SOUTH POLE: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910–1913 Reviewed By David W. Menefee of Bookpleasures.com
- By David W. Menefee
- Published October 21, 2012
- History
David W. Menefee
Reviewer David W. Menefee: David is a Pulitzer nominated American author, ghost writer, screenwriter, book editor, and film historian. David’s career began as a writer and marketing representative for the Dallas Times Herald and the Dallas Morning News. His books have appeared under various imprints and in a variety of categories, such as biography, travel, historical fiction, mysteries, and romance. Two books by David were named among the 2011 Top 10 Silent Film Books of the Year: Wally: The True Wallace Reid Story, and The Rise and Fall of Lou-Tellegen. His most recent releases include Sweet Memories and the 1950s romance trilogy, Can't Help Falling in Love, Come Away to Paradise, and Catch a Falling Star (with co-author Carol Dunitz). David lives in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Author: Christine Dell'Amore
Publisher: Assouline
ISBN-10: 161428010X: ISBN-13: 978-1614280101
“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,” Captain Scott wrote as he lay dying, penning his last
words in his “Message to the Public” in March 1912.
He need not have worried. Christine Dell’Amore, environment writer-editor for National Geographic News, has compiled SOUTH POLE: The British Antarctic Expedition 1910–1913, a stunning book that more than captures the strength, stamina, and bravery shown by Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his doomed crew during their Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-1913. Their epic struggle returns once again in Dell’Amore’s new book that captures their unprecedented journey through detailed text and a collection of Scott’s dazzling black and white photographs that celebrate the inhospitable and incomparably beautiful landscapes. Entries from Scott's traumatic diary also starkly augment this volume released on the 100th Anniversary of Scott and his team’s last expedition to the South Pole.
The book retells the life
and boundless bravery displayed by Scott and his five-man team as
they battled the elements and traveled through subzero temperatures
with motor sledges and ponies in the hope of being the first to reach
this uninhabited territory. Their story comes back with an eerie echo
at a remarkable time in human history when some claim that our planet
stands on the brink of a shift in the Earth’s magnetic poles at the
end of 2012. For those who have not yet heard, Charles Hapgood’s
theory was endorsed by Albert Einstein, and both suggested that the
poles, aided by massive ice build up, are damned to eventually be
thrown by centrifugal force to the equator. They suggest that the
pole shift may cause our planet to flip on its axis, moving
previously inhabitable regions into the positions of uttermost north
and south. Reading this book now, I could not help but wonder if
other areas of the Earth’s land mass become the next frozen
wastelands, will another intrepid explorer come forward to forge
an unexplored trail into the new ice-bound and snow-covered
South Pole as Scott and his team did almost exactly a century
ago? With this book, we can easily foresee the struggle they will
encounter.
Dell’Amore’s stunning 136-page book spans Scott’s entire crossing, beginning when he arrived at the South Pole on January 17, 1912 only to face their worst nightmare: a Norwegian flag. Disheartened and badly frostbitten, they trudged back toward their boat only to die just eleven miles from the next depot.
Assouline has released
this book in three unique formats: a trade edition in hardcover; an
oversized special edition hardcover with jacket; and, most
exclusively, an artist's limited luxury hand bound edition in
extra-large format, complete with waterproof pages—the first luxury
art book of its kind. For people interested in one of history’s
greatest horrors, SOUTH POLE: The British Antarctic Expedition
1910–1913 will grasp a dramatic, enduring position in their
library.
Christine Dell’Amore, environment writer-editor for National Geographic News, has reported from six continents, including Antarctica. She has also written for Smithsonian Magazine and The Washington Post. Christine holds a Masters Degree in journalism with a specialty in environmental reporting from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
