Shackleton

By: Roland Huntford

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Paperback | 21 September 1989 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

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800 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
5.3 x 13 x 19.8

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Ernest Shackleton was the quintessential Edwardian hero. A contemporary - and adversary - of Scott, he sailed on the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1900, and went on to mount three expeditions of his own. Like Scott, he was a social adventurer; snow and ice held no particular attraction, but the pursuit of wealth, fame and power did. Yet Shackleton, and Anglo-Irishman who left school at 16, needed status to raise money for his own expeditions. At various times he was involved in journalism, politics, manufacturing and City fortune-hunting - none of them very effectively. A frustrated poet, he was never to be successful with money, but he did succeed in marrying it. At his height he was feted as a national hero, knighted by Edward VII, and granted £20,000 by the government for achievements which were, and remain, the very stuff of legend. But the world to which he returned in 1917 after the sensational ''Endurance'' expedition did not seem to welcome surviving heroes. Poverty-stricken by the end of the war, he had to pay off his debts through writing and endless lecturing. He finally obtained funds for another expedition, but dies of a heart attack, aged only 47, at it reached South Georgia.

Industry Reviews

This is an utterly absorbing biography ... moves one to tears of relief, joy and blind wonder - Allan Massie

Expertly handled and written ... makes extensive uncensored use of the diaries written at the time - ECONOMIST

Unlikely to be superseded - Robert Fox, LISTENER

Magnificent ... Huntford has done justice to this great and complex man. That, in itself, is a triumph - SUNDAY TIMES

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List of Illustrations	p. xi
List of Maps	p. xiii
Preface	p. xv
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Prologue: "Great Shack!"	p. 3
Anglo-Irish background	p. 4
Round the Horn	p. 13
A path to fame and fortune?	p. 24
National Antarctic Expedition	p. 31
Discovery	p. 45
A protean world of ice	p. 51
Polar travel	p. 64
Polar night	p. 70
Dogs and diet	p. 79
The southern journey	p. 88
Race for life	p. 104
Invalided home	p. 114
A new and better path?	p. 119
"An east-windy, west-endy place"	p. 129
Prospects, but no work	p. 140
British Antarctic Expedition, 1907	p. 158
Seven months to prepare	p. 167
When Nimrod sailed	p. 178
A broken promise	p. 187
McMurdo Sound	p. 208
The conquest of Mount Erebus	p. 219
Midwinter	p. 229
"A glorious day for our start"	p. 239
Furthest South	p. 249
March or die	p. 275
National Hero	p. 293
Sir Ernest's debts	p. 304
Hungarian mines	p. 321
"A bit of a floating gent"	p. 331
Endurance	p. 364
South Georgia	p. 383
Pack ice at 59[degree]28'	p. 399
Two helpless hulks	p. 412
"The secret of our unanimity"	p. 421
Death agony of Endurance	p. 439
Responsibility to Shackleton	p. 449
"So now we'll go home"	p. 454
From Ocean Camp to Patience Camp	p. 465
Escape by a hair's breadth	p. 480
"We can only wait and see"	p. 488
Into the open sea	p. 503
Half-way house	p. 520
Tension on Elephant Island	p. 528
Relief preparations	p. 542
The open-boat journey	p. 546
A slight change of course	p. 563
The line that divides success from failure	p. 566
King Haakon Bay	p. 573
The crossing of South Georgia	p. 581
A trio of scarecrows	p. 597
"Urgent need immediate rescue"	p. 604
Cape Wild	p. 620
Aurora and the end of the expedition	p. 626
South America and Northern Russia	p. 649
Quest	p. 673
Epilogue: The Fourth Presence	p. 695
Appendices
Note on units	p. 701
Abbreviations	p. 703
Notes	p. 705
Sources	p. 741
Index	p. 755
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Shackleton

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

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