Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition
The Voyage of the Nimrod
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition is the story of Ernest Shackleton's epic journey toward the South Pole. Lacking funds and plagued by hunger, cruel weather, and unpredictable terrain, Shackleton and his party accomplished some of the most remarkable feats in the history of exploration. Not only were members of the expedition the first to climb the active volcano Mount Erebus and the first to reach the South Magnetic Pole, but Shackleton himself led a party of four that trudged hundreds of miles across uncharted wastelands and up to the terrible Antarctic Plateau to plant the Union Jack only ninety-seven miles from the South Pole itself. Based on extensive research and first-hand accounts Riffenburgh makes the expedition vivid while providing fascinating insight into the age of British exploration and Empire. Beau Riffenburgh is a historian specializing in exploration. A native of California, he earned his doctorate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, where he is currently the editor of Polar Record. He is the author of the critically praised The Myth of the Explorer and editor of the Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. A Selection of the History Book Club "Riffenburgh's perceptive book blends first-hand accounts with original research and a fast-paced narrative, providing a cracking adventure."-The Times Literary Supplement UK "A masterful balance of true drama and first-rate scholarship. The narrative moves with the speed of a novel, while the author's unerring eye for historical detail captures the essence of polar exploration and explorers and locates Shackleton and his men in the grand scheme of empire."-Sir Ranulph Fiennes Also available: HC 1-58234-488-4 ISBN-13: 978-1-58234-488-1 $25.95
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ernest Shackleton's fame has been restored due to renewed interest in the heroic tale of the Endurance expedition, but his original celebrity status stemmed from an earlier voyage to the Antarctic from 1907 to 1909, during which he led a small group of men to within 97 miles of the South Pole. Riffenburgh (The Myth of the Explorer) recounts this journey in riveting detail, describing how Shackleton and his crew survived under harrowing conditions, sometimes brought on by their own tactical misjudgments, like the decision to rely heavily on ponies to carry supplies across the frozen landscape. The story also offers vital clues to Shackleton's personality, revealing how he first went to the Antarctic in order to impress his girlfriend and, more importantly, examining the competitive rivalry between Shackleton and fellow explorer Sir Robert Scott. Scott had sent Shackleton home from an earlier expedition for health reasons, and when Shackleton vowed to return to Antarctica in part to prove he was strong enough to make it, Scott viewed it as a threat to his own plans and unfairly extracted a promise from his former crewman not to use "his" base camps, adding further complications to the journey. For those who thrilled to the Endurance saga, Riffenburgh offers an equally gripping adventure, which laid the foundations of Shackleton's capacity for brilliant leadership under pressure.