The Heart of the Antarctic

Shackleton’s own thrilling account of his first Antarctic expedition and astonishing march to reach the South Pole.
With the same drama and adventure of Shackleton’s later memoir, South, Heart of the Antarctic chronicles the first polar expedition he led himself, which lasted over a year and included triumph, defeat, and harrowing experiences. In 1906, Lieutenant Ernest Shackleton decided that he would make his own attempt to reach the South Pole, having been frustrated by his experiences on Captain Robert Scott’s recent effort. His own expedition underwent such ordeals as the hazardous maneuvers to land on the icy Antarctic coast, the scaling of the 13,000-foot volcanic Mount Erebus, and wintering the polar blizzards before setting off for the South Pole. Shackleton’s tension-filled account of his “Farthest South,” reaching within 97 miles of his goal, is matched only by the return journey’s race against time, an exhausted forced march back to camp before their ship sailed without them.