Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration
On January 17, 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Now Mawson himself plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul himself back to the surface.
Mawson was sometimes reduced to crawling, and one night he discovered that the soles of his feet had completely detached from the flesh beneath. On February 8, when he staggered back to base, his features unrecognizably skeletal, the first teammate to reach him blurted out, "Which one are you?"
This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley's famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States.
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Community Reviews
Pro:
I love these discovery and exploration books. I also love to read about historical figures and how we used to live. History is a field where one can never know enough. No matter how much I read about it I am always surpriced, shocked and educated by interesting new facts. This book is just another book in the series on the Antarctic explorers. Some of the best history books ever written are about explorers and the best modern books on the topic are nearly all about Antarctic explorers as that was the last undiscovered place on earth.
Con:
This might be the worst book I have read about Antarctic explorers - because the other books are just that good. This is a good read but not a great read. It starts by telling the main story and then he retells it in details. His 20min youtube talk is also about the main story. Mawson's wandering on the ice is also the most exciting part of the book. But I liked other parts more as they were about what people actually worked with on Antarctica and how they were living. It still feels a little more heavy than the other books, and a bit unstructured. I had to see his youtube video to understand how their camps were placed and why there were 2 camps. I guess I just mentally skipped some parts of the book or something.
If you have read a lot about explorers this could be your next book on the topic. But it's not a must read unless you are an Australian. The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole by Roland Huntford is just a much better book in all aspects. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is just a better book on the survival aspect. And before reading Alone on the Ice read the 2 other books. If you love them read this one too as it is worth a read for people interested in the subject wanting to know even more about Antarctic explorers. I don't think you will regret reading it as it always have new and exciting stuff happening in it, just in a slow pace.
I love these discovery and exploration books. I also love to read about historical figures and how we used to live. History is a field where one can never know enough. No matter how much I read about it I am always surpriced, shocked and educated by interesting new facts. This book is just another book in the series on the Antarctic explorers. Some of the best history books ever written are about explorers and the best modern books on the topic are nearly all about Antarctic explorers as that was the last undiscovered place on earth.
Con:
This might be the worst book I have read about Antarctic explorers - because the other books are just that good. This is a good read but not a great read. It starts by telling the main story and then he retells it in details. His 20min youtube talk is also about the main story. Mawson's wandering on the ice is also the most exciting part of the book. But I liked other parts more as they were about what people actually worked with on Antarctica and how they were living. It still feels a little more heavy than the other books, and a bit unstructured. I had to see his youtube video to understand how their camps were placed and why there were 2 camps. I guess I just mentally skipped some parts of the book or something.
If you have read a lot about explorers this could be your next book on the topic. But it's not a must read unless you are an Australian. The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole by Roland Huntford is just a much better book in all aspects. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is just a better book on the survival aspect. And before reading Alone on the Ice read the 2 other books. If you love them read this one too as it is worth a read for people interested in the subject wanting to know even more about Antarctic explorers. I don't think you will regret reading it as it always have new and exciting stuff happening in it, just in a slow pace.
