I doubt it – but I like the idea that aëronaut explorer Lee and and arctic explorer William share a surname and a sense of decency.

Back to the book – worth a read if you’re interested in 19th Century English Explorers.

Publisher page: Barrow’s Boys – Fergus Fleming