Scott of the Antarctic: A Life of Courage and Tragedy
by David Crane
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This is the definitive biography of Captain Scott - the pivotal figure in pre-First World War Antarctic exploration. Crane's beautifully written and illustrated book re-examines the courage and tragedy of Scott's expedition and reasserts his position in the pantheon of British heroes. David Crane's remarkable book sets out to discover the real Captain Scott, and rejects the common orthodoxies that surround his name to grapple with the personality behind the legend. In doing so, Crane is able show more to reach the most moving aspects of Scott's life: the moral courage and basic decency exhibited in a life lived on the crumbling fringes of gentility at the turn of the century. Crane's biography of Scott will rescue a maligned figure and restore him to his proper place in history. By reassessing Scott's life and his huge scientific achievements, Crane is able to provide a fresh and exciting perspective on the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
**June 6, 1868. When British explorer Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole in January 1912, he discovered that he had lost the "Race for the Pole" by only one month to Norwegian Roald Amundsen. Then, to the shock of the rest of the world, Scott and his entire party perished while attempting to return home. Author David Crane uses Scott's own diaries and letters to probe the explorer's life and voyages, providing a fresh perspective on the man behind the myth. Dramatic details of polar exploration make Scott of the Antarctic a treat for readers who like tales of survival and discovery.
Loved this biography of Captain Robert Falcon Scott. I had already read The Worst Journey in the World, by one of the members of Scott's second Antarctic expedition, so I knew some of the story, but I knew almost nothing about Scott's earlier life. His story is endlessly fascinating, and I marvel at the men who traveled to the Antarctic and managed to live and work there.
Another account of the famous Antarctic explorer.
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Polar exploration
54 works; 4 members
Author Information
7 Works 503 Members
David Crane teaches English literature in London.
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Robert Falcon Scott
- Important places
- Antarctica
- Important events
- British National Antarctic Expedition (1901 | 1904); Terra Nova Expedition (1910 | 1913)
- First words
- In the early hours of 10 February 1913, an old converted whaler "crept like a phantom" into the little harbour of Oamaru on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island and dropped anchor.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)They are in their bags, quietly acquiescent in their fates; amnd between them, his face yellowed and badly frostbitten, his arm flung out across Wilson, his emaciated body half in and half out of his sleeping bag as if he had "fought hard at the moment of death," Scott lies, struggling to the last.
- Blurbers
- Alexander, Caroline; Sattin, Anthony
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, Travel, General Nonfiction, History
- DDC/MDS
- 910.92 — History & geography Geography & travel modified standard subdivisions of Geography and travel Explorers & Travelers Geographers, travellers, explorers regardless of country of origin
- LCC
- G875 .S35 .C73 — Geography, Anthropology and Recreation Geography (General) Arctic and Antarctic regions
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 158
- Popularity
- 207,404
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 1
