Book Review: Frost on My Moustache: The Arctic Exploits of a Lord and a Loafer

Reviewed By: Jennifer Jordan

[4 stars]

Frost on My Moustache: The Arctic Exploits of a Lord and a Loafer Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Tim Moore
Class/Genre: Non-Fiction Travel Humorous
February 2001, Griffin Trade Paperback, Travel/Humor 288 pages

Hilarious, disgusting, witty, pathetic, endearing, annoying and a wonderful read.

Tim Moore, our intrepid guide on this journey, attempts to recreate the arctic exploits of the indefatigable Lord Dufferin in 1856. The heroic Lord traveled from Scotland to Iceland to Norway to the Artic archipelago of Spitzbergen on his sailing yacht, the Foam. His travelogue Letters From High Latitudes tells tales of sparring with icebergs, polar bears and rough seas in a dashing, poetic and maddeningly understated braggadocio. Moore's rendition more closely resembles the comic ramblings of a modern day Mr. Magoo. Before the first leg of the journey has even begun, our hero is reduced to a self-deprecating snot while visiting the latest and last Lady Dufferin. Flummoxed by how to handle an introduction to the manor servants I wasnt sure whether to respond with supercilious disdain or by saying, Very good... er, as you were, carry on so in the end I got them all pregnant then pushed them out into the snow to face the shaming wrath of the villagers. He was soon to lament his decision to retrace Dufferins maritime voyage as he steps onto the Dettifoss, a container ship that would carry him to Reykjavik, Iceland. Dufferin was never sea sick. Blazingly sea sick. We soon see Mr. Moore enduring a fate worse than C-Span as his body rebels and his mind quells. Moore himself says, Dufferin seems the personification of Kiplings If. Im more of a But& man myself.

This book will have you laughing out loud. Moore is horribly witty and superbly rude. His determination and self-effacing humor will win you over. But, if you find yourself next to him on an airplane, change seats.

Jennifer Jordan

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jennifer Jordan