[Ebook recs] Apsley Cherry-Garrard, "The Worst Journey in the World"
This is one of the most grueling, gripping adventure stories of all time... and best of all, it's a true story. If you've read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, you know the genre. Nearly a hundred years old, this story is just as vivid and dramatic as anything that could be produced today.
Apsley Cherry-Garrard was a member of Robert Scott's 1910 expedition to Antarctica. He didn't take part in the failed excursion to the pole on which Scott and his companions died, but he still has plenty to relate. A highlight is the sixty mile trip to collect penguin eggs with temperatures below -60C. During one long, unbearable night the explorers' shelter blew away in a Force 11 blizzard... but in the end they returned alive with the eggs. It was this journey that Cherry-Garrard called "the worst in the world."
In writing this account of his travels, Cherry-Garrard may have had some help from his friend George Bernard Shaw. However it was arrived at, the result is vivid, evocative writing that chills you, as it should, to the bone. You may want to skip some of the initial historical scene-setting, which is less lively than the first-hand account that follows. You'll definitely want to have a map on hand to use for reference. Read on long winter evenings with a cup of tea and a warm fire in the fireplace.
The Worst Journey in the World via Project Gutenberg
View poll: #8116
This entry was originally posted at http://naraht.dreamwidth.org/462075.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Apsley Cherry-Garrard was a member of Robert Scott's 1910 expedition to Antarctica. He didn't take part in the failed excursion to the pole on which Scott and his companions died, but he still has plenty to relate. A highlight is the sixty mile trip to collect penguin eggs with temperatures below -60C. During one long, unbearable night the explorers' shelter blew away in a Force 11 blizzard... but in the end they returned alive with the eggs. It was this journey that Cherry-Garrard called "the worst in the world."
In writing this account of his travels, Cherry-Garrard may have had some help from his friend George Bernard Shaw. However it was arrived at, the result is vivid, evocative writing that chills you, as it should, to the bone. You may want to skip some of the initial historical scene-setting, which is less lively than the first-hand account that follows. You'll definitely want to have a map on hand to use for reference. Read on long winter evenings with a cup of tea and a warm fire in the fireplace.
The Worst Journey in the World via Project Gutenberg
View poll: #8116
This entry was originally posted at http://naraht.dreamwidth.org/462075.html. Please comment there using OpenID.