Book Review: Women of the Four Winds
Elizabeth Fagg Old's Biographies of Some Incredible Women.
Women of the Four Winds was first published in 1985, but is as thrilling as any modern best seller or blockbuster movie, because of the lives of the subjects and what a truly amazing bunch they are. Olds tells the story for four women who may not be remembered, but in a way that no one should forget.
Annie Smith Peck: Mountaineer
Each woman is given her own chapter that tells of her achievements and struggles largely based on her gender. Peck’s story in particular is a study of struggle and controversy.
At over 50, Peck met much controversy during her drive to climb Huscarain, the highest mountain in Peru. She attempted to climb the mountain seven times before finally succeeding in 1908.
Peck is written with a very no-nonsense dry manner which is something to be read about, but she is also given a lot of strength and guts all of which she needs in dealing with her fellow climbers many of whom are incompetent and often cost her the previous climbs.
One disturbing climber entertains notions of killing her. Another loses some of her gear, before climbing the summit himself, a breach in mountaineering etiquette. Compared to dealing with these fools, Peck’s journeys up the mountain seem easy.
Louise Arner Boyd: Greenland Explorer
Persistence is also the name in dealing with Boyd’s seven expeditions to Greenland. Boyd’s chapter is filled with frigid descriptions of the frozen north and fear of dying in the ice.
Boyd began her expedition in an odd bit of serendipity as leading in the journey to find Roalf Admunson, the explorer who helped trek the Arctic. Unable to find him, Boyd was rewarded for her efforts and in 1931 began a series of expeditions through Greenland.
Boyd’s determination to plow through Greenland while dealing with her own mortality are prevelent as she retains her sense of humor and modesty, such as her reaction upon discovering that a part of Greenland was named “Miss Boyd Land” in her honor.
Delia J. Akeley: African Explorer
In contrast to the frozen north that Boyd explored, the Africa that Akeley experienced was fertile and lush, but filled with just as much danger.
Akeley first traveled to Africa with her then-husband, Carl, in 1905, who judging from the book was weak-willed and selfish. Though the two made many discoveries such as taxidermy and mounted various elephants, their marriage ended in divorce. Akeley continued to travel to Africa on her own.
Akeley shines in her solo adventures where she canoes down dangerous rivers, shoots at animals ten times her size, and encounters the local tribes like the pygmies. Akeley’s descriptions of the pygmy way of life such as their drum code signals and their unique way of blending in with the surroundings to hunt are evocative.
Marguerite Harrison: Spy and Filmmaker
Though they are all great, by far the most interesting woman in the book is Harrison. There are two stages of her story and both display her strength, resourcefulness, and willingness to survive.
The first phase is as a spy for the U.S. during WWI. Posing as a journalist, Harrison sneaked into German and Russia. Her mission to Russia is just about as thrilling as any James Bond novel as she travels in dangerous situations and faces imprisonment.
The next phase of her career is equally impressive as she becomes a documentary filmmaker. In 1925, she and her friends filmed a documentary, Grass which recounts the lives of Persian nomads. Her exhilaration at filming the scenes and encounters with these people is clearly felt as is her disappointment with Hollywood's ill-treatment of her film..
About the Author
Elizabeth Fagg Olds was a foreign correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and Mexico’s bureau chief for Time-Life. She was President of the Society for Women Geographers, an organization in which Peck, Boyd, Akeley, and Harrison were all members.
The cover of Women of the Four Winds
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