Roland Huntford

Roland Huntford (born 1927) is an author, principally of biographies of Polar explorers.

He has written biographies of Robert Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Nobel Peace Prize winner Fridtjof Nansen. Huntford's The Last Place on Earth (originally titled Scott and Amundsen) had a tremendous impact on public interest in Polar matters. Part of the interest was because of Huntford's unflattering treatment of the iconic Captain Scott, and his adverse comparison of the planning and execution of the British expedition against the Norwegian one led by Roald Amundsen. Huntford attempted to re-invent much of what he saw as Scott mythology, and at the same time increase the stature of Amundsen. The historical roots for the book's structure range from Plutarch (Lives) through Alan Bullock (Hitler and Stalin). The two books which followed, biographies of Shackleton (Shackleton) and Nansen (Nansen) were also widely acclaimed. Nansen claims to be the first full-length biography in English of the great explorer and statesman using original sources, previously untapped.

Recently there has been an attempt to redress the balance of opinion about Scott by the British adventurer and baronet Ranulph Fiennes. Fiennes asserts that Huntford, who lacks direct experience of Polar travel and man-hauling, is not qualified to draw the conclusions he does on Scott's alleged technical deficiencies. In his book, Fiennes offers a rebuttal of some of Huntford's assertions of Scott's deficiencies by relating to Fiennes' own experience and knowledge, ultimately encouraging the reader to form their own conclusions.

Huntford's other books include The New Totalitarians (a study of Swedish Socialism), Sea of Darkness and The Sayings of Henrik Ibsen. He lives in Cambridge, and was formerly Scandinavian correspondent of The Observer, also acting as their winter sports correspondent. He was the Alistair Horne Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford.

Bibliography

• Ranulph Fiennes (2003). Captain Scott. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. ISBN 0-340-82697-5.