Skip to content
You are not logged in |Login  
     
Limit search to available items
Record:   Prev Next
Resources
More Information
Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Larson, Edward J. (Edward John)

Title An empire of ice : Scott, Shackleton, and the heroic age of Antarctic science / Edward J. Larson.

Publication Info. New Haven : Yale University Press, [2011]
©2011

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (xiv, 326 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations, maps
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-315) and index.
Contents "Three cheers for the dogs" -- A compass pointing south -- The empire's mapmaker -- In Challenger's wake -- Taking the measure of men -- March to the penguins -- Discovering a continent's past -- The meaning of ice -- Epilogue : heroes' requiem.
Summary Published to coincide with the centenary of the first expeditions to reach the South Pole, An Empire of Ice presents a fascinating new take on Antarctic exploration. Retold with added information, it's the first book to place the famed voyages of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, his British rivals Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and others in a larger scientific, social, and geopolitical context. Efficient, well prepared, and focused solely on the goal of getting to his destination and back, Amundsen has earned his place in history as the first to reach the South Pole. Scott, meanwhile, has been reduced in the public mind to a dashing incompetent who stands for little more than relentless perseverance in the face of inevitable defeat. An Empire of Ice offers a new perspective on the Antarctic expeditions of the early twentieth century by looking at the British efforts for what they actually were: massive scientific enterprises in which reaching the South Pole was but a spectacular sideshow. By focusing on the larger purpose, Edward Larson deepens our appreciation of the explorers' achievements, shares little-known stories, and shows what the Heroic Age of Antarctic discovery was really about.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Scott, Robert Falcon, 1868-1912.
Scott, Robert Falcon, 1868-1912.
Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir, 1874-1922.
Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir, 1874-1922.
Scott, Robert Falcon, 1868-1912.
Shackleton, Ernest Henry, Sir, 1874-1922.
Antarctica -- Discovery and exploration -- British.
Antarctica.
Discoveries in geography.
British.
Scientific expeditions -- Antarctica -- History -- 20th century.
Scientific expeditions.
History.
Chronological Term 20th century
1900-1999
Genre/Form Electronic books.
History.
Other Form: Print version: Larson, Edward J. (Edward John). Empire of ice. New Haven : Yale University Press, ©2011 9780300154085 (DLC) 2010044396 (OCoLC)670375635
ISBN 9780300159769 (electronic book)
0300159765 (electronic book)
1283114356
9781283114356
9780300154085
0300154089