May 2003

This book combines Heart of the Antarctic and South, Ernest Shackleton's personal accounts of his polar expeditions.

Heart of the Antarctic is the story of his polar expedition of 1907-1909, 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. Appalling weather conditions, however, together with the necessity of reaching his shop 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 fascinating record of all time. The is the only complete edition available.

South is Shackleton's account of a journey that began in August 1914 with high hopes of a first 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 in London and apprenticed in the Merchant Navy before becoming a junior officer under Captain Robert Scott, on 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.