Genre:
Non-Fiction/History
Non-Fiction/History
Alone On The Ice
by David Roberts
-From Amazon.com-
His two companions dead, food and supplies vanished in a crevasse,
Douglas Mawson was still one hundred miles from camp.
Douglas Mawson was still one hundred miles from camp.
On January 17, 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Now Mawson himself plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul himself back to the surface.
Mawson was sometimes reduced to crawling, and one night he discovered that the soles of his feet had completely detached from the flesh beneath. On February 8, when he staggered back to base, his features unrecognizably skeletal, the first teammate to reach him blurted out, “Which one are you?”
This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley’s famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States. 24 pages of illustrations
Mawson was sometimes reduced to crawling, and one night he discovered that the soles of his feet had completely detached from the flesh beneath. On February 8, when he staggered back to base, his features unrecognizably skeletal, the first teammate to reach him blurted out, “Which one are you?”
This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley’s famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States. 24 pages of illustrations
My Review
What an amazing story!
It's been awhile since the last non-fiction book I read but this one drew me in and I could hardly put it down.
It isn't just the explorers fortitude and determination but also the attention to detail on the author's part, the research that is very apparent.
One of my pet peeves is modern authors trying to second guess the historical person, trying to place modern ideas and psychology onto people of the past. David Roberts manages to avoid this pitfall very well in Alone On The Ice. The thoughts and emotions of Mawson and his team are carefully taken from diaries, letters, and books that the team wrote, it comes straight from the horse's mouth.
This story will draw you on and in. I found myself rooting for the survival of each person even though I knew that all of this had happened 100 years ago. This book is sometimes harsh, and history/reality is as unforgiving as the Antarctic winter.
Triumphant and heartbreaking, Alone On The Ice is a must read for lovers of history, exploration, and the Antarctic.
Gingerly Read Book Reviews gives Alone On The Ice by David Roberts a 4 Bark rating.
It's been awhile since the last non-fiction book I read but this one drew me in and I could hardly put it down.
It isn't just the explorers fortitude and determination but also the attention to detail on the author's part, the research that is very apparent.
One of my pet peeves is modern authors trying to second guess the historical person, trying to place modern ideas and psychology onto people of the past. David Roberts manages to avoid this pitfall very well in Alone On The Ice. The thoughts and emotions of Mawson and his team are carefully taken from diaries, letters, and books that the team wrote, it comes straight from the horse's mouth.
This story will draw you on and in. I found myself rooting for the survival of each person even though I knew that all of this had happened 100 years ago. This book is sometimes harsh, and history/reality is as unforgiving as the Antarctic winter.
Triumphant and heartbreaking, Alone On The Ice is a must read for lovers of history, exploration, and the Antarctic.
Gingerly Read Book Reviews gives Alone On The Ice by David Roberts a 4 Bark rating.
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