RACE TO THE POLE

David Povall offers an intelligent, listenable reading of this re-revisionist biography of Captain Robert Scott’s fatal race to the South Pole. Present-day explorer Ranulph Fiennes has an ego the size of the Pole that he, too, has crossed. (As he explains many times, only HE knows the Antarctic well enough to be able to write an accurate Scott biography.) Fiennes seeks to reinstate Scott as a tragic hero rather than an incompetent amateur. To do this, he blends reminiscences of his own Pole crossings with an account of Scott’s attempt. The results are mixed--sometimes infuriating, sometimes believable, always interesting. David Povall reads the history sections in an engaged, well-paced manner that never loses the listener, and he offers an intense but not-too-dramatic rendition of Scott’s travails. Perfect for history buffs and armchair adventurers. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 05]