I used to collect and read antique and vintage books on Arctic and Antarctic exploration , even wrote a small essay on historic scientific work done by early explorers that was published in the Age. I remember my bosses were really chuffed and a quiet colleague in the same unit but a different wing came to my office to tell me all about his famous explorer uncle who went with Shackleton.
Early British and Australian expeditions were disasters because they were outfitted so poorly and lacked a lot of the traditional knowledge needed for survival. They did not lack for bravery. Amundson showed how to do it.
AskHistorians will delete basically anything you can’t source, so eventually you just do it!
It’s honestly a weirdly involved process mounting that sort of expedition. To this day, you sort of have to plan for “falling off the edge of the earth for the duration”
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1il199q/why_did_they_mostly_use_sail_ships_during_the/
If anyone would like to know about Antarctic boats, now you do.
The Worst Journey In The World is amazing, by the way
I will look into that thank you. I enjoyed Endurance by Alfred Lancing.
Shackleton’s South and The Lost Men, by Kelly Tyler Lewis are also worth a look if you went digging in that expedition previously.
The Worst Journey In The World is about a different one - Scott’s doomed polar run - but it’s some of the best adventure writing there is.
“ Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has been devised…”
Yes. Yes Cherry, it is.
I used to collect and read antique and vintage books on Arctic and Antarctic exploration , even wrote a small essay on historic scientific work done by early explorers that was published in the Age. I remember my bosses were really chuffed and a quiet colleague in the same unit but a different wing came to my office to tell me all about his famous explorer uncle who went with Shackleton.
Early British and Australian expeditions were disasters because they were outfitted so poorly and lacked a lot of the traditional knowledge needed for survival. They did not lack for bravery. Amundson showed how to do it.
There was a certain kind of madness in it, yes!
That is really interesting! Thank you! I had now idea this was a question I wanted answered, but you answered so beautifully, with sources too!
AskHistorians will delete basically anything you can’t source, so eventually you just do it!
It’s honestly a weirdly involved process mounting that sort of expedition. To this day, you sort of have to plan for “falling off the edge of the earth for the duration”