The Diaries

IN THE TEETH OF THE WIND
South through the Pole
Alain Hubert & Dixie Dansercoer

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In November 1997 two Belgian explorers crossed the Antarctic continent from the Wedell Sea to the Ross Sea on foot. . From Dronning Maud Land Alain Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer travelled for 99 days until they reached the American base at McMurdo Sound, some 3920 kilometres away.

They carried in the sledges all the supplies needed for the journey as well as scientific equipment necessary for taking ice-core samples from snows where no human had ever set foot. 

By using traction sails, specially designed for the expedition, they set many records, managing on some days to clock up distances of over 100 kilometres at amazing speeds.

This full colour book contains over 90 pictures of their trip, many maps and drawings as well as technical details of the sails and their supplies,

...an extraordinary journey across this most inhospitable of continents...full of danger and excitement. The pictures illustrate the trials of the journey and the awesome beauty of... Antarctica.

224pp, 254 x 195mm hardback. jacketed, full colour throughout £24.95 REDUCED TO £10.00  Order


ELEPHANT ISLAND AND BEYOND:
The Life and Diaries of Thomas Orde Lees
John Thomson

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The aristocracy of Antarctic exploration does not include the name of Thomas Orde Hans Lees. He came away from Shackleton’s 1914 expedition with the reputation of being the least popular and most criticised of the men involved in the Endurance adventure in the Weddell Sea. Not only was he disliked simply for being himself, but he was also expected to become the first victim for cannibalism if the 22 men on Elephant Island had run out of food. Previous accounts of Shackleton’s adventures have unfailingly mentioned that Orde Lees was unpopular. Though they have plundered his excellent journal for much of the detail of life on board the Endurance, on the pack ice and finally on Elephant Island, the part he played in keeping the men alive has not been recognised. His journal has - surprisingly - never been published and this book is a long overdue testament to a much misunderstood man. 

After his rescue from Elephant Island, Orde Lees campaigned vigorously for the use of parachutes in the newly formed Royal Air Force and he was publicly credited with being the primary advocate. Many pilots owe their lives to his faith in this new invention. He went on to perform more service for his country in Japan and spent the final period of his life in New Zealand. 

The book includes many previously unpublished photographs as well as a detailed account of his quite extraordinary life after Antarctica.

320pp, 254 x 195mm, hardback, jacketed, 0ver 40 photographs and drawings £24.95  Order


THE WICKED MATE
The Antarctic Diary of Victor Campbell
Edited by H.G.R. King

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History has rarely accorded as much attention to a single expedition as that given to the British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition 1910-13 led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott. The death of the Pole party and the success of Amundsen and his men has always been the main focus of interest. But what of the rest of the men?

In 1910 Scott sent six men, the Northern party, under the command of Lieutenant Victor Campbell, to explore along the coast of King Edward VII Land. After a successful ten months at Cape Adare they moved to Inexpressible Island, as stormy and desolate a place as could be found anywhere on the planet. The failure of the relief ship to collect them at the end of the summer left them marooned with no hut and little food. Campbell kept all the men alive through the winter in a snow cave, 12’ x 9’. He drew an imaginary line down the middle of the cave. One side represented the officer’s wardroom, the other the men’s mess deck and such was the discipline that the enlisted men could say what they wanted on their side of the line, as could the officers on theirs. Each group turned a deaf ear to the other. 

After the winter, in October 1912, Campbell led them over 230 miles of sea ice back to the base at Cape Evans, only to learn of the fate of Captain Scott and the Pole party.
The death of Scott overshadowed Campbell’s achievements, which easily rank with Shackleton’s epic journey two years later.

Its focus is a saga of endurance that should be counted
among the most famous exploits in Polar history

192pp, 254 x 195mm, hardback, jacketed, over 75 photographs and illustrations £24.95 Order


Roald Amundsen's Belgica Diary - The First Scientific Expedition to the Antarctic - edited by Hugo Declair

In 1897 Roald Amundsen, the future conqueror of the South Pole, set sail as second officer on board the Belgica, as part of a multi-national crew. This was the first Antarctic expedition of a purely scientific nature and it was this expedition that fired him with his ambition to explore the Polar Regions. The explorers did not reach the pole but they were the first people to spend a winter in the Antarctic pack ice. This is the first publication of Amundsen's diary. The original manuscript, in the University of Oslo, has only been consulted by historians and biographers on a few occasions. As primarily a personal diary, it provides fascinating insights into the struggle for survival on the ice during the Antarctic winter and into the pressures in being part of a multi-national crew.

...revealing and grimly compelling.
Sara Wheeler The Daily Telegraph 

214pp, 248 x 190mm, hardback, jacketed, illustrated £24.95 Order


Trial by Ice - The Antarctic Journals of John King Davis - edited by Louise Crossley

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John King Davis was arguably the greatest of the captains in the age of Antarctic exploration, and he was obsessed with the Antarctic. His seven voyages from 1907 to 1930 gave him an unrivalled experience in ice navigation. Known by his crew as 'Gloomy Davis' he believed in stern discipline and that it was the captain, not the expedition leader, who was in charge of the ship. His caution and pessimism often brought him into conflict with the expedition leaders such as Douglas Mawson. Taken from his private journals, here for the first time is davis's account of the major Antarctic voyages. It offers an interesting counterpoint to the diaries of mason and it gives a very personal view of Davis's feelings about the frozen continent that dominated so much of his life.

This book is ... valuable as a source for the history of the "Heroic Age' of Antarctic exploration during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The authors are to be congratulated on providing another new source for students of Antarctic exploration
Ann Savours Mariner's Mirror

248pp, 248 x 190mm, hardback, jacketed, illustrated £29.95 Order


8 men in a crate - The Ordeal of the Advance Party of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1955–1957
Anthea Arnold. Based on the diaries of Rainer Goldsmith