Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals [Paperback]

Beryl Bainbridge (Adapter, Foreword), Robert Falcon Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

In January 1912, Britain's Captain Robert F. Scott reached the South Pole, only to find he had been beaten by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition. Scott and his companions faced an 850-mile march to safety. All perished on the return. A few months later, a search party found Scott's body and the journals that told his tragic story.
Scott's own account was published to extraordinary acclaim in 1913. This new edition draws on ninety years of reflection on the Antarctic disaster to illuminate Scott's journals, publishing for the first time a complete list of the changes made to Scott's original text. Drawing on previously unused papers from the John Murray archive, Max Jones tells the story of this remarkable book and charts the changing fortunes of Scott's reputation. The first fully annotated edition, it also includes appendixes on J. M. Barrie's Biographical Introduction' and The Finding of the Dead, plus a glossary of names and a full index.
The story of Captain Scott and his team is sure to captivate modern readers just as much as it did almost one-hundred years ago.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In November 1910, a ship called Terra Nova left New Zealand on its way south to Antarctica. On board was an international team of explorers led by Robert Falcon Scott, a man determined to be the first to reach the South Pole. A year and a half later, Scott and three members of his team died during a brutal blizzard. Their dream of reaching the Pole first had already been dashed by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, and now on their return trip--slowed by ill health and bad weather--Scott's party found themselves trapped in a tent without sufficient provisions, while the wind howled endlessly outside. Even in his final hours, Scott found the strength to continue the journal he'd started at the beginning of his adventures; the diary was found beside his frozen body.

Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals is the explorer's detailed account of his time in Antarctica. The team's daily progress towards their final goal is recorded in Scott's vivid, personal narrative, as well as his impressions of the harsh conditions, the stark beauty of the tundra, and his own increasingly desperate ambition to beat his rivals to the Pole. Shortly before he died, Scott wrote: "Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman." Robert Falcon Scott and his men died, but their story lives on in his journals.

Review

`Review from previous edition ' a damn good read'' Literary Review, November 2005 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 442 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786703822
• ISBN-13: 978-0786703821
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,927,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The "politically correct" version of the journals, January 18, 1998

By 

Lonnie J. Nesseler "Aurens" (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals (Paperback)

Lady Scott and others heavily edited the journals in order to remove all hints of incompetence, as well as the mean-spirited comments about his men, Shackleton, Amundson, and others. Beware that the source of this book appears to be the heavily edited printing, not the original journals.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scott's diaries, October 5, 2000

By 

Robin (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scott's Last Expedition: The Journals (Paperback)

The authoritive reference for what happened on Scott's polar journey - since it was written by the man himself. Don't be put off by the appalling introduction by Bainbridge (which ruins the story if you don't know all the details since it is just a brief summary of the rest of the book - just skip it!). I wouldn't recommend reading this first (try Scott by Elspeth Huxley as an intro) but for historical interest if you get into the history of the antarctic this is a must. The actual description of the southern journey only makes up the final section of the book, most of it is concerned with the depot laying and over wintering parts of the expedition. As such most of the book is mostly concerned with the details of preparing for the journey and hence probably won't appeal as a general introduction to Scott's last expedition.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary experience with an explorer of the Antarctic, April 6, 2010

By 

Dolores W. Geisler - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Journals: Scott's Last Expedition (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

We had taken a trip to Antarctica on which lecturers referred often to Robert Scott. When we returned and I got this book, it became a reading experience like no other. Since everyone knows he and his men die at the end, that was not a surprise. The surprise was learning through the pages what would be the deciding factors that would ultimately cause their return to fail. Since I read thirty minutes a day, the unfolding drama read like a postcard from Scott to a sister or aunt telling events as they happened. Because it is a diary and includes the thoughts of a person, I came to know him like a friend. The book taught me how difficult it is to endure the challenges of Antarctica on a long term basis. It was an extraordinary experience with a book which I will always remember. May many others read this book and marvel at the character, motivation, determination and greatness of an amazing man.