At the Mercy of the Wind - Hardcover

David Hempleman-Adams; Robert Uhlig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593047478 ISBN 13: 9780593047477

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2001

Synopsis

This is the story of how David Hempleman-Adams undertook a 1600 mile journey to the North Pole by balloon in an open-air wicker basket. He revisits the trip that inspired him - an ill-fated Swedish expedition in 1897 that had a doomed love affair at the heart of its tale.

About this title

About the Author

In 1998, David Hempleman-Adams became the first person to complete the explorers Grand Slam, a challenge which has seen him conquer the North, South and Magnetic Poles and scale the highest mountain in each of the seven continents, including Everest.

From the Back Cover

On 28 May 2000, explorer David Hempleman-Adams took off from Spitzbergen in Norway on his record-breaking flight to the North Pole. His fragile wicker basket contained tanks of liquid oxygen to allow him to survive at high altitudes, an inflatable raft in case he crash-landed in the freezing Arctic Ocean, together with ten days of emergency rations. He knew that if he survived the week ahead, he would be the first man ever to have reached the North Pole by balloon.

Hempleman-Adams had chosen to fly in a basket, rather than in the sophisticated enclosed capsule favoured by round-the-world balloonists today, in order to pay homage to three Swedes - Salomon Andree, Nils Strindberg and Knut Frankel - who in 1896 had also taken off for the Pole in their hot-air balloon. Only David knew the emotional significance of their expedition, which was characterized not only by extreme bravery and the determination to survive in extreme conditions but also by a tragic love affair that transcended both its period and its setting. For the Swedish explorers had been brought down by freezing fog three days into their polar attempt, and perished some time afterwards on the ice cap. Thirty-three years later, their bodies were discovered. Close to Strindberg's outstretched hand was the engagement ring of his fiancée, in his pocket the locket she had given him for his birthday, and in their frail whalebone tent his last letter to his love.

In At the Mercy of the Winds, David tells the extraordinary stories of both journeys. Featuring up-to-the-minute drama from his own expedition, and original photographs and documents from the Swedish voyage, it is the ultimate adventure book as, alone in the skies above a frozen and harshly beautiful landscape, David battled against the elements to fulfill the dream of three Swedish explorers a century earlier, and become the first man to balloon to the North Pole.

From the Inside Flap

le story of the first man to fly to the North Pole and back by balloon.

On June 3rd 2000, explorer David Hempleman-Adams touched down in Spitzbergen after his dramatic flight to the North Pole by balloon. Inspired by an ill-fated Swedish expedition over a century earlier, he piloted his balloon through the maelstrom of the Arctic wind on his 1,600 mile round trip. At the Mercy of the Winds is the epic story of his flight. Featuring up-to-the-minute drama from his expedition, original photographs and love letters from the 1897 Swedish voyage, and a page-turning text from acclaimed Telegraph journalist Robert Uhlig, this is a truly gripping true adventure story.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593047478
• ISBN 13: 9780593047477
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 316