Mawson And the Ice Men of The Heroic Age; Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen.

I seem to have spent the hot summer reading about the snow. So some thoughts on “Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age; Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen” by Peter Fitzsomons.

From the outset I’ll say I knew a bit, not much, about the explorers. Now I know quite a lot. The one thing I really enjoyed is that the structure interweaves the preparation and expeditions of the four explorers, giving background and context to each of them.  I liked that.  It is not intended to be about one person, nor full biography.  Here is a book that looks at all these men together, not just honouring only one person or expedition.

The lay out is small sections, a page or so in length,  each with a pithy heading so you know when and who and what:  i.e:  “23 November 1911, Tasmania, SS Paloona Sails up the Derwent river – Hobart Ahoy!”  Then the next will be about Amundsen, or Shackleton back in London, or a family member in Melbourne.

Mawsons Davis Base 1912

This short, choppy, comparative- sectioned-structure gives much clarity about who was where when and helped hold my interest.  Which is good, since its a brick the size of a blue stone. The fact that Scott, Amundsen and Mawson were all at the pole simultaneously is very clear and allows the reader to compare and track each expedition. Cross-referencing who was where when and what stage they were each at, is very easy. The one person not mentioned is the Japanese explorer Nobu Shirase, who came across Amundsens ship Fram, as it arrived to pick up Amundsens party.

Yes, they really all were there. In terms of Antarctic traffic, it was peak hour.