Présentation de l'éditeur
Ernest Shackleton was obsessed by the Antarctic. He had written to his sister saying You can t think what it is like to walk over places where no man has walked before. He was disappointed at his showing during Scott s Discovery Expedition he had collapsed and spent much of the time as a passenger - and possibly felt that Scott had to a degree blamed him for the ultimate failure of the expedition. He wanted to be first to the South Pole, partly for the glory but also because he felt he had to redeem himself after Scott sent him back on the relief ship in 1903, because of his ill health . Raising the money for another expedition was fraught with difficulties but in 1907 he finally set sail, aboard the Nimrod . Here, gathered together for the first time, are 156 letters and telegrams exploring the inner thoughts of an heroic man with far-reaching dreams. His emotions are revealed through personal correspondence with Scott, Dr. Edward Wilson, Sir Clements Markham and many others. They give an insight not only into the mind and character of this great explorer but into the internal politics of the time. The author details the history leading up to the expedition, through the trials of the year on the ice and the various journeys and then the return to England and the reception they received from the public, the press and such as the Royal Geographic Society. Correspondence covering the dismissal of Captain England, Shackleton s bequests in the event of his non-return from his attempt to reach the Pole and his worries about the financial situation are included and the last section of the book reproduces Shackleton s intimate letters to his wife, Emily, and to Elspeth Beardmore, for whom he had a deep affection. 368pp, hardback, jacketed with over 40 half-tones and a pull-out map (440 x430 mm) of the explorations and surveys of the expedition This edition is limited to 450 individually numbered and signed copies.
Revue de presse
...should be on the shelf of anyone interested in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. This is the first time this collection of documents has appeared between one set of boards, arranged thematically, specifically to deal with the Nimrod expedition, and so it will prove useful to the scholar and historian for years to come. Above all The Shackleton Letters is important because it gives the Nimrod expedition the credibility and attention it so richly deserves, allowing us into the methodology.planning and execution of a grand scale expedition the way it used to be. --Nick Smith Bookdealer magazine November 2009
...an absolute must for anyone interested in the rivalry between Shackleton and Scott, shedding much new light on their relationship and the behind-the-scenes trials and tribulations of the cash-strapped Nimrod expedition. --Eastern Daily Press
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