Travelling Passions: The Hidden Life of Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Gisli Palsson

Published by University of Manitoba Press 2005

Travelling Passions

The Hidden Life of Vilhjalmur Stefansson

Gisli Palsson
Translated by: Keneva Kunz

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780887553905

Overview
Contents

About this book

Vilhjalmur Stefansson has long been known for his groundbreaking work as an anthropologist and expert on Arctic peoples. His three expeditions to the Canadian Arctic in the early 1900s, as well as his expertise in northern anthropology, helped create his public image as an heroic, Hemingway-esque figure in the annals of twentieth-century exploration. But the emotional and private life of Stefansson the man have remained hidden, until now.

New evidence of this other life has recently been discovered: a collection of love letters between Stefansson and his fiance Orpha Cecil Smith were found in a New Hampshire flea market; Stefansson's field diaries have revealed elegant essays and insightful commentary on Inupiat society; baptismal records have revealed that Stefansson had a son, Alex, with his informant and guide, Fanny Pannigabluk; and through Web searches and a private detective, Palsson found and conducted interviews with the descendents of both Cecil Smith and Alex Stefansson.

Travelling Passions sheds new light on Stefanssonís life and work, focussing on the tension between his private life and the theories that brought his name to the halls of fame. Palsson draws a clear, vivid, and in many ways unexpected picture of the mythical figure of Stefansson.

Author / Editor information

Palsson Gisli :

Gisli Palsson is the author, editor, or co-editor of 15 books, including Writing on Ice: The Ethnographic Notebooks of V. Stefansson, Nature and Society: Anthropological Perspectives, and The Textual Life of Savants: Ethnography, Iceland, and the Linguistic Turn. In April 2000, he was awarded the Rosenstiel Award in Oceanographic Science for excellence in the field of marine affairs. He is currently a professor of anthropology at the University of Iceland.

Reviews

"A forthright but carefully nuanced exploration of the enigmatic explorer."

Topics

Front Matter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Foreword Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Hard Facts and Emotive Fluff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Formative Years Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
The Bone Collector Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
My Little Wife Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
Among Inuit Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
To the "Blond Eskimos" Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
In the Wake of The Karluk Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Farewell to Family Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	169
Back to Civilization Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
The Saga of Alex Stefansson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
The Dartmouth Years Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
The Super Eskimo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275
Love and Fame Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
A Chronology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	323
Endnotes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	347
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	367

Language: English
Publisher: University of Manitoba Press
Audience: General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 374

eBook

Published: September 7, 2005
ISBN: 9780887553905