I've been drawn to books about exploration lately, especially Arctic exploration and have read and enjoyed Buddy Levy's previous book. This story of the first airship explorations of the North Pole is gripping. With all of today's technology it's hard to imagine how difficult and perilous early air navigation was, yet Levy brings to life the dangers faced by adventurers who dared to attempt what many thought was impossible. This book would be great for anyone who enjoys history, exploration, or adventure. Thanks to Netgalley, Buddy Levy, and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reading copy of this excellent book. (read less)

I've been drawn to books about exploration lately, especially Arctic exploration and have read and enjoyed Buddy Levy's previous book. This story of the first airship explorations of the North Pole is gripping. With all of today's technology it's hard to imagine how difficult and perilous early air navigation was, yet Levy brings to life the dangers faced by adventurers who dared to attempt (read more)

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. (read less)

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 (read more)