South! (Unabridged. with 97 original illustrations)

Unabridged. 97 original photographs and maps. An epic account of one of the most extraordinary feats of physical and mental endurance in a battle for survival in the most extreme natural conditions. Shackleton's 800 mile voyage with a crew of five in a 22.5-foot open boat through the hurricane-force winds and gargantuan waves of the Furious Fifties is the greatest small-boat journey ever recorded. This was but one of the trials endured by the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in this gripping account. Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO OBE, was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. His first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Scott's 1901-04 Expedition: he was sent home early on health grounds. Determined to make amends for this perceived personal failure, he returned in 1907 as leader of the Nimrod Expedition. In January 1909, he and three companions reached a record Farthest South latitude at 88°23'S, a mere 97 geographical miles (from the South Pole, by far the closest approach up to that time. Shackleton was knighted by Edward VII on his return home. This edition:covers Shackleton's final, and most dramatic Antarctic expedition is complete and undbridged is presented crisp well-spaced modern font which will be a pleasure to read.