With Nansen in the North

'--- The bear then dealt me a blow on the right cheek with one of its powerful fore paws, making the bones rattle in my head, but fortunately it did not stun me. I fell over on my back and there I lay between the bear’s legs. “Get the gun,” I shouted to Nansen, who was behind me, while at the same instant I saw the butt end of my own loaded gun sticking out of the kayak by my side, my fingers itching to get hold of it. I saw the bear’s jaws gaping just over my head, and the terrible teeth glistening. As I fell I had seized the brute’s throat with one hand, and held on to it for dear life. 'Fridtjof Nansen's sole companion on his epic trek, leaving their expedition ship in the pack ice and trying for the pole with dogs and sledges. Forced to turn back, they winter in a makeshift hut on Frans Jozef's Land, managing to live off the land.Johansen gives the story a fresh perspective, giving an immediacy to the description of this amazing feat that Nansen's narrative sometimes lacks. Read more