ANTARCTIC BOOK NOTES

Outside of a penguin,
A book is man's best friend.
Inside of a penguin,
It's too dark to read."
      —apologies to Groucho Marx
Included here are notices of books that have been published, although some may now be out-of-print.
[This is a selective listing—books that are a little different, break some new ground (or ice) or otherwise are more than the usual run-of-the-mill treatment of Antarctic-related subjects. Occasional articles and journals, too.]
Reviews and suggestions of titles for inclusion are welcomed.
Generally, newer books appear first.

See 'Antarctic Books Due and Works-in-Progress'—elsewhere on this site—for works yet to be published.

Last updated: 24 June 2009.

Accessed at least many times since 16 April 2007.



INDEX OF BOOKS INCLUDED BY AUTHOR:

SOME ANTARCTIC E-BOOKS Some Antarctic E-books

Airey, Len and John Elliot, illustrator. On Antarctica
Aldridge, Don. The Rescue of Captain Scott
[Antarctic Heritage Trust]. Conservation Report; Shackleton's Hut
Ayres, Philip. Mawson: A Life
Barczewski, Stephanie. Antarctic Destinies; Scott, Shackleton and the Changing Face of Heroism
Basberg, Bjørn L. The Shore Whaling Stations at South Georgia; A Study in Antarctic Industrial Archaeology
Baughman, T.H. Pilgrims on the Ice: Robert Falcon Scott's First Antarctic Expedition
Belanger, Dian Olson. Deep Freeze; The United States, the International Geophysical Year, and the Origins of Antarctica's Age of Science
Bickel, Lennard. Shackleton's Forgotten Men: The Untold Tragedy of the Endurance Epic
Bomann-Larsen, Tor. Roald Amundsen
Bull, Colin. Innocents in the Dry Valleys
Burke, David Body at the Melbourne Club
Burton, Robert Southern Horizons; The History of the British Antarctic Territory
Burton, Robert and Stephen Venables Shackleton at South Georgia
Campbell, R.J. The Discovery of the South Shetland Islands. The Voyages of the Brig Williams, 1819-1820, and the Journal of Midshipman C.W. Poynter
Charcot, J.B. Towards the South Pole Aboard the Français
Coleman, E.C. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration from Frobisher to Ross
Coleman, E.C. The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration from Franklin to Scott
Crane, David Scott of the Antarctic; A Life of Courage and Tragedy in the Extreme South
[Davies, Sir Peter Maxwell.] Notes from a Cold Climate. Antarctic Symphony. (Symphony No. 8)
Fadiman, Anne. Ex Libris; Confessions of a Common Reader
Fiennes, Ranulph. Captain Scott
Forster, Georg. Cook, the Discoverer
Fox, William L. Terra Antarctica; Looking into the Emptiest Continent
Fox, William L. The Antarctic from Circle to Pole (essay)
Gillespie, Noel Courage Sacrifice Devotion; The History of the US Navy Antarctic VXE-6 Squadron 1955-99
Glines, Carroll V. Bernt Balchen, Polar Aviator
Gurney, Alan. The Race to the White Continent: Voyages to the Antarctic
Goodlad, James A. Scotland & the Antarctic
Guthridge, Guy G. The Antarctic from Circle to Pole (introduction)
Haddelsey, Stephen. Born Adventurer—The Life of Frank Bickerton Antarctic Pioneer
Haddelsey, Stephen. Ice Captain: The Life of J.R. Stenhouse
Hall, Lincoln. Douglas Mawson--The Life of an Explorer
Hart, Ian B. Pesca: A History of the Pioneer Modern Whaling Company in the Antarctic
Heacox, Kim. Shackleton: The Antarctic Challenged
Headland, Robert K. A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration
Hermelo, Ricardo S., José M. Sobral, Felipe Fliess. When The Corvette Uruguay was Dismasted: The Return of the Uruguay from The Antarctic In 1903
Hince, Bernadette. The Antarctic Dictionary
Hodgson, Barbara. Hippolyte's Island
Hoflehner, Josef and Katharina (photographs) and David L. Harrowfield (text). Frozen History; The Legacy of Scott and Shackleton
Hooper, Meredith. The Ferocious Summer; Palmer's Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica
Hooper, Meredith and Lucia deLeiris, illustrator. Antarctic Journal: The Hidden Worlds of Antarctica's Wildlife
Huntford, Roland, introduction by. The Shackleton Voyages; A Pictorial Anthology of the Polar Explorer and Edwardian Hero
Hurley, Frank. South with Endurance; Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition 1914-1917, The Photographs of Frank Hurley
Jones, Max, Edited by. Journals. Captain Scott's Last Expedition
Jones, Max. The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice
Karrow, Robert W., Jr., editor and David C. White and Patrick Morris, compilers. The Gerald F. Fitzgerald Collection of Polar Books, Maps, and Art at the Newberry Library, A Catalogue
Kelly, John. Due South: An Antarctic Journal
Keough, Pat and Rosemarie. Antarctica
Klipper, Stuart. The Antarctic from Circle to Pole
Kohl-Larsen, Ludwig; translated by William Barr. South Georgia; Gateway to Antarctica
Krause, Reinhard A. and Lars U. Scholl. The Magic of Antarctic Colours
Lagerbom, Charles H. The Fifth Man: Henry R. Bowers
Lambert, Katherine Hell with a Capital H; An Epic Story of Antarctic Survival
Lankford, Nelson D. and Warren R. Hofstra, editors. Richard E. Byrd and the Legacy of Polar Exploration
Leane, Dr Elizabeth. Representations of Antarctica—A Bibliography
Lewis-Jones, Huw. Face to Face Polar Portraits
Lipton, David L. Some Ideas about the Far South before the Western European Age of Discovery
Locke, Stephen. George Marston: Shackleton's Antarctic Artist
MacKenzie, Julian and Lisa Milton and Richard Kossow. The "Taurus" Collection; 150 Collectible Books on the Antarctic. A Bibliography
Manhire, Bill. The Wide White Page; Writers Imagine Antarctica
McElrea, Richard and David Harrowfield Polar Castaways: The Ross Sea Party (1914-17) of Sir Ernest Shackleton
McGonigal, David and Lynn Woodworth. Antarctica: The Complete Story
McGregor, Alasdair. Frank Hurley: A Photographer's Life
McKernan, Victoria. Shackleton's Stowaway
[Mill, Hugh Robert, and Emily Shackleton] Rejoice My Heart: The Making of H.R. Mill's "The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton"; The Private Correspondence of Dr. Hugh Robert Mill and Lady Shackleton, 1922-33
Mills, Leif. Frank Wild
Mills, William James. Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia
Morrell, Margot and Stephanie Capparell. Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer
Mueller, Melinda. What the Ice Gets; Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition 1914-1916
Murphy, David Thomas. German Exploration of the Polar World: A History, 1870-1940
Murphy, Shane. Endurance in the Antarctic [postcards]
Murphy, Shane, editor. Shackleton's Photographer; Frank Hurley's Endurance Diaries 1914-17
Nasht, Simon. The Last Explorer; Hubert Wilkins, Australia's Unknown Hero
Nugent, Frank. Seek the Frozen Lands: Irish Polar Explorers 1740-1922
Paine, M.L., edited with and Introduction by. Footsteps on the Ice; The Antarctic Diaries of Stuart D. Paine, Second Byrd Expedition
Pawson, Ken. Antarctica: "...To a Lonely Land I Know"
Perkins, Dennis N.T. Leading at the Edge: Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition
Philbrick, Nathaniel. Sea of Glory; America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition 1838-1842
Piggott, Dr Jan, editor, and others. Shackleton: The Antarctic and Endurance
Plimpton, George. Ernest Shackleton
Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery. Scott of the Antarctic and Plymouth's Antarctic Connections - a brochure
Poncet, Sally and Kim Crosbie A Visitor's Guide to South Georgia
Pool, Beekman H. Polar Extremes: The World of Lincoln Ellsworth
Poulsom, Lieutenant Colonel Neville W. and Rear Admiral J.A.L. Myres CB. British Polar Exploration and Research; A Historical and Medallic Record with Biographies 1818-1999
Pyne, Steven J. The Antarctic from Circle to Pole (essay)
Rajala, Elizabeth Anna Bakewell. The American on the Endurance; Ice, Seas, and Terra Forma Adventures of William L. Bakewell
Reynolds, William. The Private Journal of William Reynolds, United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
Riffenburgh, Beau, Racing with Death: Douglas Mawson - Antarctic Explorer
Riffenburgh, Beau. Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition; The Voyage of the Nimrod
Riffenburgh, Beau, et al. With Scott to the Pole: The Terra Nova Expedition 1910-13
Robson, John. The Captain Cook Encyclopædia
Robson, John. Captain Cook's World; Maps of the Life and Voyages of James Cook R.N.
Ronne, Edith "Jackie". Antarctica's First Lady
Rose, Lisle A. Explorer: The Life of Richard E. Byrd
Rosove, Michael H. Antarctica, 1772-1922; Freestanding Publications through 1999
Rosove, Michael H. Additions and Corrections Supplement to the Rosove Antarctic Bibliography.
Rosove, Michael H. Let Heroes Speak: Antarctic Explorers 1772-1922
Rosove, Michael H. When The Corvette Uruguay was Dismasted: The Return of the Uruguay from The Antarctic In 1903
Rossiter, Heather. Lady Spy, Gentleman Explorer: The Life of Herbert Dyce Murphy
Royds, Lieutenant Charles W R RN. The Diary of Lieutenant Charles W R Royds RN Expedition to the Antarctic 1901-1904
Rubin, Jeff. Antarctica
Rubin, Jeff. Train Oil and Snotters; Eating Antarctic Wild Foods
Sale, Richard. Polar Reaches
Savours, Ann. The Voyages of the Discovery
Sellick, Douglas R.G. Antarctica: First Impressions 1773-1930
Shackleton, Sir Ernest H. The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Shackleton, Ernest, L. C. Bernacchi and Apsley Cherry-Garrard, editors. The South Polar Times Vols I-III
Shackleton, Jonathan and John MacKenna Shackleton: An Irishman in Antarctica
Shirihai, Hadoram The Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife...
Skelton, J.V. Another Little Job for the Tinker
Skelton, J.V. and D.M. Wilson. Discovery Illustrated: Pictures from Captain Scott's First Antarctic Expedition
Smith, Michael. An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean - Antarctic Survivor
Smith, Michael Captain Francis Crozier; Last Man Standing?
Smith, Michael. I am just Going Outside
Smith, Michael. Ice Man: The Remarkable Adventures of Antarctic Explorer Tom Crean
Smith, Michael. James Wordie Polar Crusader; Exploring the Arctic and Antarctic
Smith, Michael Tom Crean; An Illustrated Life
Smithsonian Institution. Shackleton's Captain: A Biography of Frank Worsley
Smithsonian Institution. U.S. Exploring Expedition Online
Solomon, Susan. The Coldest March
Speak, Peter. Deb; Geographer, Scientist, Antarctic Explorer
Speak, Peter. William Speirs Bruce. Polar Explorer and Scottish Nationalist
Stam, David H. and Deirdre C. Books on Ice; British & American Literature of Polar Exploration
Stone, Gregory S. Ice Island: Expedition to Antarctica's Largest Iceberg
Stonehouse, Bernard, Edited by. Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans
Strange, Carolyn and Alison Bashford. Griffith Taylor: Visionary, Environmentalist, Explorer
Summers, Debbie. A Visitor's Guide to the Falkland Islands
Swithinbank, Charles. Vodka on Ice; A Year with the Russians in Antarctica
Taaffe, Seamus, editor. Nimrod; The Journal of the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School. Vol 1
Taaffe, Seamus, editor. Nimrod; The Journal of the Ernest Shackleton Autumn School. Vol 2
Tarver, Mike The S.S. Terra Nova (1884-1943)
Tatham, David, editor. The Dictionary of Falklands Biography (including South Georgia)
Thomson, John. The Orde Lees Journal: Elephant Island and Beyond
Thomson, John. Shackleton's Captain: A Biography of Frank Worsley
Trewby, Mary, Edited by. Antarctica: An Encyclopedia from Abbott Ice Shelf to Zooplankton
Tyler-Lewis, Kelly The Lost Men
van der Merwe, Pieter, General Editor. South: The Race for the Pole
Walton, David W.H. and Bruce Pearson. White Horizons: British Art from Antarctica, 1775-2006
Warr, Michael South of Sixty; Life on an Antarctic Base
Wheeler, Sara. Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Williams, Isobel. With Scott in the Antrctic; Edward Wilson, Explorer, Naturalist, Artist
Wilson, David M. Nimrod Illustrated
Wilson, David M. and David B. Elder. Cheltenham in Antarctica: the Life of Edward Wilson
Wilson. David M. and Christopher J. Wilson. Edward Wilson's Nature Notebooks
Yelverton, David E. Antarctica Unveiled
Yelverton, David E. Quest for a Phantom Strait; The Saga of the Pioneer Antarctic Peninsula Expeditions 1897-1905



NIMROD ILLUSTRATED. PICTURES FROM LIEUTENANT SHACKLETON'S BRITISH ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION David M. Wilson. Cheltenham: Reardon Publishing, 2009. 168pp. Hardcover. Profusely illustrated in color and black & white ("over 500 pictures") £39.99; Special Limited Edition, bound in leather £150. ISBN: 9781873877906. Special Limited Edition ISBN: 9781873877913. Web: www.reardon.co.uk

"To celebrate the centenary of one of the most exciting expeditions of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration comes "Nimrod Illustrated". The book is a remarkable collage of expedition photographs, paintings and ephemera in a deliberate reminiscence of the expedition scrapbooks kept by so many of the expedition participants at the time. Many of the images are rarely seen, if ever before published, whilst others are better known.Together with quotations from the diaries of expedition participants, they tell the story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909 which saw the first use of ponies and motor cars in the Antarctic; achieved the first ascent of Mount Erebus; achieved the first attainment of the South Magnetic Pole; and, took Shackleton within 100 miles of the South Geographic Pole to attain a dramatic new 'Farthest South' record. This was the expedition that made Shackleton's name as an explorer and for which he was awarded his knighthood. Edited by Dr. D. M. Wilson, "Nimrod Illustrated" is a treat for anyone interested in Shackleton, the Antarctic, polar exploration or the atmosphere of the Edwardian age. It is a part of the well regarded series commenced with "Discovery Illustrated: Pictures from Captain Scott's First Antarctic Expedition" (2001)."
—From the publisher's website.
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter One: The Gathering
Chapter Two: Southward
Chapter Three: In the Shadow of Erebus
Chapter Four: Winter Quarters
Chapter Five: Antarctic Spring
Chapter Six: Summer Sledging
Chapter Seven: The Relief Voyage of Nimrod
Chapter Eight: The Homecoming
Epilogue: 100 Years On
Members of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909
Select Bibliography
Picture List and Copyright Acknowledgements
Conversion table
Index
"All the royalties from the book will benefit the Shackleton Memorial Library at the Scott Polar Research Institute."

As David says in his Preface, "This is a scrap book." Although there is substantial text, it is the images that are of interest and value. Many of them are new to me and probably appear for the first time. There is quite a range: oil paintings and watercolors; sketches; black and white and color photographs; newspaper clippings; advertizing art; menus, tickets, invitations and other ephemera; maps; music; trade cards; letters and more. A great effort that results in a perfect companion piece to The Heart of the Antarctic and recent books on the Nimrod expedition.
—R. Stephenson
(24 June 2009)

INNOCENTS IN THE DRY VALLEYS. AN ACCOUNT OF THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY OF WELLINGTON ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION 1958-59 Colin Bull. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2009. 267pp, illustrations (many in color), maps (one folding). NZ$50. ISBN: 978-0-864-73594-2. Web: www.victoria.ac.nz/vup
CONTENTS
Maps
Foreword by Dr Eddie Robertson
Introduction by Dr Peter Barrett
Author's Note
Dramatis Personnae
Chapter 1. An idea
Chapter 2. Loife in Noo Zillun Chapter 3. Dear Sir, I write on behalf. . .
Chapter 4. Go. No, stop! No, go! Scott Base
Chapter 5. Landed gentry
Chapter 6. An enigmatic lake and a remarkable saga
Chapter 7. A trip to the seaside
Chapter 8. And the walk back 'home' again
Chapter 9. Along for a short while, maybe
Chapter 10. The End. Wait for the applause!
Chapter 11. Aftermath
Publications
Glossary
Place-Names
Conversion table
Index
FROM PREVIOUS MENTIONS UNDER 'BOOKS DUE and WORKS-IN-PROGRESS'

Colin Bull, in his most recent book catalogue (first in "18 months"), has these introductory words to say at the very top of the first page:

"Last week I corrected the publisher's blurb that is to appear in their next catalogue, about a new masterpiece called Innocents in the Dry Valleys. That is an account of the first university expedition to the Antarctic. In 1958 I had the wonderful opportunity to take four members (including me) of Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition 1958-59 to the Wright Valley area of south Victoria Land. You know me for the modest chap I am—but the expedition was a roaring success and the forerunner of 50, and still counting, expeditions to the Antarctic from that little university.
Anyway, while I wait for the copy-editor to devastate my perspicacious prose and set it all in print, I've collected these titles into a catalogue, with low prices in an attempt to generate shelf space."
(8 November 2008)

UPDATE: Colin recently sent on a pdf of the book's cover. Here's some info. Title: Innocents in the Dry Valleys; An Account of the Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition, 1958-59. 272 pages, 90 color photographs and maps. ISBN: 978-0-864-73594-2. No indication of price or publication date. Here's the cover blurb:

"In 1958-59 a physicist, a biologist and two undergraduate geology students from Victoria University of Wellington spent a summer discovering parts of the Dry Valleys of Victoria Land, Antarctica. This expedition began what has become an annual and very fruitful Antarctic research programme from the university, spanning the last fifty years—so far. These days the expeditions are organised by the internationally respected Antarctic Research Centre. They may cost tens of thousands of dollars and often involve highly specialised equipment. Colin Bull and his companions, Dick Barwick, Barrie McKelvey, and Peter Webb, using food, equipment and transport that was mostly begged, borrowed or even salvaged from the Scott Base rubbish dump, carried out research for two months for under $1000. With droll humour, Bull recounts the adventures of these four hardy and resourceful scientists, who seemed to revel in the adverse conditions, lack of funding and battles with bureaucracy. Dr Colin Bull, geophysicist, glaciologist and cook, was a senior lecturer in physics at Victoria University at the time of this first university Antarctic expedition. He later became Director of the Institute of Polar Studies at The Ohio State University, 1965-69, when he sent the first women scientists to Antarctica. Since retiring as Dean of the College of Math and Physical Sciences he has co-edited a biography of Sir Charles Wright, for whom he named Wright Valley, this first research area, and has written Innocents in the Arctic (Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2005), an account of his first polar expedition. Bull Pass is one of four significant features named for the expedition members at the time. Bull Lake, two kilometres broad and fully ten centimetres deep in places, was named for him by his students when he became Dean."
(29 March 2009)

(24 June 2009)

THE ANTARCTIC FROM THE CIRCLE TO THE POLE. Photographs by Stuart Klipper. Introduction by Guy G. Guthridge, Essays by Steven J. Pyne and William L. Fox. Published by Chronicle Books. Hardcover. 176pp, 120 color photographs. $40. ISBN: 978-0-8118-6229-5. Web: www.chroniclebooks.com

"The Antarctic—Antarctica remains largely unknown and infinitely fascinating. Stuart Klipper has traveled to Antarctica six times in twenty years to photograph this astounding body of work, offering a sweeping look at this majestic continent, which has lately become central to global climate change concerns. Shot in panoramic format—the only way to encompass a landscape that seems to stretch on forever—Klipper's work captures major features and surprising details: ships suspended in the frozen sea, glowing blue icebergs, vistas of endless snow, and troops of penguins. This volume's substantial size, panoramic shape, and unique vertical-opening case emphasize the grandeur of these austere and lovely photographs from the bottom of the world."
Source: www.chroniclebooks.com
(24 June 2009)

BODY AT THE MELBOURNE CLUB; BERTRAM ARMYTAGE, ANTARCTICA'S FORGOTTEN MAN David Burke. Kent Town, South Australia: Wakefield , 2009. 170pp. Illustrations. Softcover. Price: A$27.95. NZ$34.95ISBN: 978-1-86254-833-6. Web: www.wakefieldpress.com.au

"This mystery-cum-biography provides a new perspective on arguably Shackleton's greatest expedition, which unfolds as one of the epics of the polar heroic age. Author David Burke reconstructs the strange, adventurous and troubled life of Bertram Armytage, Antarctica's forgotten man.

Bertram Armytage, the son of a wealthy squatter, a popular sportsman, and a member of the social elite of Melbourne was the first Australian-born member of an Antarctic expedition. But why did Bertram Armytage become the body in Room 24 of Melbourne's most exclusive gentlemans club?

An expert horseman, he was given charge of the ponies in Ernest Shackleton's great 1907-1909 British Antarctic Expedition, he led the Western Party into Ferrar Glacier and narrowly escaped the jaws of killer whales. In London he was decorated by royalty, but on coming home to Australia, leaving behind a wife and infant daughter, he went to one of his part-time city residences, the exclusive Melbourne Club, put on his dinner suit and polar medals and, at the age of 41, shot himself.

Bertram is left to us as a figure devoid of footsteps across history's pages. Of a life led amid the squattocracy of western Victoria and the elite of Melbourne society, on a privileged path into Geelong Grammar School, University of Cambridge, big game hunting and the cavalry of the South African War and finally Antarctica, we have neither diary, letters nor notes; just a solitary newspaper interview.

The release of the book coincides with International Polar Year 2007-2009 and the centenary of the British Antarctic Expedition.

'I have known men like Bertram, sometimes young men in their early adulthood, who have killed themselves and for precisely the same reason; what they considered was a failure to reach their potential, believing themselves to be beyond hope and worthless I frequently found myself very moved by aspects of his character, and in reading the comments made about him by his colleagues.' —Professor Marie Bashir, AC CVO—Governor of New South Wales.

David Burke OAM, a former journalist with the Melbourne Herald, the Sun, and the Sydney Morning Herald, has made six visits to Antarctica and written three books on the subject. He and Dr P. G. Law are the first (and so far, only) Australians to make a direct flight from Australia to the South Pole as members of a long-range US Navy crossing of the bottom of the world. David lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. This is his 22nd book."

—From the publisher's press release.
CONTENTS
Foreword by Professor Marie Bashir
Preface
1. The Western Party
2. Armytage Country
3. The Rower
4. The Bridegroom
5. Locking the Gates
6. The Dragoons
7. Australia Contributes
8. The Voyager
9. Reaching McMurdo
10. Volcano
11. Baptism of Frost
12. Brush with Killers
13. The Heroes
14. Escape
15. Last Days
16. Why?
Appendix
   1. Press interview with Armytage
   2. Shackleton's instructions to Armytage
   3. Armytage's report to Shackleton
   4. Shackleton penguin sketch
   6. Death of Armytage
Acknowledgements and Sources
Bibliography
Glossary of Polar Terms
Index
Here we are in the centenary period of Shackleton's Nimrod expedition so this book on one of the lesser known members of the expedition is welcomed. I love the title which is what gets your attention. Not so if it were a true murder mystery—which it's not—but certainly so for a book on an Antarctic explorer.
I learned a lot about the Australia "squattocracy" and a little but not too much more about the expedition. (There are, of course, books on the expedition with far more detail.) So for me the first half was more absorbing than the second. (I'll be in Melboune in 2010 so there are now a few more 'Antarctic' sites I can add to my list of places to visit.)
You can't help thinking of Captain Oates when you read about Armytage: Somewhat solitary, veterans of the Boer War, in charge of ponies, members of the Cavalry Club, committed suicide.
Criticisms? Well, there is a bit of filler (Shackleton's blackboard penguin sketch hardly seems relevant) and the occasional misspelling (Coleman's Mustard, Charring Cross, and how could the author get Priestley's name wrong throughout the book!?). Nonetheless, a worthwhile read.
—R. Stephenson
(22 April 2009)

A CHRONOLOGY OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION Robert K. Headland. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 2009. 722pp, illustrations, maps. £110. ISBN: 978-0-9550852-8-4. Web: www.quaritch.com

Well, it's finally come to pass. Bob's multi-year project is now complete and extended celebrations will now commence, starting with a launch on 20 February at New Zealand House.

My copy is on order and although there's a lot of background below (and information on the Quaritch website), I'll wait until it arrives before venturing an opinion. I'm sure it will have been worth the wait.

—R. Stepehenson
(15 February 2009)

FROM PREVIOUS MENTIONS IN 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS'

ANTARCTIC CHRONOLOGY by Robert K. Headland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Due for publication probably in late 2001.
Bob is putting the finishing touches on the revision and expansion of his massive Chronological List of Antarctic Expeditions and Related Historical Events (Cambridge University Press, 1989). There will be an improved introduction, over 200 new entries and additional new material.

UPDATE: Late 2001 has come and gone. No recent news on when Bob's 'Chronology' will appear.
—R. Stephenson
(30 August 2002)

UPDATE: Ditto 2002. What's the score, Bob?
—R. Stephenson
(6 March 2003)

UPDATE: Ditto 2003. I actually saw the latest version of the manuscript earlier this month at SPRI, so it exists but there was a sort of indefiniteness as to publication date.
—R. Stephenson
(28 May 2003)

UPDATE: At the recent Athy Shackleton Autumn School Bob had bound proofs of the Chronology so it may reach the light of day in the not too distant future.
—R. Stephenson
(9 November 2003)

UPDATE: Imminent, I'm told.
—R. Stephenson
(29 September 2004)

UPDATE: Apparently some problems with maps.
—R. Stephenson
(22 May 2005)

UPDATE: Maps still a problem, but I did see the proofs at SPRI when there this month!
—R. Stephenson
(29 November 2005)

UPDATE: I saw Bob in November and he had the bound draft in his hands, but maps still a problem.
—R. Stephenson
(2 December 2006)

UPDATE:Earlier this month Bob reported that he has a new publisher and the book might be in the shops by the new year!
—R. Stephenson
(18 June 2008)

UPDATE: THIS JUST IN FROM BOB:

You have all, undoubtedly many times, heard about the new, rather prolonged, edition of my book on Antarctic chronology. Ultimately I have some good news. Yesterday afternoon I gave the manuscript, illustrations, maps, histograms, and the rest of it to the publisher. This is now Bernard Quaritch in London, which has been much more help than Cambridge University Press.

It is now to go to a sub-editor and I assume some minor (I hope it will be minor) adjustments are to be expected. These I will incorporate on my return from the Arctic in late August. I have seen a mock-up of the complete volume and like it; an A4 dark-blue cloth-bound volume on 60 gsm opaque paper. It will have 717 pages (a door stop, or heavy enough to kill small rodents if your aim is good).

It is, for me, excellent, and rather a relief, to see it reach this state but I will avoid too much celebration until the printing is done. The publisher thinks this will take only two months from the time it is submitted. I hope to submit the final version by the end of August (2008). If all goes well this will be in September and October, thus the party will be in November (when the millstone is fully off my shoulders).

I owe many people thanks for getting this work finished. The last few months have had me completing much of the illustrations and similar extras, and then preparing the camera-ready pages. I am, as you can imagine, pleased that this is nearly finished and I will have some spare time for other things.

On Thursday (26th June) I depart for the Northeast Passage so this date was a major one for submission of the mss (as well as get everything ready for the voyage).
(21 June 2008)

Bernard Quaritch Ltd.
A CHRONOLOGY OF ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION
A SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES UNTIL THE INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEARS, 2007-09

The International Polar Years, from 2007 to 2009, provide an appropriate time to conclude a compilation of the historical chronology of all Antarctic regions. This fortuitously coincides closely with the 50th anniversaries of the establishment of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research in 1958, and the adoption of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. The work was prepared during 25 years at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, by the former archivist.

The regions covered are the far southern parts of the Earth in general and Antarctica in particular. They are principally the regions with which the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is concerned and cover all areas under the ægis of the Antarctic Treaty as well as those defined by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

The development of knowledge of these remote parts of the Earth is demonstrated historically; thus the early voyages which discovered the Cape of Good Hope and Cabo de Hornos are described, with those to several far southern temperate islands (Tristan da Cunha, the Falkland Islands, and some of the oceanic islands around New Zealand), especially those voyages which are important in the early history of the regions farther south. For most of the subsequent period, after the early 1800s, the area covered is the Antarctic continent and adjacent islands, as well as the 19 peri-Antarctic islands (South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands, Shag Rocks, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, Bouvetøya, Gough Island, Prince Edward Islands, Iles Crozet, Iles Kerguelen, Iles Saint-Paul et Amsterdam, Heard Island, Macquarie Island, Balleny Islands, Scott Island, Auckland Islands, Campbell Island, and Peter I øy). Details of the peculiar, but fascinating, 19 'non-existent islands' are included.

Voyages range from those directly engaged in exploration and research to accidental discoveries by early merchant vessels blown off course. Sealers, mainly during the 1800s, and whalers in the 1900s are included because their activities had such profound effects on Antarctic biota. The compilation contains 4865 entries from 700 BC to 2008. The majority of these are for expeditions or voyages and give dates, nationalities, leaders (or captains, etc), vessels, places visited, a concise description, and, where appropriate, a reference. For other events a date, details of persons, countries, and inventions, and a brief description are provided. Occasional entries depart from these forms, depending on their significance and the amount of information available.

The early entries consist mainly of explorations and voyages penetrating to far southern regions. The majority of the nineteenth-century expeditions were undertaken by sealers, who discovered many and visited nearly all the peri-Antarctic islands, and there are also records of several scientific expeditions. The period from about 1890 until the First World War includes the brief, but intense, expeditionary activity during the 'heroic age' of Antarctic exploration. The whaling industry also began in the period. Thence, until the Second World War, whaling was the major activity which is recorded with the discontinuous scientific expeditions of various nationalities. The regular annual expeditions of several countries form the bulk of the entries for the period after 1945 and these are continued to the present. Information from this current period includes the opening and closing of stations, major traverses, brief details of scientific programmes, and a large variety of other events.

The related historical events included are concise details of inventions and discoveries which have been important in Antarctic exploration (for instance: aircraft, photography, preservation of food, the Primus stove, and the cause of scurvy); political events, treaties and wars affecting the region; the foundation of scientific institutes and initiation of publications concerned with Antarctica; and similar subjects.

Each entry is numbered and indexed by these numbers. The index contains approximately 50,000 entries including: names of persons and vessels (with dates in parentheses), place-names, names of institutes and publications, names of Antarctic stations, inventions, legislation, and other historical events. The index is comprehensive and occupies a substantial part of the text. References to published material are given for entries where this is appropriate and practicable. Much of the information is derived from a great variety of unpublished sources ranging from Antarctic Treaty and Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research reports, correspondence with Antarctic research organizations and specialists, inscriptions, plaques, and grave markers on peri-Antarctic islands, and many others.

The majority of entries for countries currently undertaking Antarctic expeditions has been checked by persons in the institutes involved who have also provided many additional details. The compiler is greatly indebted to these correspondents for assistance in having the list as complete and correct as practicable.

The work has a comprehensive introduction describing its development and structure. The geography of Antarctica and the peri-Antarctic islands is concisely described and followed by a synoptic account of the historical stages of the region. Exploitation of Antarctic resources (sealing, whaling, and fishing) is covered and illustrated graphically. A section includes details of current circumstances, particularly the diplomacy involved with territorial claims, the Antarctic Treaty System, and modern national operations. Maps and plates are include to show the development of knowledge of the far south, the locations of places mentioned in the text, and events of several selected expeditions.

Earlier versions of the compilation have appeared in Polar Record (1958) and were published by Cambridge University Press (1989). These have proved useful in a very wide range of disciplines, including: history, politics, geology, glaciology, botany, zoology, meteorology, several other sciences, as well as philately and similar pursuits. They have proven very helpful in cataloguing Antarctic literature.

The book is to be published by Bernard Quaritch Ltd, Lower John Street, Golden Square, London, United Kingdom, W1F 9AU (Telephone: + 44 (0) 20 7734 2983, Facsimile: 7437 0967, e-mail contact: ). It will be a hardbound volume of 722 pages (including 40 plates, 27 maps, and 21 histograms). The ISBN is 978-0-9550852-8-4. It is expected to be available in early 2009 and will cost £110.

R. K. Headland
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, United Kingdom, CB2 1ER.
12 September 2008
—Thanks to John Splettstoesser for forwarding this on. I have since revised it slightly with new information provided by Bob which accompanied this e-mail dated 3 October:
"On Wednesday afternoon, 1 October, I gave the page proofs for the Antarctic Chronology I have been working on from 1983 to the publisher.
I am informed the book will be available by early 2009.
This is, as you all know, rather a relief for me and I am looking forward to its appearance. This is, by fortunate coincidence, during the current International Polar Years as well as around the 50th anniversaries of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research and the Antarctic Treaty (not to mention Cambridge's 800th).
The attached note describes the work and gives the publisher's details.
For those interested, and in the vicinity, there will be a publishing event early in the New Year, shortly after I return from the Antarctic.
I will soon have a bit more free time to accomplish several more things which have been described as 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.'"

ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS SUPPLEMENT TO THE ROSOVE ANTARCTIC BIBLIOGRAPHY. Michael H. Rosove. Santa Monica: Adélie Books, 2008. 28.8 cm, quarter dark brown cloth, linen-backed boards, gilt, high-quality, acid-free papers, Smyth-sewn, headbands, without dust-wrapper as issued. pp. xiii, (1), 49, (1); 2 plate leaves (4 color photographs). $75. Web: www.adeliebooks.com

"This long-awaited supplement, concerning the same subject period as the original bibliography, has resulted from the contributions of over fifty polar book collectors, booksellers, and historians. Heretofore unrecognized publications are now described, with much additional information about previously reported publications, with correction of errors."
—From the publisher's website.

FROM PREVIOUS MENTIONS IN 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS'

Michael H. Rosove e-mails to say:

"Believe it or not, I'll be in press with the Additions and Corrections Supplement to the Rosove Antarctic Bibliography (that's the official title) tomorrow. Copies should be available well before the end of the year. I'm excited about it, to say the least."
(14 August 2008)
UPDATE: Michael e-mails to say: "I received all the printed materials and dropped everything off to the binder yesterday and selected binding materials, reviewed details, etc. The binding will be approximately matched to the original bibliography. If all goes well, I'll have books for distribution in about 4 to 6 weeks."
(10 October 2008)
—R. Stepehenson
(15 February 2009)

FACE TO FACE: POLAR PORTRAITS Huw Lewis-Jones. Foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Afterword by Hugh Brody. New photography by Martin Hartley. Cambridge: Polarworld on behalf of the Scott Polar Research Institute, 10 November 2008. [288]pp. £40 hardback; £25 soft-back. There is a special 'Expedition Edition' limited to 100 copies priced at £500. ISBN: 978-0-901021-08-3 soft-cover. ISBN: 978-0-901021-07-6 hardback. Web: www.polarworld.co.uk
This is a superb collection of photographs—historic and modern—beautifully presented and described. Of particular interest to me is the wealth of information on the history of polar photography.
The book was launched, at least unofficially, at the 8th Shackleton Autumn School in Athy, Ireland, last month. The exhibit of photographs from the book (along with cameras from Scott's last expedition) is appearing at the Athy Heritage Centre until 21 November and will then travel to London (Royal Geographical Society), New York (Explorers Club), Dundee (Discovery Point) and Los Angeles (venue unknown).
—R. Stephenson
This unique book by Huw Lewis-Jones is the first to examine the history and role of polar exploration photography, and showcases the very first polar photographs of 1845 through to images from the present day. Almost all the historic imagery has never been before the public eye. In addition to this remarkable collection is a foreword written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes; a fascinating exploration into 'photography then' and 'photography now', focusing on the essential role that photography plays in polar adventuring; and an afterword by the best-selling author Hugh Brody.
—From www.polarworld.co.uk

A lavish account of pioneering polar photography and modern portraiture, "Face to Face: Polar Portraits" brings together in a single volume both rare, unpublished treasures from the historic collections of the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI), University of Cambridge, 'face to face' with cutting-edge modern imagery from expedition photographer Martin Hartley. This unique book by Huw Lewis-Jones is the first to examine the history and role of polar exploration photography, and showcases the very first polar photographs of 1845 through to images from the present day. It features the first portraits of explorers, some of the earliest photographs of the Inuit, the first polar photographs to appear in a book, and rare images never before published from many of the Heroic-Age Antarctic expeditions. Almost all the historic imagery—daguerreotypes, magic lantern slides, glass plate negatives and images from private albums—that have been rediscovered during research for this book have never been before the public eye. Set within a 'gallery' of 100 double page-spreads are 50 of the world's finest historic polar portraits from the SPRI collection alternated with 50 modern-day images by Martin Hartley, who has captured men and women of many nations, exploring, working, and living in the Polar Regions today. Each gallery spread, dedicated to a single individual, gives a sense of the isolation and intense personal experience each 'face' has had in living or travelling through the polar wilderness, whether they be one of the world's greatest explorers, or a humble cook. In addition to this remarkable collection is a foreword written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes; a fascinating exploration into 'photography then'— the history of photography and its role in shaping our vision of the polar hero by historian and curator of art at SPRI, Dr Huw Lewis-Jones; a discussion between Dr Lewis-Jones and Martin Hartley about 'photography now', focusing on the essential role that photography plays in modern polar adventuring; and an afterword entitled 'The Boundaries of Light' by the best-selling author Hugh Brody. Does an explorer need to appear frostbitten and adventurous to be seen as heroic, and do we need faces like these to imagine their achievement? Sir John Franklin is the first. The sun is high. He adjusts his cocked hat, bound with black silk, and gathers up his telescope. He shifts uncomfortably in his chair, positioned on the deck of the stout ship Erebus, as she wallows at her moorings in the London docks. It is 1845. The photographer, Richard Beard, urges the explorer to stay still for just a moment longer. He removes the lens cap, he waits, another minute, and then swiftly slots it back in place. The first polar photographic portrait is secured. Other senior officers of the exploration ships Erebus and Terror had their photographs taken that day, optimistic and ever hopeful. They appear to us now as if frozen in time. So too they followed Sir John Franklin as he led them in search of a navigable northwest passage, into the maze of islands and straits which forms the Canadian Arctic. Mr Beard, at Franklin's request, supplied the expedition with a complete photographic apparatus, which was safely stowed aboard the well-stocked ship alongside other technological marvels: portable barrel-organs, tinned meat and soups, scientific equipment, the twenty-horse-power engines loaned from the Greenwich railway, and a library of over twelve hundred volumes. The camera now formed part of the kit thought essential to travel to the limits of the known world. Weighed down with stores, yet buoyant with Victorian confidence, the expedition sailed from the Thames on 19 May. The ships were last seen in late July, making their way northward in Baffin Bay, before vanishing without a trace…
This title is available in both hardback and soft-cover. It features placement: photography, exploration, travel. It contains 288 pages in full-colour, including images that have never before been published.
The South Pole was an awful place to be on 18 January 1912. Captain Scott and his four companions—Wilson, Bowers, Oates, and Evans—had just found that the Norwegian explorer Amundsen had beaten them to the prize one month earlier. The photograph that the men took that day speaks volumes for their achievement, of course, but there could be no truer record of their total disappointment. The men look absolutely broken; a photograph on top of everything else seems like a punishment. They are utterly devastated. A life's ambition has been snatched from their grasp. Now 800 miles from their base, they dragged themselves northward into the mouth of a raging blizzard. Their photographs and letters home, recovered with their bodies some time later, tell the sad tale of their sacrifice…
—From amazon.co.uk

About the Author
AUTHOR DR HUW LEWIS-JONES is a historian and Curator of Art at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge. Formerly Visiting Fellow at Harvard University, and Curator of Imperial and Maritime History at the National Maritime Museum, London, Huw is also Research Curator of the FREEZE FRAME historic photography project and a consultant within media and broadcasting.
PHOTOGRAPHER MARTIN HARTLEY specializes in documenting the most inaccessible parts of the planet. His commitment to capture the beauty of unadulterated landscapes and remote communities has taken him to some of the most challenging locations in the world. His work has been published in many major newspapers and magazines, including The Times, National Geographic. He has worked on 17 different polar expeditions.
—From amazon.co.uk

(8 November 2008)

DEB: GEOGRAPHER, SCIENTIST, ANTARCTIC EXPLORER. A BIOGRAPHY OF FRANK DEBENHAM Peter Speak. Guildford: Polar Publishing in association with Scott Polar Research Institute, 7 June 2008. [129]pp. £12.99 softback; £25. ISBN: 978-0-9548003-1-4 soft-cover. ISBN: 978-0-9548003-2-1 hard-back. Web: www.polarpublishing.co.uk
A quick look at this biography of Debenham has caused me to place it at the top of my stack of "to read" books, in part, because it includes a lot about the early planning and development of SPRI (which interests me as in a earlier life I was a campus planner).
More on the book soon.
—R. Stephenson
Frank Debenham—'Deb' to all who knew him—was one of the yougest members of Scott's Terra Nova expedition of 1910-1913. Largely overlooked by history, he was nevertheless at the heart of that great adventure, during which he had his own life-threatening experiences. He was destined to go on to far greater things, for which he was awarded both the OBE and the Polar Medal, and to make his mark indelibly on Cambridge history.
Originally from Australia, Deb worked in Cambridge writing up the Expedition's cartographic and survey reports and then more permanently as lecturer in geography. It is thanks to Deb's conviction that Cambridge University has today a designated Geography Department, and he applied that same passion to fulfilling Scott's wish for a centre for polar research. The now world-renowned Scott Polar Research Institute was founded in 1920, and Deb ensured its continued development through to his retirement in 1946.
This thoroughly researched account is supported by illuminating extracts of correspondence, interviews and personal communications, as well as numerous photographs and maps, some published here for the first time. Written in an engaging and accessible style, this book gives insight into the character of Deb, the caring and sensitive family man, and Deb, the geographer, scientist and Antarctic explorer.
His legacy lives on today, to the benefit of many.

The author:
Peter Speak, MA, M.Phil. (Cantab), FRGS, Emeritus Associate of Scott Polar Research Institute, was Head of the Geography Department at the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology, 1950-87. In 1983 he became Master of Philosophy in Polar Studies and then Director of the M.Phil. course, 1989-94, both at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge. Peter has published several articles and is still active within the Polar academic community.
—From the book's cover.
Sadly, Peter Speak died not long after his book appeared.

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations and Maps
Foreword by Professor Julian Dowdeswell
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Australia to Cambridge via Antarctica
2. With Scott in the Antarctic
3. Geography and the University of Cambridge
4. A Centre for Polar Research
5. Deb's Legacy to Cambridge
Epilogue
Apendix: Publications of Frank Debenham
Bibliography
Index
(8 November 2008)

NIMROD; THE JOURNAL OF THE ERNEST SHACKLETON AUTUMN SCHOOL edited by Seamus Taaffe. Athy: The Ernest Shackleton Autumn School Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Vol 2, October 2008. 147pp. Wrappers. €10. ISSN: 2009-0366. Copies may be obtained from the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Town Hall, Emily Square, Athy, Co. Kildare, Ireland. E-mail for further details: athyheritage@eircom.net

Launched at last year's 7th Annual Shackleton Autumn School, the second volume of Nimrod includes five articles and three book reviews:
CONTENTS
Editorial
Articles:
'The Crew of S.Y. Endurance,' by John F. Mann.
'Antarctic Sites outside the Antarctic—Memorials, Statues, Houses, Graves and the Occasional Pub,' by Robert B. Stephenson.
'The 'Kildare' Shackleton Harness,' by Kevin Kenny.
'Conundrums in Arctic Sovereignty,' by Robert Headland.
'Biographical Dictionary of an Uninhabited Island,' David Tatham.
Reviews:
Ice Captain: The Life of J.R. Stenhouse, by Stephen Haddelsey. Reviewed by Paul Davies.
Arctic Hell-Ship: The Voyage of HMS Enterprise 1850-1855,' by William Barr. Reviewed by Joe O'Farrell.
Antarctic Destinies—Scott, Shackleton and the Changing Face of Heroism, by Stephanie Barczewski. Reviewed by Jim McAdam.
(8 November 2008)

SOUTHERN HORIZONS: THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ANTARCTIC TERRITORY Robert Burton. London: UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, 2008. 64pp. Softcover. Price: £10. ISBN: 978-0-95413-891-2. Web: www.ukaht.org
The book is sold at Port Lockroy or can be obtained by sending "a cheque payable for £10 to ANTARCTIC HERITAGE LIMITED, Kingcoed Farm, Usk, NP15 1DS, UK, or telephone 01291 690305 with your credit card details, or email info@ukaht.org to receive a Paypal invoice."

This slim volume is attractively produced and packed with a surprising amount of useful information given its size. Included are many images that I've never seen before.
—R. Stephenson
CONTENTS
Foreword by HRH The Princess Royal
Help preserve the heritage of Antarctica
Probing southwards
Finding Antarctica
The sealers
Explorers of the Heroic Age
The Antarctic Peninsula confirmed
The whalers
Between the wars
Pioneer flights
Permanent occupation
Sledge dogs
From competition to co-operation
(8 November 2008)

WITH SCOTT IN THE ANTARCTIC. EDWARD WILSON, EXPLORER, NATURALIST, ARTIST. Isobel Williams. Stroud: The History Press, 2008. 320pp. £16. ISBN: 978-0-7509-4879-1. Web: www.thehistorypress.co.uk

My copy of this long awaited biography of Dr Wilson arrived the other day. It gets added to the growing stack of books to be read.
—R. Stephenson

Edward Wilson (1872-1912) was Junior Surgeon and Vertebrate Zoologist on the British Antarctic Expedition of 1901-4 and Chief of Scientific Staff on Captain Scott's last ill-fated Antarctic expedition of 1910-12. The only officer with Scott, he formed a close and influential partnership with him and became his loyal confidant. He was part of the Southern Party with Shackleton and Scott on the 1901 expedition; they reached the furthest point south, and Scott named the Cape after Wilson.
—From the publisher's website.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction (by Dr. Michael Stroud)
Prologue
1. Early Years
2. Cambridge
3. Edward Wilson M.B.
4. Antarctic Recruit
5. England to Madeira
6. To the Polar Ice
7. Entering Antarctica
8. Furthest South
9. Paintings and Penguins
10. The Grouse Challenge
11. Terra Nova
12. The Winter Journey
13. Death in the Antarctic
Epilogue
Notes on Sources
Selected Bibliography
Index
FROM PREVIOUS MENTIONS IN 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS'
Isobel Williams e-mails to say that her biography of Wilson will be published next month. I believe this will be the first full biography of E.A. Wilson since Seaver's Edward Wilson of the Antarctic, Naturalist and Friend which appeared in 1933.
(22 August 2008)

UPDATE: The author e-mailed to say that "...it is on general release now (or at least any minute...)." Amazon.co.uk notified me that the "estimated arrival date" is 10-25 November 2008. Another message from Amazon: The book has been sent.
(8 November 2008)

GRIFFITH TAYLOR: VISIONARY, ENVIRONMENTALIST, EXPLORER Carolyn Strange and Alison Bashford. Canberra: National Library of Australia, 2008. 283pp. Softcover. A$39.95. ISBN: 978-0-642-27668-1. Web: www.nla.gov.au
Well produced with many interesting illustrations. Lacks a bibliography.
Thomas Griffith Taylor (1880-1963) was a geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. His travels took him from Captain Scott's final expedition in Antarctica to every continent on earth, in a life that stretched from the Boer War to the Cold War. An Englishman by birth, Taylor spent much of his life in Australia, Canada and the United States where he established geography departments at the University of Sydney and the University of Toronto and also taught at the University of Chicago.
As a scientific secularist, he made it his life-long mission to enlighten the public on humankind's relation to the environment. Today's preoccupations with climate change, the ascendancy of Asian nations, and the renewed threat of nuclear war, were all addressed by 'Grif' Taylor. Often dismissed by his contemporary political and intellectual opponents as a pariah, many subsequent scientists and environmental advocates have come to regard him as something of a prophet. This timely biography by authors Carolyn Strange and Alison Bashford is a highly illustrated account and analysis of Griffith Taylor's remarkable life. It explores what drove this 'long, lean, lanky' man to such extremes: geographically, intellectually and politically.
—From http://nla.gov.au/nla.int-ls27668-bk

Thomas Griffith Taylor (1880-1963) was a geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. His travels took him from Captain Scott's final expedition in Antarctica to every continent on earth, in a life that stretched from the Boer War to the Cold War. Taylor's research ranged from microscopic analysis of fossils to the 'races of man' and the geographic basis of global politics. This timely biography is a copiously illustrated account and analysis of Griffith Taylor's remarkable life. It explores what drove this 'long, lean, lanky' man to such extremes: geographically, intellectually and politically.
—From amazon.co.uk (which gives the book as "unavailable.")
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Favored Son
Chapter 2: The Furthest Frontier
Chapter 3: From Rocks to Race
Chapter 4: Prophet adn Pariah
Chapter 5: War and Peace
Chapter 6: Founding Father
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Notes
List of Illustrations
Index
(8 November 2008)
RACING WITH DEATH: DOUGLAS MAWSON – ANTARCTIC EXPLORER Beau Riffenburgh. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 18 August 2008. [298]pp. Hardcover. £18.99. ISBN-10: 0747580936. ISBN-13: 978-0747580935. Web: www.bloomsbury.com

A copy is on the way to me but for the moment here's a synopsis from Amazon.com
"The early twentieth century was the 'heroic age' of Antarctic exploration—a time when adventurers such as Scott and Shackleton were national icons who personified the contemporary ideal of manly struggle for the good of Empire. But, while these two are world famous to this day, Australian Douglas Mawson, whose Australasian Antarctic Expedition, undertaken in 1911 after Mawson had been a key member of Shackleton's Nimrod expedition, Edmund Hillary described as 'the greatest survival story in the history of exploration', is not. He should be, however. Mawson's expedition, undertaken on a small whaling ship called Aurora, combines several exceptionally exciting elements. Once in the Antarctic, the expedition split up into smaller parties exploring different areas. The two other members of Mawson's party died and Mawson was left to struggle hundreds of miles back to base on his own. Despite incredible odds, he made it, only to find that the rescue ship had sailed away, leaving him to face a year on his own in the Antarctic.
Mawson, who had complex relationships with both Scott and Shackleton, was changed utterly by his struggles in the Antarctic and his story is a fascinating insight into the human psyche under extreme stress."
"Beau Riffenburgh is an historian specialising in exploration, particularly that of the Antarctic, Arctic, and Africa. Born in California, he earned his doctorate at Cambridge University, following which he joined the staff at the Scott Polar Research Institute, where he is the editor of Polar Record. He is the author of the highly regarded Nimrod: Ernest Shackleton and the Extraordinary Story of the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition and The Myth of the Explorer. He is currently serving as Editor of the Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. In Racing with Death, published by BloomsburyÊin August 2008, Beau Riffenburgh rediscovers the almost forgotten story of Mawson - with Shackleton and Scott, one of the three 'greats' of Antarctic exploration."
Source: www.bloomsbury.com (some of these details are out-of-date)
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgements
Maps
Prologue
I NIMROD
1. Trespassers in a World of Ice
2. The Other Pole
II AURORA
3. Australasian Antarctic Expedition
4. The Only Available Place
5. Hurricane Force
6. Start the Sledging
7. A Far Eastern Tragedy
8. Racing with Death
9. Alone
10. Abandoned
11. The Long Wait
12. A Hero at War and Peace
III DISCOVERY
13. Colouring Antarctica Red
14. Science of Politics?
15. A Final Visit
16. Antarctica from Australia
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index
(17 August 2008)

ICE CAPTAIN: THE LIFE OF J.R. STENHOUSE by Stephen Haddelsey. Stroud: The History Press, 8 May 2008. 238pp. Hardcover. £20. ISBN-10: 0750943483. ISBN-13: 978-0750943482. Web: www.thehistorypress.co.uk

"The first full biography of the naval Captain whose seamanship freed Shackleton's ship, Aurora, from the ice, and who rescued the marooned Ross Sea Party.
Much has been written on Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton. This is the story of the Endurance expedition's other hero, Joseph Russell Stenhouse (1887-1941) who, as Captain of the SS Aurora, freed the ship from pack ice and rescued the survivors of the Ross Sea shore party, deeds for which he was awarded the Polar Medal and the OBE. He was also recruited for special operations in the Arctic during the First World War, became involved in the Allied intervention in Revolutionary Russia, and was later appointed to command Captain Scott's Discovery. Stenhouse was one of the last men to qualify as a sea captain during the age of sail."
Source: www.thehistorypress.co.uk
Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
Preface
Acknowledgements
Author's Note
1. The Apprentice in Sail
2. South with Shackleton
3. Arrivals & Departures
4. Adrift in McMurdo Sound
5. Prisoners of the Pack
6. Aurora Redux
7. The Mystery Ships
8. War in the Arctic
9. The Syren Flotilla
10. Discovery
11. Oceans Deep
12. The Final Season
13. Pieces of Eight
14. Treasure Island to the Cap Pilar
15. Thames Patrol
16. With his Boots On
Notes and Sources
Select Bibliography
Index
(17 August 2008)

FROM EARLIER POSTINGS WHEN THE BOOK WAS IN PREPARATION:

Stephen Haddelsey's next effort: "...I am now working on the first full biography of Commander Joseph Russell Stenhouse DSO, OBE etc: first officer and then commander of the Aurora on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The book will cover not only Sten's Antarctic work-—on the Aurora and on the Discovery during the 1920s—but also his service as a Q-ship commander and in North Russia during WWI; his adventures in the US during prohibition; his treasure-hunting exploits; and many more. Already research is progressing well but, as always, I would welcome any information from your readers. The book is to be published by Sutton Publishing in 2007 (which will mark the 120th anniversary of Sten's birth)."

UPDATE: "Work on Ice Captain: The Life of J.R. Stenhouse is progressing well. I've been working my way through the mass of diaries, letters, etc., relating to Sten's non-Antarctic work, including his training in the merchant marine, service in North Russia and during WWII. Fascinating stuff."
—R. Stephenson
(23 January 2006)

UPDATE: "My biography of J.R. Stenhouse, Ice Captain, is progressing very well. Most recently, I have been researching his period in command of Scott's Discovery during the National Oceanographic Expedition of 1925-27. Some absolutely fascinating material has come to light, all of which I will be working into the book. The book will be published by Sutton Publishing Ltd in October 2007 or January 2008."
(15 April 2006)

UPDATE: "Ice Captain is due out in May this year [2008], but they've begun to advertise the book . . . I'm very pleased with the book, which I think is my best to date. Certainly Stenhouse's life was a veritable whirlwind of action, and fascinating to research and write about."
—From a recent e-mail from Stephen Haddelsey.
(14 January 2008)

The publisher will be Sutton Publishing an imprint of The History Press (which now includes Sutton). Amazon lists it as £20 and 256 pages. ISBN: 0750943483 and 978-0750943482. (Sutton's website, which is on the dustjacket, doesn't seem to be active and good luck getting any information from the The History Press website.)

Synopsis
Much has been written on Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton. This is the story of the Endurance expedition's other hero, Joseph Russell Stenhouse (1887-1941) who, as Captain of the SS Aurora, freed the ship from pack ice and rescued the survivors of the Ross Sea shore party, deeds for which he was awarded the Polar Medal and the OBE. He was also recruited for special operations in the Arctic during the First World War, became involved in the Allied intervention in Revolutionary Russia, and was later appointed to command Captain Scott's Discovery. Stenhouse was one of the last men to qualify as a sea captain during the age of sail.

UPDATE: When recently in England I inquired at more than one bookshop and Ice Captain was not to be found. I also just checked with amazon.co.uk and they do not have it. Perhaps publication has been delayed.
—R. Stephenson
(21 June 2008)


COURAGE SACRIFICE DEVOTION; THE HISTORY OF THE US NAVY ANTARCTIC VXE-6 SQUADRON 1955-99 by Noel Gillespie. W. Conshohocken, PA: Infinity Publishing, 2006. Revised edition (date?). Paperback, 519pp. $35.95. ISBN-10: 0741429128. ISBN-13: 978-0741429124

The revised edition is apparently now out, according to Amazon.com:
"This revised second edition of Courage Sacrifice Devotion has new material spread though out the book, with 35 additional pages including six pages of Antarctic maps and 'cutaway' drawings of the Douglas R4-D's 'Gooney Bird' airplane. This new additional material was gleaned during my recent visit to Rhode Island to attend the Old Antarctic Explorers Association reunion. A truly remarkable story of endurance, bravery, so immersed in the demands placed on them by the US Navy—the Puckered Penguins, a group of men and women fighting the odds in the name of Antarctic exploration, carrying out their duties on the frozen continent with danger lurking everywhere. This epic story is an insight and challenging chronicle of their young lives flying aircraft on the world's harshest continent—yet their compassion for their mates will leaves readers stunned."
About the author: "The author is a part time free lance aviation writer in Christchurch, New Zealand and architectural design consultant and has been covering the US Navy's Antarctic operations since the late 1950's.His love for aviation and the Antarctic brought about the writing of this book about a select band of aviators on the frozen continent. His zest for life and his second marriage after 44 years to his late wife Shirley, to which he has three sons, at the age of 70 he enjoys life to the full and dabbled in water colour painting and various writing projects."

(17 August 2008)

FROM EARLIER POSTINGS WHEN THE REVISED EDITION WAS IN PREPARATION:

This title is now in print but Noel Gillespie e-mails to say: "I have revised a second edition, adding over 50 pages of text and maps. At present it's with my publishers and should be on sale later in the year or early next year." Appearing below is information on the first edition:

"As a part time freelance aviation writer based in Christchurch New Zealand, I am privileged to be able to cover the United States Navy Deep Freeze air operations in Antarctica. In early 1999 I wrote an extensive historical history of VX-6 Squadron covering 1955-99, for a British historic aviation journal 'AIR Enthusiast'.

At this point, the idea to write a book of the renowned Squadron's illustrious history in Antarctica was conceived and encouraged by my late wife Shirley, along with many old OAE's. A book had to be written of their exploits in Antarctica, and their story had to be told as a chronicle of their achievements on the frozen continent, their sadness, their joys, their lifetime friendships, and the links they cemented with Christchurch.

Like early aviators who had only their wits and reflexes to bring their aircraft down safely, their planes were mere collages of wood, cloth and wire, difficult to control and so sensitive to air currents that even a moderate zephyr could knock them to the ground, while their engines were weak and unreliable, not dissimilar to those early VX-6 aviators, risking their lives, but unlike their early aviation pioneers, the Navy were not risking pride, fame and fortunes, their role was risking their lives to open up the frontier of science and Antarctic exploration.

While other books and publications have been written on Operation Deep Freeze, the part that the famous Air Development Squadron Six played in those 44 years, and the US Navy's role in Antarctica, I believe this is the first book written about the very men and women whose exploits could best be described as the last pioneers of aviation exploration. They were the Boy's Own flying ace heroes, the Biggles of the 20th century, or the Baron von Richthofen's, or the American's Eddie Rickenbacker of World War I 'Flying Circus'.

These young intrepid aviators of VX-6 were continuing the 'Heritage of Kitty Hawk' and their achievements are acknowledge with profound admiration, for their exploits and heroism in the finest traditions of the United States Naval aviation.

Of these OAE's, many of whom I never met, yet I have communicated with them over the past three years would consider them all, without exception, life time friends. I am indeed privileged to have known such a gathering of a bunch of talented and brave aviators who changed Antarctic aviation forever.

This is the story of their achievements flying with planes never manufactured to operate in such harsh climates, and recording their enormous contributions made writing this book possible. Their stories are spattered with humour, for humour was part of what life was on the ice. Their wit, using their tongue savagely at times or charmingly or seductively, was all part of life on the ice in their Jamesway huts. Laughter and seriousness, all happening at the same time, was one way of surviving the isolation and absent families. Beneath the banter there was a pride in what their mates had achieved, and in taking great pleasure in recounting these episodes at length over a long cool beer.

Some paid the ultimate price to advance the cause of science and Antarctic exploration, others have passed away to walk with the angels and catch up with old mates. Men like Eddie Frankiewicz, whose assistance in the writing of this book was immeasurable, although, I never meet Eddie, who passed away on May 9 2003, he still sent me original copies of valued personal, precious material, press cuttings and photos. 'Just copy what you want and post it back in your own time', he said. That was this man's enormous trust in me. Eddie generosity embodies hundreds of other OAE's, all of whom I treat as personal friends with a colourful treasure trove of Antarctic aviation knowledge, who without hesitation searched their minds and memories for me, exchanging e-mails on a regular basis.

To all these proud American men and women who have served their country in Antarctic, I have dedicated this book

This is a story of Courage-Sacrifice-Devotion, which just happens to be the Squadron's Motto. To them Christchurch, New Zealand was their second home for 44 years, and the camaraderie and overwhelming hospitality they received from the folk of Christchurch was two way, and the day the squadron said farewell to the city in February 1999 after their decommissioning, was indeed a sad day, but memories of their occupation will last in the hearts of New Zealanders for many years.

It would be impossible to acknowledge all those who have assisted in the writing of this book, as at times I felt inadequate to undertake such a project. I have taken every possible care to check and recheck all information. This is their story, told by the OAE's themselves, although contributions have come from many sources, every endeavour has been made, recognizing the fact that some stories related could vary a little or be coloured from the actual truth due to the intervening 50 years, but stories which still illustrate their comradeship in what must have been the most taxing and remote peacetime military operation in history.

I am grateful to the United States Navy, the US Naval News and all private collections for permission to publish all the photos herein as well as other material. To acknowledge everyone who contributed would be a volume in itself."

(2 December 2006)

THE DICTIONARY OF FALKLANDS BIOGRAPHY (INCLUDING SOUTH GEORGIA) FROM DISCOVERY UP TO 1981 edited by David Tatham. Ledbury: Published by the author. 576pp. Hardcover. £33; €42; $67. E-mail: editor.dfb@onetel.com. Web: www.d-falklands-b.org

David Tatham's major work has now appeared and although I have not seen a copy I've heard from various Antarcticans that it is excellent. One said: "I really like it—packed with information about people and lots of good history."
UPDATE: I picked up a copy in Athy at the 8th Shackleton Autumn School in October 2008.
A review of the book appears in the July 2008 issue of The James Caird Society Newsletter.

The effort's website—www.d-falklands-b.org—gives among other things the following information:
Order form with prices and postage (pdf)
Final List of Contributors
Alphabetical List of Subjects
CONTENTS
Foreword (by the Rt Hon Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE PC)
Introduction (by David Tatham)
Acknowledgements
How to se the DFB
List of Contributors
List of Illustrations
The Dictionary in Alphabetical Order of Subjects
Annex A: Abbreviations and Acronyms
Annex B: Officeholders administering the Falkland Islands
Annex C: British. Spanish amd French military ranks
Annex D: Glossary
Annex E: Publications produced in the Falkland Islands
—R. Stephenson
(17 August 2008)

FROM EARLIER POSTINGS WHEN THE BOOK WAS IN PREPARATION:

David Tatham spoke about his on-going project of editing a biographical dictionary focusing on the Falkland Islands—he was once Governor—at last fall's Shackleton Autumn School in Athy. Here are some details from the brochure that was handed out:

The Dictionary of Falklands Biography describes people concerned with the history of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia from the first discoverers in the sixteenth century up to the eve of the Falklands Conflict of 1982. Entries range from brief notes on lesser personalities to essays of 3,000 words on some of the leading figures.

The Dictionary includes great explorers like James Cook, Bougainville, Bellingshausen and Ernest Shackleton; political figures—ministers, a king, one saint, British, French, Argentine and Spanish governors; and naval commanders involved in heroic exploration and dramatic battles. Special interests include students of natural history and the environment, from Charles Darwin to recent ornithologists; geologists; farmers and agriculturalists; sailors, whalers and sealers; philatelists and a wide range of native Falkland Islanders from pillars of the community to the decidedly eccentric.

The Dictionary casts a fascinating light on the day-to-day life of a small British colony over 180 years, with its administrators, farmers, doctors, priests, merchants, naturalists and a fair crop of characters. Personalities who never visited the Islands, but impinged on their history, from St Malo and Samuel Johnson to assorted Argentine presidents, are also covered.

The Dictionary is illustrated, partly in colour, with many paintings and photographs, some from private collections, not previously published.

Over 480 names are included in the Dictionary, which is edited by a former governor of the Falkland Islands, David Tatham. The entries are written by 120 contributors, many of them the world experts on their subjects. Personalities who were active before 1981 and are still alive have written their own accounts of their lives. The biographies included shed new light on:
  • the first discovery of the Islands
  • French, British and Spanish
  • claims and counter-claims of the 1760s and 1770s
  • the whalers, sealers and traders of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
  • the colony of Louis Vernet
  • governors and councillors—the growth of British administration the settlement of the Islands and the triumph of the wool economy
  • the exploration of South Georgia
  • the rise and fall of the whaling industry in South Georgia
  • the impact of two World Wars
  • beyond wool—the search for agricultural diversity
  • the growth of environmental consciousness
  • and the steady increase in Argentine pressure on the Islands.
When it appears (the brochure says 'early 2008') it will be a fine addition to the genre.
Projected price: £35, £20 paperback.
For more information e-mail the Editor at editordfb@onetel.com

The project is described at http://www.d-falklands-b.org/ although the site hasn't been updated for some time. (It was updated in April 2008.)
—R. Stephenson
(26 January 2008)

UPDATE: The project's website reports that it is due this month. I seem to recall that I was told earlier this month while in England that it is now available.
—R. Stephenson
(21 June 2008)


EXPLORER: THE LIFE OF RICHARD E. BYRD by Lisle A. Rose. Columbia and London: University of Missouri Press, 2008. 544pp. 32 black & white photo illustratons, 7 maps. £34.95. ISBN: 978-0-8262-1782-0.

I just received Lisle's new book the end of last week and haven't had a chance to dip into it. But it looks impressive based on the length, the notes and the 'blurbs.' More later.
—R. Stephenson
(23 MArch 2008)
CONTENTS

List of Maps
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. "Danger Was All That Thrilled Him"
2. Reaching for the Sky
3. Breakthrough
4. Triumph
5. Hero
6. Celebrity
7. The Secret Land
8. Southward
9. Zenith
10. Politico
11. Jeopardy
12. Breakdown
13. Stumbling
14. Recovery
15. "Ever a Fighter So"
Notes (Pp 463-514)
Selected Bibliography (Pp 515-519)
   - Manuscript Sources
   - Oral History Collections
   - Unpublished Diaries, Recollections, and Papers
   - Published Diaries
   - Byrd's Own Writings
   - Critical and Laudatory Assessments of Byrd by His Colleagues
   - Secondary Writings about Byrd and His Expeditions
Index

"Thoroughly researched, balanced in interpretation, and very readable, Lisle Rose's biography of Admiral Richard Byrd, the controversial but accomplished polar explorer and leader, will stand prominently in the literature of biography, American history, and polar exploration. It sets a very high standard for any future study of the man who was called "the Mayor of Antarctica." General readers will enjoy the book and scholars will need to cite it." —Raimund E. Goerler, editor of To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd

"Explorer is a superb modern biography of Rear Admiral Richard Byrd and his exploits in the coldest places on earth. Lisle Rose has captured Byrd's sense of adventure and egotism, chivalry and charlatanism, public hucksterism, and private power-brokering. Well-researched, superbly reasoned, and engagingly written, Explorer is an important addition to the literature of polar exploration." —Roger Launius, author of Frontiers of Space Exploration and editor of Innovation and the Development of Flight

"Rose has given us fascinating accounts of Byrd's early Arctic flying, the controversial North and South Pole flights, and the little remembered transatlantic flight of 1927. He has dug up a great amount of new information on the First and Second Byrd Antarctic Expeditions, as well as the U.S. Navy's Operation Deep Freeze in the late fifties. He tells the astounding story of Byrd's bizarre attempt to spend the Antarctic winter by himself, 123 miles south of Little America where his men fought among themselves, eventually launching a harrowing rescue of their stranded leader. All told, this remarkable book is the definitive biography of Richard E. Byrd." —John C. Behrendt, author of Innocents on the Ice: A Memoir of Antarctic Exploration, 1957 and The Ninth Circle: A Memoir of Life and Death in Antarctica, 19601962

"Danger was all that thrilled him," Dick Byrd's mother once remarked, and from his first pioneering aviation adventures in Greenland in 1925, through his daring flights to the top and bottom of the world and across the Atlantic, Richard E. Byrd dominated the American consciousness during the tumultuous decades between the world wars. He was revered more than Charles Lindbergh, deliberately exploiting the public's hunger for vicarious adventure. Yet some suspected him of being a poseur, and a handful reviled him as a charlatan who claimed great deeds he never really accomplished.

Then he overreached himself, foolishly choosing to endure a blizzard-lashed six-month polar night alone at an advance weather observation post more than one hundred long miles down a massive Antarctic ice shelf. His ordeal proved soul-shattering, his rescue one of the great epics of polar history. As his star began to wane, enemies grew bolder, and he struggled to maintain his popularity and political influence, while polar exploration became progressively bureaucratized and militarized. Yet he chose to return again and again to the beautiful, hateful, haunted secret land at the bottom of the earth, claiming, not without justification, that he was "Mayor of this place."

Lisle A. Rose has delved into Byrd's recently available papers together with those of his supporters and detractors to present the first complete, balanced biography of one of recent history's most dynamic figures. Explorer covers the breadth of Byrd's astonishing life, from the early days of naval aviation through his years of political activism to his final efforts to dominate Washington's growing interest in Antarctica. Rose recounts with particular care Byrd's two privately mounted South Polar expeditions, bringing to bear new research that adds considerable depth to what we already know. He offers views of Byrd's adventures that challenge earlier criticism of him—including the controversy over his claim to being the first to have flown over the North Pole in 1926—and shows that the critics' arguments do not always mesh with historical evidence.

Throughout this compelling narrative, Rose offers a balanced view of an ambitious individual who was willing to exaggerate but always adhered to his principlesa man with a vision of himself and the world that inspired others, who cultivated the rich and famous, and who used his notoriety to espouse causes such as world peace. Explorer paints a vivid picture of a brilliant but flawed egoist, offering the definitive biography of the man and armchair adventure of the highest order.

About the Author
Lisle A. Rose first went to Antarctica as a twenty-year-old seaman in 19561957. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1954 to 1957 and in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs from 1978 to 1989. Besides serving as an expert commentator about Byrd for A&E's Biography series and PBS's American Experience, he is author of eleven previous books, including Assault on Eternity: Richard E. Byrd and the Exploration of Antarctica, 1946-47 and, most recently, Power at Sea: The Age of Navalism, 1890-1918, Power at Sea: The Breaking Storm, 1919-1945 and Power at Sea: A Violent Peace, 1946-2006. He is a member of the American Polar Society and lives in Edmonds, Washington.
—From the publisher's website http://press.umsystem.edu/spring2008/rose.htm


ANTARCTIC DESTINIES; SCOTT, SHACKLETON AND THE CHANGING FACE OF HEROISM by Stephanie Barczewski. (London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007) 390pp. Nine black & white photographic illustrations. £25. ISBN: 978-1-84725-192-3. Web: www.continuumbooks.com
To be published in the US in 2008 by Hambledon Continuum on 17 February 2008 at $26.95. ISBN-13: 9781847251923.

Synopsis

This book focuses on the Antarctic explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton. As well as their most heroic expeditions, the author looks in detail at just how and why their individual reputations have evolved over the course of the last century.

Description

This book covers the two most famous expeditions of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration: Robert Falcon Scotts Terra Nova expedition of 1910-12 and Ernest Shackletons Endurance expedition of 1914-16. It focuses not only on the two expeditions, but also on the ways in which the reputations of the men who led them have evolved over the course of the last century. For decades after Scott's tragic death on the return journey from the South Pole—to which he had been beaten by only five weeks—he was regarded as a saint-like figure with an unassailable reputation born from his heroic martyrdom in the frozen wastes of the Antarctic. In recent years, however, Scott has attracted some of the most intense criticism any explorer has ever received. Shackleton's reputation, meanwhile, has followed a reverse trajectory. Although his achievements were always appreciated, they were never celebrated with nearly the same degree of adulation that traditionally surrounded Scott. But in the final decades of the twentieth century Shackleton has come to be regarded as the beau ideal of the heroic explorer, a man capable of providing leadership lessons not only for other explorers but also for corporate executives and politicians. Today, Scott and Shackleton therefore occupy very different places in the polar pantheon than they once did. This change has come about with little new information about either man or the expeditions they led coming to light. Their actions and personalities, their virtues and flaws, have not changed. How, when and why attitudes towards Scott and Shackleton have altered over the course of the twentieth century forms the subject of this book. It explores how the evolution of their reputations has far more to do with broader cultural changes in Britain and the United States.

Stephanie Barczewski

A specialist in modern British cultural history, Stephanie Barczewski is Professor of History at Clemson University in South Carolina, where she has taught since 1996.Ê In 2005 she became Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities at Clemson.Ê She is the author of numerous books, most recently Titanic: A Night Remembered.
— From the publisher's website www.continuumbooks.com
Table of Contents
Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Beginnings: Scott, Shackleton and Antarctic Exploration before the Heroic Age
2. First Steps: The Discovery Expedition and its Context, 1901-1904
3. Near Miss: The Nimrod Expedition, 1907-1909
4. Heroic Death: The Terra Nova Expedition, 1910-1912
5. Heroic Survival: The Endurance Expedition, 1914-1916
6. Finding Meaning; The Immediate Response to the Terra Nova and Endurance Expeditions
7. Death Makes the Hero: The Culture of the Great War and Conceptions of Heroism
8. Commemoration in Physical Form: Memorials to Scott and Shackleton, 1920-1960
9. Commemoration in Printed Form: Books about Scott and Shackleton, 1920-1960
10. Commemoration in Visual Form: Scott and Shackleton in Film and Art, 1920-1960
11. Changing Fortunes: Scott's Ebbing Reputation, 1960-1980
12. A Hero No More: Scott's Continued Decline, 1980-2000
13. A Hero at Last: Shackleton's Rise, 1990-2007
Epilogue
Notes (Pp 313-378)
Index
This book has just arrived and I look forward to reading it as the subject (memorials and other 'low-latitude Antarctic sites') is a particular interest of mine. It would appear that this will be a good complement to Max Jones' The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott's Antarctic Sacrifice (see below).
—R. Stephenson
(17 February 2008)

NIMROD; THE JOURNAL OF THE ERNEST SHACKLETON AUTUMN SCHOOL edited by Seamus Taaffe. Athy: The Ernest Shackleton Autumn School Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Vol 1, October 2007. 110pp. Wrappers. €10. ISSN: 2009-0366. Copies may be obtained from the Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, Town Hall, Emily Square, Athy, Co. Kildare, Ireland. E-mail for further details: athyheritage@eircom.net

Launched at this past year's 7th Annual Shackleton Autumn School—this Antarctican's favorite annual gathering (see http://home.comcast.net/~rs41/athy2.htm for a taste of the event—the Nimrod includes five articles and three book reviews:
CONTENTS

Editorial
Articles:
'Shackleton at South Georgia,' by Robert Burton.
'The Origin & Development of the Antarctica Treaty System,' by Robert Headland.
'The Legacy of the Frozen Beards,' by Joe O'Farrell.
'Francis Leopold McClintock, Victorian Polar Explorer,' by David Murphy.
'The Shackletons & The Falklands,' by Jim McAdam.
Reviews:
Nimrod; Ernest Shackleton & the Extraordinary Story of the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition, by Beau Riffenburgh. Reviewed by Aidan O'Sullivan.
Rejoice My Heart; The Making of H.R. Mill's 'The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton,' by Michael Rosove. Reviewed by Seamus Taaffe.
The Lost Men, by Kelly Tyler-Lewis. Reviewed by Joe O'Farrell.
Appearing in the text is the occasional illustration of polar ephemera (advertisements) from the Editor's collection. Plans are for the Journal to appear annually and be available at the Autumn School.

(16 February 2008)

THE ROYAL NAVY IN POLAR EXPLORATION FROM FROBISHER TO ROSS by E.C. Coleman. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2006. 352pp. Illustrated. Wrappers. £25. ISBN: 0-7524-3660-0.

and

THE ROYAL NAVY IN POLAR EXPLORATION. VOL. 2: FROM FRANKLIN TO SCOTT by E.C. Coleman. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus, 2007. 383pp. Illustrated. Wrappers. £25. ISBN: 0-7524-4207-4.

These two companion volumes (perhaps a third is yet to come) offer a new perspective to polar exploration and include much new interesting material.
CONTENTS Vol 1

Introduction
1. By Royal Command
2. To the Edge of the Ice
3. Ice Blink
4. 'I have Determined to Remain in the Ship'
5. 'Every Hardship Fatigue and Hunger Could Inflict'
6. 'A Proud Sight for any Englishman'
7. 'No Common Men'
8. 'Great therefore was our Disappointment'
9. 'Motives as Disinterested as they are Englishtened'
10. 'Go and See!'
11. 'Today wasas Testerday, and so was Today, so will be Tomorrow'
12. 'Regions Far beyond what was ever Dreamed'
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index

Not surprisingly more Arctic than Antarctic. Antarctic explorers: Edmund Halley, Cook and Ross.
"The need for polar exploration began in 1492 when, in his search for a new route to the treasures of the Orient, Columbus stumbled across a huge land barrier which was to prove so vast that it stretched from a stormy cape far to the south to an ice-gripped and mist-shrouded north.
By the sixteenth century, the Royal Navy—deployed as an arm of national policy, in order to gain access to new territories and open new passages in regions far beyond the routes of normal seafaring—had begun a series of assaults on the seemingly impregnable frozen Arctic fortress.
This first volume of The Royal Navy in Polar Exploration covers expeditions from the sixteenth century up to James Ross's 1842 voyage to the Antarctic. Within its covers are to be found the science ofHalley, the bravado of Byron, the iron will of Cook and the determination of Vancouver. The hair-raising overland travels of Hearn and Franklin are covered in detail as are the hazardous voyages ofBeechey, John and James Ross, Parry and 'the gallant Riou'.
This beautifully illustrated and informative book will be of interest to both the general reader and to the expert and researcher.
Ernest Coleman spent thirty-six years in the Royal Navy, undertook four Arctic expeditions, and twice visited the Antarctic. He is an established author who has frequently appeared in the media on the subject of polar exploration. He is a member of the Arctic Club of Great Britain and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society."
—From the back cover.
CONTENTS Vol 2

Introduction
1. 'Better Fellows Never Breathed'
2. 'Not of Much Use'
3. 'At the Junction of Four Great Channels'
4. 'And no Despairing'
5. 'Everything Should be Done at Once'
6. 'Untiring Labour and Good Feeling'
7. 'Such a Man as Belcher is on the Track'
8. 'The Utmost Endurance and Most Zealous Energy'
9. 'Final, Decided, and Most Unmistakeable Orders'
10. 'One of the Most Capable and Enterprising Sailors'
11. 'True to the Instincts of Monopoly'
12. 'To Struggle Manfully for Life'
13. 'Death had been Staring Them in the Face'
14. 'Out Like a Rocket'
15. 'My Companions are Undeafeatable'
16. 'Death Lay Ahead and Food Behind'
17. 'With an Eye to Medals or Something'
18. 'Go Forward and do the Best for our Country'
19. 'Englishmen can still Die with a Bold Spirit'
Bibliography
Index

Still more Arctic than Antarctic. Chapters 15-19 are devoted to British Antarctic exploration from the 'Southern Cross' through Scott. There are some illustrations that are quite unusual and new to me.
"With the stunning victories of the war against Napoleon behind it, the Royal Navy looked for gainful employment for its, now much reduced, fleet and for the men who served it. With the eager support and encouragement of John Barrow, the Second Secretary to the Admiralty, it was decided that there could be no better deployment of ships, men and materials than in the search for the North West Passage, the fabled northern route to the Orient, and the attainment of the highest latitudes—both north and south. Indeed, why not reach out for the very Poles themselves?
The search for the North West Passage took many lives, not least the entire crews of Franklin's Erebus and , and some of the men sent to find out what happened to the ill-fated expedition. Ernest Coleman's book tells the story of not just Franklin and his doomed expedition but also of the involvement of the Royal Navy in Polar exploration until Scott's Antarctic expedition of 1912.
Ernest Coleman is a retired Navy officer who has himself been on three polar expeditions. This second volume is a complement to the first, and is likely to become the definitive volume on the Navy's involvement in the exploration of the Poles."
—From the back cover.

(16 February 2008)

COOK, THE DISCOVERER by Georg Forster. Sydney: Hordern House for the Australian National Maritime Museum. 276pp. Two illustrations. Limited to 1,050 copies (One thousand copies are bound in quarter tan kangaroo with speckled papered sides in imitation of late eighteenth-century German bindings. A deluxe issue is limited to fifty copies, numbered and signed by Nigel Erskine, hand bound in full tan kangaroo and presented in a custome made slipcase.) AUD $325. ISBN: 9781875567492. Web: www.hordern.com

The title page reads: "A new translation accompanying a facsimile of Cook, der Entdecker. Versuch eines Denkmals being a memoir of Captain Cook written by Georg Forster. First published in Berlin in 1787. With a foreword by Martin Lutz, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Australia and an introductory essay by Nigel Erskine, Curator of Exploration at the Australian National Maritime Museum."
CONTENTS

Foreword [7-8] pp
'After the Fall. Georg Forster and the Image of Captain Cook,' by Nigel Erskine. 11-39 pp
Cook, der Entdecker by Georg Forster. 41-148 pp
Translator's Note. 149-150 pp
Cook, the Discoverer An Attempted Memorial. 151-267 pp
Select Bibliography. 268-276pp. (A. Collected works of Georg Forster; and Works authored by Johann Georg Adam Forster; B. Selected edited works, introductions, translations; C. Johann Reinhold Forster; D. Secondary material.)
This is a beautifully produced volume as one would expect from Hordern House, a leading Australian rare book dealer and publisher. The production, printing, paper and binding are superb. Forster's work was the 'earliest serious biography and memoir of Captain James Cook' and is the 'only edition in English (although never out of print in German since its first publication in 1787).' Cook, der Entdecker appears in facsimile.

(6 October 2007)

THE FEROCIOUS SUMMER; PALMER'S PENGUINS AND THE WARMING OF ANTARCTICA by Meredith Hooper. (London: Profile Books Ltd., 2007) 299pp. 21 photographic illustrations and 2 maps in color plus 3 pages of black and white maps. £20. ISBN: 978-1-84668-008-3. Web: www.profilebooks.com
To be published in Canada by Greystone Books, Vancouver, April 2008 at $29.95 CDN. ISBN: 978-1-55365-369-1. www.douglas-mcintyre.com/book/9781553653691

"The Antarctic Peninsula is for all of us an early warning system. This brilliant book tells the story of Antarctic warming and of how scientists are piecing together the jigsaw of causes and impacts, here in particular through a study of the changing lives and habits of a group of Adélie penguins. To write this book Meredith Hooper worked with key scientists in bases, on ice breakers and in research vessels. Her story is very precisely located in time and space, focusing on the work and ideas of individual scientists and on the local animals. In it she memorably brings an outsiders non-specialist awareness to the crucial understanding of what is happening, now, to the planet we share."
—From the publisher's website

I haven't had a chance to do more than skim the book; but once I've read it I'll include some comments. I will say it's nice to have some good clear color photographic illustrations; too many Antarctic books today get by with muddy looking, poorly produced black and white photographs.
—R. Stephenson
(6 October 2007)
CONTENTS

Maps
Introduction: News from the front line
1 Ice Age
2 Punta to Palmer
3 The life of a penguin
4 Remnant Eden
5 Seeing for myself
6 A field season from Hell
7 Penguin pebbles
8 Palmer Day
9 An absolute wake-up call
10 Light bulb moments
11 Collecting birds
12 Sunny day science
13 Giant petrels
14 Meat and two veg
15 A view from the predator's stomach
16 Dream Island
17 Boondoggle Day
18 The inner circle
19 The sound of extinction
20 The south islands
21 The year of reckoning
22 Crunches and crunched
23 Losing days
24 The weight of a fledgling
2 5 Not a standard day
26 South polar skuas and kelp gulls
27 A pair of legs, a pile of bones
28 Last island on the geep chick banding tour
29 Summer's end
30 Voyage home
31 What was happening?
32 Local becomes global
Notes and brief bibliography
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Index
Note on the Author
Previous mentions prior to publication:
Meredith e-mails to say:
The Ferocious Summer will now be published by Profile Books on 30 August, here in the UK, and in Australia and New Zealand; and in North America early next year. It is currently embargoed, as the Independent has bought pre-publication rights. I researched it during two summers at Palmer Station funded by the NSF Artists & Writers Program, then continued researching and writing while a Visiting Scholar in Cambridge, at Wolfson College, and SPRI. It is the book that I have been wanting to write ever since going to Antarctica in 1994, with the Australian Antarctic Division, as a writer. You may know that I have written perhaps nine books for children, and young people, about Antarctica -- ranging from picture books to a novel, to history and natural history. This new book is for the general adult reader. I am an historian by training. My aim in the book is to try and bring the world of scientists, and their thinking, their field work and their data gathering - to the understanding of all the rest of us, the non-scientists. But in truth my real subject is Antarctica.
The book is being launched at the Edinburgh Literary Festival. My North American publisher considers it a work of literature, as well as about science.
My next Antarctic book, again, general market, is about Antarctic history. The Ferocious Summer has been a great deal of work, but rightly so, given the subject.
"This brilliant book tells the story of a summer season in Antarctica through the eyes of Meredith Hooper, a writer and historian working with biologists at the US research station at Palmer. The theme is climate change and the central figure is biologist Bill Fraser, who has an unusual ability to see the world through the eyes of a penguin.

Antarctica's capacity to create, store and disperse ice is critical to the way our planet functions. But along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula there has been a 40% decrease in the mean annual sea ice extent since 1979. The daily lives of a few thousand Adlie penguins have become critical evidence of real, incontrovertible climate change.

To write this book Meredith Hooper worked with key scientists in bases, on ice breakers and in research vessels. Her story focuses on individual scientists as they research the local animal and plant life - Adelie and chinstrap penguins, giant petrels, skuas, blue-eyed shags, elephant seals, fur seals, fish, krill, phytoplankton.

Data from that 'ferocious summer' of 2001/2 has been analysed. The science is up to date to June 2007. There is consensus amongst the experts: 'The specifics of what is happening in the polar regions have global implications. Our planet is irrefutably warming. No doubts. And the speed of change'

The finished book will include 16 pages of colour photographs illustrating the Adlie penguins along with the other birds, plants and mammals on the peninsula and the ice in its many extraordinary guises.

Meredith Hooper is a trustee of the Brussels based International Polar Foundation, and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, and was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal by the US National Science Foundation in 2000. Her writing ranges from award-winning non-fiction books for all ages, to academic articles. During the last fifteen years, selected as a writer on United States and Australian Antarctic programmes, she has specialised in writing about the history, geology and wildlife of Antarctica. An Australian who arrived in the UK on a scholarship to continue her post-graduate studies in history, she stayed, and now lives in London."
— From a Profile Books press release.
(30 July 2007)

REJOICE MY HEART: THE MAKING OF H.R. MILL'S "THE LIFE OF SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"; THE PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE OF DR. HUGH ROBERT MILL AND LADY SHACKLETON, 1922-33 Preface by the Honourable Alexandra Shackleton. Introduction by T. H. Baughman, Ph.D. Editor's Note by Michael H. Rosove. Produced in cooperation with the Scott Polar Research Institute. Santa Monica, California: Adélie Books, 2007. 142pp. 6 color and black and white illustrations. $34.95. £18.95. ISBN 978-0-9705386-2-8. www.adeliebooks.com

The third title of Michael Rosove's Adélie Books has now been issued. Michael reports that nearly one fifth of the 500 press run has gone out the door. Here are some details. (Once I read it again—I read a late draft—I'll add some more comment.)
CONTENTS:
Preface—Emily Mary Shackleton: Wife of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Alexandra Shackleton. (vii-viii))
Introduction—Hugh Robert Mill: Friend to Heroes. T.H. Baughman. (viii-xvii)
Editor's Note, Michael H. Rosove. (xvii-xxi)
Correspondence (1-119)
Extracts from Press Reviews (121-133)
Bibliography (135-136)
Index (137-142)
The correspondence that is the feature of this book starts with a letter from Emily Shackleton to H.R. Mill on April 18, 1922. The last letter between them is dated March 2, 1933. In all I count 96 letters to Mill, 28 from Mill, one from Emily to Mrs Mill, five from the publisher to Emily and two miscellaneous documents.

Unlike the previous two Adélie titles (see elsewhere in this section), Rejoice my Heart is more conventional in its format and production.
"On 18 April 1922, a little over three months after Sir Ernest Shackleton's death, Hugh Robert Mill accepted Lady Shackleton's invitation to write Sir Ernest's biography. She responded, "Your kind letter rejoiced my heart." Dr. Mill and Lady Shackleton then embarked on a fast-paced project that would launch the first Shackleton biography a mere twelve months after its inception. Their motivation was a mutual commitment to erecting a monument to Sir Ernest's memory. They communicated mostly by the post and thus left a trail of their creative process, to the delight of posterity. Their correspondence reveals facts about Sir Ernest, his family, and associates not found in the published works. It also reveals to us the personalities and sensibilities of Dr. Mill and Lady Shackleton. The Honourable Alexandra Shackleton provides new morsels about Lady Shackleton, her grandmother. Dr. Baughman has written an informative biographical synopsis of Dr. Mill. Dr. Rosove provides background on the correspondence and the editions of the biography and has annotated the correspondence. Devotees of Sir Ernest and Dr. Mill will find particular pleasure in this book. Half the proceeds from sales will benefit the William Mills Library Acquisitions Fund of the Scott Polar Research Institute."
Source: Blurb from the publisher
—R. Stephenson
(30 July 2007)


FOOTSTEPS ON THE ICE; THE ANTARCTIC DIARIES OF STUART D. PAINE, SECOND BYRD EXPEDITION edited with an Introduction by M.L. Paine (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2007) 368 pp., $34.95. ISBN: 978-0-8262-1741-7. www.umsystem.edu/upress
Merlyn Paine, the daughter of Stuart Paine, has been working on this presentation of her father's diaries for several years now, so it is a pleasure to finally see the results. Rai Goerler's 10-page Foreword—Stuart Paine, Admiral Richard Byrd and the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition—is excellent. The three-page Preface tells a bit about the Paine family, how Paine ended up going to the Antarctic and gives a description of the three-volume diaries that are the basis of this book. (Advice to diarists: keep your diaries out of damp garages!) Also, a few words about the Barrier Bull, which I didn't know about until Merlyn, at a recent symposium at Ohio State, talked about this expeditionary newspaper that her father initiated. Merlyn's three-page Introduction is a summary description of the Second Byrd Expedition. Coming next from page 7 to page 276 is Paine's three-volume transcribed diary interspersed with numerous black and white photographs, facsimiles, maps, etc. The photographs are not reproduced very well (dark and not particularly crisp), but this seems to be the rule today in book production and not the exception. Nonetheless, many of them appear for the first time, so they are valuable on that score alone.
One of the first illustrations I focused on was the opening page of the diary. As I read the transcription on the preceding page, I thought it odd that 'Station Island' appeared on one line and 'Staten Island' on the next. Looking at the actual page, it's clearly written as 'Staten' in both instances. Let's hope this this was a fluke and not representative of the transcription. (I will have to say that I've yet to read the diary portion of the book, only paged through it. It goes on the 'to read pile' right now.)
Merlyn's five-page Afterword deftly summarizes Paine's achievements in the Antarctic and goes on to tell of his later years and early death at age 50.
For me, the most interesting section of the book is Appendix 4 which is made up of representative selections from each of the eight issues of the Barrier Bull which Paine started up as "the only internal magazine compiled within Little America during the expedition." (Researchers should take note that there is a complete run in the Special Collections at the University of New Hampshire Library.) These selections make up 36 pages of the book and as far as I know constitute the closest thing to a full reprinting that's appeared so far.
Merlyn deserves credit for toiling so thoroughly and lovingly to bring her father's story to print.
—R. Stephenson
(3 June 2007)
"In 1933 Antarctica was essentially unexplored. Admiral Richard Byrd launched his Second Expedition to chart the southernmost continent, primarily relying on the muscle power of dog teams and their drivers who skied or ran beside the loaded sledges as they traveled. The life-threatening challenges of moving glaciers, invisible crevasses, and horrific storms compounded the difficulties of isolation, darkness, and the unimaginable cold that defined the men's lives.

Stuart Paine was a dog driver, radio operator, and navigator on the fifty-six-man expedition, the bold and complex venture that is now famous for Byrd's dramatic rescue from Bolling Advance Weather Base located 115 miles inland. Paine's diaries represent the only published contemporary account written by a member of the Second Expedition. They reveal a behind-the-scenes look at the contentiousness surrounding the planned winter rescue of Byrd and offer unprecedented insights into the expedition's internal dynamics.

Equally riveting is Paine's breathtaking narrative of the fall and summer field operations as the field parties depended on their own resources in the face of interminable uncertainty and peril. Undertaking the longest and most hazardous sledging journey of the expedition, Paine guided the first American party from the edge of the Ross Sea more than seven hundred miles up the Ross Ice Shelf and the massive Thorne (Scott) Glacier to approach the South Pole. He and two other men skied more than fourteen hundred miles in eighty-eight days to explore and map part of Antarctica for the first time.

Footsteps on the Ice reveals the daily struggles, extreme personalities, and the matter-of-fact bravery of early explorers who are now fading into history. Detailing the men's frustrations, annoyances, and questioning of their leader, Paine's entries provide rare insight into how Byrd conducted his expeditions. Paine exposes the stresses of living under the snow in Little America during the four-month-long winter night, trapped in dim, crowded huts and black tunnels, while the men uneasily mulled over their leader's isolation at Advance Base. The fates of Paine's dogs, which provided some of his most difficult and rewarding experiences, are also described his relationship with Jack, his lead dog, is an entrancing story in itself.

Featuring previously unpublished photographs and illustrations, Footsteps on the Ice documents the period in Antarctic exploration that bridged the "heroic era" and the modern age of mechanized travel. Depicting almost incomprehensible mental and physical duress and unhesitating courage, Paine's tale is one of the most compelling stories in polar history, surpassing other accounts with its immediacy and adventure as it captures the majesty and mystery of the untouched Antarctic.

M.L. Paine, the daughter of Stuart Paine, is an independent researcher who resides in Nevada and Alaska."

—From the dustjacket.

CONTENTS:

Illustrations
Maps
Foreword by Raimund E. Goerler
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction by M.L. Paine
DIARY ONE

1. Chinook Kennels: September 27-November 2, 1933
2. At Sea: November 3-December 9, 1933
3. The Roaring Forties and South: December 13, 1933-January 16, 1934
4. Misery Trail: January 24-February 28, 1934
5. Journey of "Seven Hells": March 1-31, 1934
6. Little America: April 1-22, 1934
7. The Old Mess Hall: April 25-June 10, 1934
DIARY TWO
8. The Deep Winter Night: June 15-July 17, 1934
9. The Admiral and Summer Field Preparations: July 20-October 15, 1934
DIARY THREE
10. The Start of the Southern Journey: October 16-November 20, 1934
11. In Select Company: November 21-December 5, 1934
12. Mount Weaver: December 6, 1934-January 11, 1935
DIARY FOUR
13. Homeward: January 13-May 12, 1935
Afterword by M.L. Paine

APPENDIXES
1. The Men of the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition
2. "What Is It Like to Travel at Seventy-five below Zero?" by Dr. Thomas C. Poulter
3. Fall Southern Trip Meteorological and Navigating Records
4. Barrier Bull Selections May 19, 1934, Issue 1 May 26, 1934, Issue 2 June 2, 1934, Issue 3 June 9, 1934, Issue 4 June 16, 1934, Issue 5 June 23, 1934, Issue 6 June 30, 1934, Issue 7 July 7, 1934, Issue 8
5. Logistics Planning from Mile 173 to Mile 445.5, Thorne Glacier, and Return to Little America
6. Navigation and Triangulation Reports: Summer Journey to the Queen Maud Range
Bibliography
Index

Illustrations
Stuart D. Paine, 1933
Paine's Antarctic Diaries
The First Page of the Diaries: September 27, 1933
Letter Inviting Paine to Join the Expedition
Olin Stancliff and Ed Moody by the Jacob Ruppert
The Dog Drivers at Boston Harbor
Finn Ronne and Members of the Dog Department
Alton Wade and Other Drivers
Dick Russell
Alan Innes-Taylor
Dogs on the Jacob Ruppert
The Neptune Ceremony for the Dog Drivers
Haircuts aboard the Jacob Ruppert
Exploring Easter Island
The Family at Christmas
The Workboat Attending the Condor
Paine on Deck with Seals
Diary Page: Byrd Expedition Stamps
Unloading the Jacob Ruppert
Pressure Ridge Camp
A Loaded Sledge
The Team before the Pressure
Dick Black on a Pressure Ridge
Unloading the Bear of Oakland
Jack the Giant Killer, Paine's Lead Dog
Paine's Team in Dog Town
Little America and the Cow Tent
Perkins in the Hatch
The "Place of Absolute Safety"
Paine with a Frozen Seal
Jack's Team by the Seal Pile
The Fall Journey South
The Tractor Party at 50 Mile Depot
Paine, Buck, and Break-it at 50 Mile Depot
Building a Depot
Supplying a Depot
Mile 155, the Turnaround Point
Digging the Fuel Tunnel for Admiral Byrd
Admiral Byrd at Advance Base
Diary Page: The Admiral and a Base Diagram
Byrd to Poulter Memorandum Forbidding Winter Rescue
View of Little America
A Meal in the New Mess Hall
Personnel of the Winter Party, "Little America Times"
Torches and Lanterns Lighting the Dog Tunnel
Paine at the Entrance of the Dog Tunnels
Coniac and Rowdy
Charlie Murphy of CBS
Chopping Frozen Seals
Young and Bowlin in Their Bunks
"My Bunk"
Covers of the Barrier Bull
The Barrier Bull: Charles J. V. Murphy on Admiral Byrd
The Barrier Bull: Editorial by Stuart D. Paine and Richard S. Russell
The Library
Notice from Dr. Poulter to the Men on Alcohol and Exercise
Paine and Jack in the Seal Chopping House
"The Stinking Trio" in Blubberheim
Stancliff Making Pemmican
The Tractor Party's First Attempt
Digging Out the Pilgrim
The Dog Drivers Meeting
Putting Up Field Rations
Testing the Condor's Engines
Diary Page: "No Feeling of Hesitation . . ."
The Geological Party Packing
Seven Teams Getting Ready
A Rest on the Trail
Hill's Tractor in a Crevasse
The Loaded Trailer by the Crevasse
Blackburn's Sledges down a Crevasse
Mountain Base before the Queen Maud Range
Stuart Paine in a Tent
Dick Russell
Quin Blackburn
Mountains Soar 14,000 Feet High
On Supporting Party Mountain, the Last Mapped Feature
The Note in the Caim: From the First Byrd Expedition
The Note in the Cairn: From the Second Expedition
Paine Replaces the Oatmeal Can in the Cairn
Mount Weaver and the Eighteen Remaining Dogs
A Fossilized Tree Trunk
The Dogs in the Wind
The Summit of Mount Weaver, in Sight of the South Pole
Paine and Blackburn Celebrating
Quin Blackburn Triangulating
Stuart Paine and Mount Katherine Paine
Stuart D. Paine in Harkness Amphitheater
Jack the Giant Killer in Harkness Amphitheater
Dick Russell and Lichens, the Southernmost Life Ever Found
Thorne Glacier Sweeping the Base of a Mountain
Paine at the Radio
Barrier Sailing
The Condor and 75 Mile Depot
The Geological Party after Skiing 1,410 Statute Miles
Loading the Bear of Oakland at the Bight
Jack's Team by the Jacob Ruppert
The Bear Wending North through the Ice
The Jacob Ruppert from the Bear
A Storm Aboard the Bear
Homeward: Touring New Zealand
Paine with Standard!
Admiral Richard E. Byrd Descending from the Bear
President Franklin D. Roosevelt Welcoming the Expedition
National Geographic Society Ceremonies at Constitution Hall
The Last Page of the Diaries: May 12, 1935
Paine and Jack at the Farm
Special Congressional Antarctic Medal (Front)
Diary pages: Fall Southern Trip Meteorological Record
Diary page: Fall Navigation Record—Example
Diary pages: Logistics Planning
Trail Parties' Reorganization at Mile 173 and Eventual
Return to Little America
Supporting Party from Mile 293 to Little America
Geological Party at Mile 175
Supplies at Mile 293
Planning from Mile 445.5 to Polar Plateau
Navigation Report of the Queen Maud Geological Party, Paine to Byrd
Thorne Glacier Triangulation Report—Example
Letter from Commander Saunders, USN, to Paine Regarding Thorne Glacier Field Observations
Maps
The Authorized Map of the Second Byrd Expedition
Map of the Ships' Movements
Map of the Bay of Whales, Inset of Antarctica
Sketch of "Misery Trail"
Diary Page: Sketch of Advance Base
Map of the Fall Journey South, Inset of Trail Markings
"Rough Plan of Little America"
Map of Thorne Glacier with Triangulation Stations
Map of 1934 Summer Field Explorations

EARLIER MENTIONS FROM 'ANTARCTIC BOOKS DUE AND WORKS-IN-PROGRESS':

From recent e-mails from Merlyn Paine (The Antarctic Diaries of Stuart D. Paine, BAE II, 1933-35} : "...began working on publishing my father's diaries from the 2nd Byrd Antarctic Expedition. Stuart Paine was a member of the Dog Department, and drove dogs and navigated th