Not at all what I expected - a lot of explanation of what were his expeditions and why they were good or bad.  I was hoping for more depth - the same goes for his writing about the expeditions by ships in the Arctic such as the Jeannete.  While his accomplishments are certainly impressive, I wasn't overly impressed with this book or the writing style.

The last chapter of this book is what I was really expecting based on the description, and I would have enjoyed the book much more had all of it been so thoughtful and introspective. Instead, earlier chapters were a little dry in their lack of feeling and personal experience. While one chapter discussed the ways in which "exploring" can be problematic and damaging to native cultures, he made similarly problematic statements throughout the rest of the book. I wish this had been more of a reflection on why he did what he did rather than a listing of adventures he took.