How inspiring was the natural environment? How harsh was the wind, temperature, ice, and snow? Based on some 200 primary and secondary sources, this book took 20 years to write, and Rosove's admirable scholarship is thoroughly exhibited in the 'Notes and Bibliography' sections. He gives the reader a feeling for the explorers' motivations and the hardships they had to face often by using their own wordsDthe words of pioneers who were truly heroes. Hardcover with DJ, New.

 

Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott are names familiar to most of us but few know the compelling details of their Antarctic explorations and those of other early explorers who opened the forbidding region to future discovery. In this single volume the author tells their story, voyage by voyage, in language that's as accessible to the general reader as it is to scholars and polar buffs.

Taking a refreshingly different approach from other writers, Michael Rosove skillfully weaves together the explorers' own insightful and inspiring comments with a narrative that puts readers in the midst of events. From Captain James Cook's expedition in 1772 to Shackleton's final expedition in 1922, he describes these small parties of intrepid men. Heroes to many, the pioneers discovered the continent, explored its perilous coasts, penetrated its interior, and reached the South Pole, making the technically sophisticated expeditions of later years possible. With their words, Rosove helps readers appreciate their struggles against almost inconceivable hardships, the challenges to their leadership, their awe at the magnificent natural wonders they beheld, and the profound spiritual effects of their polar experiences.

 

Let Heroes Speak is an excellent detailed account of the early explorers of the Antarctic continent and their accomplishments prior to the advent of the technological age that began in the late 1920s.' -from the cover. Chapters on Cook, von Bellinghausen, Biscoe, Balleny, Enderby, Dumont d'Urville, Wilkes, Ross, Bull, De Gerlache, Borchgrevink, Scott (2 chapters), von Drygalski, Nordenskjöld, Bruce, Charcot (2 chapters), Shackleton (3 chapters), Amundsen, Filchner, Mawson and Cope. Also two general chapters: 3. Sealing and Early Scientific Voyages (1819-1830); 3. Whaling, Sealing and Scientific Voyages (1841-1899). With maps, notes, bibliography and index.