Antarctic Exploration - the Best Books about Exploring Antarctica and the race to the South Pole

Scott is the quintessential tragic hero from the great Victorian era of exploration, dying along with his team only 11 miles from safety after a polar journey that lasted months of almost intolerable suffering and endurance.

Throughout the 1970's and 80's it became fashionable to debunk the achievements and heroism of Scott and his companions, as they were seen as being associated with a discredited past of colonial adventure.  This attitude has often verged into ridicule, which has been harsh, vitriolic, and somewhat unmerited.

Fortunately things have now moved on, and there are currently numerous books that deal objectively with tragic tale of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and the incredible scientific achievements that survived him as his legacy.  This legacy is often overlooked, as people forget that until Scott's journey - it was even unknown as to whether Antarctica was indeed land - or just a huge pack of Ice - like at the North Pole.

One of the very best of these recent books is the Biography: "Scott", by the present day polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Fiennes has made several expeditions to the poles - crossing the whole continent of Antarctica on foot - and uses his unrivaled first-hand experience to shed new light on Scott's achievements, errors and misfortunes. The result is a true epic of biography, that should be first on the list of any student or fan of this era of history.

Apsley Cherry Garrard was a member of the "Terra Nova Expedition" led by Captain Scott, that travelled to Antarctica between 1910 and 1913.  Cherry Garrard was not one of the five members of Scott's polar team, who made the fateful attempt to reach the pole and return, and thus he survived the expedition and returned to tell his tale.

Despite not joining Scott on his mission to the Pole, Cherry Garrard embarked on a similarly dangerous mission with an important scientific purpose.  Cherry Garrard has been serving as assistant biologist to Dr Edward Wilson - the chief scientist of the expedition.  They had the objective of collecting an unhatched egg from an Emperor penguin.  There was only one problem with this objective - Emperor penguins incubate their eggs through the depths of the Antarctic winter, so their chicks can hatch in the spring.  This meant that the expedition would have to take place in the worst conditions on planet earth.

in July 1911, Cherry Garrard set off with Dr Wilson, and Lt. Bowers, another member of the team (and one of Scott's fatal companions).  In the near-total darkness of the polar winter, and in temperatures ranging from -40 C to -60 C, the three men man-hauled their heavy sledges 60 miles to the nesting place of the penguins, on the far side of Ross Island.

On their arrival the men were pinned down by a fierce Antarctic blizzard.  As they tried to shelter, their tent was ripped away by the winds, leaving the three men freezing in thier sleeping bags under a drift of snow.  During this time Cherry Garrard suffered from such extreme cold that his teeth shattered from the ferocity of them chattering so hard.

Despite this immense hardship, when the storm abated, the team discovered their tent hooked on some rocks.  This allowed them to survive the return journey, which they completed with the eggs they had successfully collected.

Cherry Garrard was badly effected by the experience, and on his return to England he penned the book "the Worst Journey in the World", which became a popular classic that is still read and appreciated today.  One only has to read the desperate tale of the three men, dying in their sleeping bags, singing hymns over the howl of the storm, to fully appreciate the heroic levels of commitment that were involved in the early days of polar exploration.  This book is truly an incredible read.

Sir Ernest Shackleton is considered one of the giants of Antarctic exploration despite never having made it to the South Pole himself. Shackleton's first visit to Antarctica was as a Third Officer on the "Discovery Expedition" of 1901-04, that was led by Captain Scott.

Scott handpicked Shackleton to join him and Dr Wilson on their "Southern Journey", in which the three of them progressed further South than had ever previously been achieved - beating the previous records. All three men suffered from varying degrees of frostbite, snow-blindness and scurvy. Shackleton's health suffered the most on the return journey, slowing down their progress, and when they finally returned to base Shackleton was sent home by boat to recover his health. This perceived failure stayed with him, and following this experience Shackleton became obsessed with polar exploration.

in 1907 Shackleton returned to Antarctica as the leader of the "Nimrod Expedition", with the intention of reaching the South Pole, and magnetic South. On the 19th October 1908 Shackleton and his team of 3 companions set off on their own "Great Southern Journey" to attempt to reach the pole. In the end they managed to reach a latitude of 88°23'S, only 112 miles from the Pole.

Their turning back was based around a calculation of the supplies required for their return journey, rather than being deterred through hardship. During this expedition Shackleton and his men discovered the South Polar Plateau - a large area of high altitude that required even more supplies to cope with the altitude.

Even by turning back short of the pole itself, Shackleton and his team experienced terrible hardship on their return journey - effectively racing against starvation. A large part of the return journey was done on half rations or less. At one point Shackleton famously gave his ration of a single biscuit to his ailing team-mate Frank Wild, who wrote in his diary: "All the money that was ever minted would not have bought that biscuit and the remembrance of that sacrifice will never leave me". Shackleton could indeed be an inspiring leader - as he would show many times late on, on this next expedition.

Following Roald Amundsen's successful journey to the South Pole, and Scott's tragic one, Shackleton declared his intention to complete the last great challenge of Antarctica - the crossing of the entire continent. Shackleton assembled both a ship and a crew - The "Endurance Expedition", and raised funds easily following his previously well-publicised endeavors. However, the expedition ran into almost immediate difficulty.

On their arrival in the Weddell Sea, near the coast of Antarctica, Shackleton found the conditions to be far icier than he had ever previously encountered them. The ship moved carefully Southwards through the pack ice, but conditions worsened until the ship - the Endurance - became stuck fast in the ice. Shackleton soon realised that the ship would be stuck fast for the entire winter, and the crew were soon forced to wait out the winter months in the hope that the ship would become freed from the ice the next spring.

Unfortunately this was not the case for Shackleton and his men, and as the ice began to break up the next spring, the huge pressures on the hull of the ship began to crush it, and they were forced to abandon ship. For two months the team remained camped on the ice floe with some of their rescued provisions, watching as the ice slowly moved Northwards towards Paulet Island, where they could seek safety.

When their camp reached within 60 miles of Paulet Island they struck out, but found the ice to be impassible. Within a few more weeks the ice which they were camping on began to break up. The crew boarded their flimsy lifeboats, and finally managed to reach Elephant Island.

From here, Shackleton's exploits become almost legendary. Realising that they were miles from shipping routes, and likely never to be rescued, Shackleton decided to set sail on the Southern Ocean in one of the tiny, open, flimsy lifeboats, and head for South Georgia Island, where there were some whaling stations - a journey of several weeks on the open seas.

Having completed a remarkable journey lasting 15 days, the men were only able to land on the far side of South Georgia - away from the whaling outposts that could rescue them. Shackleton then completed a 36 hour cross country march, soaking wet, and with few provisions, before he reached the whalers and was able to sound the alarm.

When they finally returned to England, Shackleton had failed to cross Antarctica - in fact he had failed to even land on Antarctica, but he had been through an incredible ordeal, and despite all of the odds being stacked against him, he had returned without a single life lost - a powerful testimony to his incredible powers of leadership.

Perhaps the best book on this incredible man and his exploits is "South: The Endurance Expedition", which was written by Shackleton himself. There are also numerous contemporary biographies that fill in many of the juiciest details that Shackleton modestly leaves out. There is also a particularly good dramatisation of these events, available on DVD, starring Kenneth Branagh as Shackleton - a must watch for any fans of polar exploration.

Roald Amundsen was the Norwegian explorer who led the first expedition to reach the South Pole, narrowly beating Captain Scott.  He was also the first person to reach both the North and South Poles, and the the first to successfully cross the Northwest Passage.  He was an undeniably expert explorer, and a key figure in the great era of polar exploration.

Despite these other achievements Amundsen is most famous for being the first to reach the South Pole, and for beating Scott to this prize.  Amundsen had originally been planning an expedition to the North Pole, and was preparing for this in 1909 when he heard that both Frederick Cook and Robert Peary had claimed to reach it.  Amundsen quickly switched his focus to the South Pole, misleading Scott, who had though he would make his attempt unchallenged.

Once landed in Antarctica, Amundsen got to work with great efficiency.  Whereas Scott's expedition had an enormous array of scientific tests to undertake on Antarctica, Amundsen's sole focus was to get to the Pole first.  To this end he had assembled a team of expert Norwegian skiers and dogsledders, who would be able to cover vast distances at great speed.  Indeed so ruthlessly efficient were these dog teams, that when one of the dogs would weaken from the cold, they were killed and fed to the other dogs, to keep up their strength.  Amundsen later credited his success to his preparedness for the conditions, and his expertise - as a Norwegian - in the snow and ice.

Amundsen's reputation has suffered from the deceptions that were involved in his dealings with Scott, but ultimately he had every right to make his attempt on the pole, and the fact that he did so successfully and without loss of life is testament to his abilities in the harsh polar conditions.  In Norway he is still a major national hero, whereas his remarkable exploits are less renowned in the rest of the world

The best book on Roald Amundsen is again an autobiography by the man himself, available in English, and entitled "My Life as an Explorer".

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is like a modern throwback to the "Heroic Age of Polar Exploration".  He is both a British Explorer and then holder of several global endurance records.  he was the first person to visit both poles by surface means - when he circumnavigated the world via both poles - and was the first person to cross Antarctica entirely on foot.  In 2009 he successfully summitted Everest at the venerable age of 65, and he is credited as being the world's greatest living adventurer.

A former member of the British SAS, Sir Ranulph has become renowned for being a hard-case, emulating the attitudes of some of his heroic polar forebears.  In Britain he is famous for his actions in 2000, when he sustained severe frostbite to his left hand on an expedition to the North Pole.  On his return he was told to wait several months for an operation, to allow any healthy tissue to regrow.  Impatient at the pain an delay this caused him, Sir Ranulph performed the amputations himself, using an electric fretsaw in his garden shed!

Sir Ranulph Fiennes has written a large number of books detailing his exploits and adventures.  These include some of the very best books on polar exploration.  His book on Scott, refuting some of the earlier character assassinations is a veritable tour-de-force, peppered with his first hand observations and assessments that give the book a real authority over some of the "armchair explorers" who have previously trashed Scott's reputation.  Besides the value in this - the book is also utterly compelling, and incredibly gripping from start to finish, and is perhaps the best book from this entire genre.

As may have become apparent from everything above - Antarctica is not an easy place to get to!  Despite this, there are increasing numbers of people visiting Antarctica every year.  almost all of these visits take place via cruise ship.  This is seen as the best and most responsible way to travel here, as the cost of transporting goods to Antarctica is prohibitive.

Tickets to these cruises do not come cheap - ranging from about $5000 for the cheapest - to $30,000 for serious luxury - and of course the sky is the limit.  However - these trips offer an unrivalled opportunity to see a part of the world most people can barely imagine - let alone visit.  This is truly a land of penguins, whales, dolphins, seals and sea-life - beautiful unspoilt vistas in the Earth's last untouched wilderness.

If you do decide to travel to the Antarctic here is a selection of books that may assist you.  Good Luck!