Polar Castaways: The Ross Sea Party Of Sir Ernest Shackleton, 1914-17 [Hardcover]

Richard McElrea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2004

When Sir Ernest Shackleton's dreams of crossing Antarctica foundered with his ship "Endurance" in the ice of the Weddell Sea in October 1915, he could only wonder what had become of his support party on the other side of the continent. After almost ninety years, "Polar Castaways" finally tells that story, filling one of the major gaps in the history of the "heroic era" of polar exploration. The task of the Ross Sea component of the expedition was to lay the all-important depots in support of the traverse party to be led by Shackleton. The party was dogged from the outset by lack of funds and inadequate preparation. Matters were made even worse when, in May 1915, their ship "Aurora" was carried away from its winter moorings, leaving ten men stranded and without proper equipment and supplies. At great personal hardship and cost they went on to lay the depots across the Ross Ice Shelf to Mount Hope. Three men died during this courageous and perilous endeavour. "Aurora," refitted in New Zealand, eventually sailed south amidst considerable controversy to rescue the seven survivors.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mcgill Queens Univ Pr (October 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773528253
• ISBN-13: 978-0773528253
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,239,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deeper than Shackelton's forgotten men, May 8, 2010

By 

Marc Ranger "Baseball fan" (québec, canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Polar Castaways: The Ross Sea Party Of Sir Ernest Shackleton, 1914-17 (Hardcover)

What I found really interesting about the book was that the drift of the Aurora was largely analysed. Also, this version presents interesting quotes from many diaries (Spencer-Smith's-Joyce's-Richard's-Wild's...)wich are not available in other books.

However, I think that the authors are a little bit hard on Ernest Joyce.
True, he did exagerate his leadership role in his 1929 book, but I think that all 6 sledging partners goin to Mount Hope would have died on the return retreat if not for Ernest Joyce.