Shackleton: The Polar Journeys - Incorporating "The Heart of the Antarctic" and "South" - Tapa dura

This omnibus combines "Heart of the Antarctic" and "South", Ernest Shackleton's personal accounts of his polar expeditions. "Heart of the Antarctic" is the story of Shackleton's expedition of 1907 to 1909, part of his never-ending quest to reach the South Pole. On this, his first expedition in sole charge, he came agonisingly close to achieving his dream. However, appalling weather conditions, together with the necessity of reaching his ship before it had to flee the advancing pack-ice, forced him to abandon his goal in a breathtaking race against time. With photographs taken on the expedition by Douglas Mawson, and numerous maps and diagrams, this is a record of one of the most daring feats of exploration of all time. "South" is Shackleton's account of a journey that began in August 1914 with high hopes of a first in exploration and ended two years later in a desperate struggle for survival, after the expedition's ship, the "Endurance", was first trapped in sea-ice, then crushed. Shackleton, with a handful of his party, braved the fury of the South Atlantic as they made their desperate 800-mile journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia aboard the "James Caird". This small boat - just over 20 feet long - was pitted against the fury of the southern ocean. The survival of the entire expedition was hinged on this last gamble.

Sir Ernest Shackleton was one of the greatest and most colourful explorers of his time. Born in County Kildare in 1874, he was educated at Dulwich College, London, and was apprenticed in the Merchant Navy before becoming a junior officer under Captain Robert Scott, on the Discovery, between 1901 and 1904. From this point on, his life was devoted to polar exploration, and raising funds for his projects. He died in South Georgia in 1922 while on his fourth Antarctic expedition.