A gripping tale of polar exploration

Books & Poetry

Wednesday July 01, 2015 Comments

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Joining an already weighty pantheon of polar exploration books, Wilson McOrist’s account of Shackleton’s Heroes is nonetheless a splendid addition to the genre.

Using actual diary accounts, McOrist has been able to re-create the epic, heroic and desperate struggles of Shackleton’s 1914-18 trans-Antarctic expedition, focusing on the team responsible for laying the explorer’s food depots out to Mount Hope – supplies vital to any successful crossing.

Shackleton’s Heroes, by Wilson McOrist, NewSouth Books, $39.99

Unbeknown to those men, of course, Shackleton was already in a dire position. And once their own supply vessel, the Aurora, had broken its moorings and drifted away, the supply team also faced an uncertain destiny.

In the true spirit of British stiff upper lip, however, the six men went out, determined to ensure Shackleton’s safe return, and it is on this group, “The Mount Hope Party”, that McOrist’s fine work concentrates.

In the most extreme of environments, they not only hauled provisions 360 miles and back, they also covered several hundred more miles stocking, re-stocking and backtracking for colleagues abandoned at one time or another.

In a mesmerising story of physical endurance, mental exhaustion and failing health which defied all odds, McOrist has brought back to life one of the most startling Antarctic adventures of all time, and in doing so has honoured the bravery and fortitude of six men who simply refused to quit.

Shackleton’s Heroes is a magnificent and gripping insight into the life-and-death struggles of polar exploration at the beginning of the 20^th century, a time when all one had to rely upon, was courage.

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<h1>A gripping tale of polar exploration</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/teri-louise-kelly/" class="author">Teri Louise Kelly</a></address>
											
							Joining an already weighty pantheon of polar exploration books, Wilson McOrist’s account of Shackleton’s Heroes is nonetheless a splendid addition to the genre.
Using actual diary accounts, McOrist has been able to re-create the epic, heroic and desperate struggles of Shackleton’s 1914-18 trans-Antarctic expedition, focusing on the team responsible for laying the explorer’s food depots out to Mount Hope – supplies vital to any successful crossing.
<div id="attachment_42288" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://indaily.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Shackletons-Heroes-cover.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-42288" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-42288" src="https://indaily.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Shackletons-Heroes-cover.jpg" alt="Shackleton’s Heroes, By Wilson McOrist, NewSouth Books, $39.99 " width="200" height="300" /></a>
Shackleton’s Heroes, by Wilson McOrist, NewSouth Books, $39.99
</div>
Unbeknown to those men, of course, Shackleton was already in a dire position. And once their own supply vessel, the Aurora, had broken its moorings and drifted away, the supply team also faced an uncertain destiny.
In the true spirit of British stiff upper lip, however, the six men went out, determined to ensure Shackleton’s safe return, and it is on this group, “The Mount Hope Party”, that McOrist’s fine work concentrates.
In the most extreme of environments, they not only hauled provisions 360 miles and back, they also covered several hundred more miles stocking, re-stocking and backtracking for colleagues abandoned at one time or another.
In a mesmerising story of physical endurance, mental exhaustion and failing health which defied all odds, McOrist has brought back to life one of the most startling Antarctic adventures of all time, and in doing so has honoured the bravery and fortitude of six men who simply refused to quit.
Shackleton’s Heroes is a magnificent and gripping insight into the life-and-death struggles of polar exploration at the beginning of the 20th century, a time when all one had to rely upon, was courage.
							This article is republished from <a href="https://inreview.com.au" target=_blank rel="canonical">InReview</a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href="https://inreview.com.au/inreview/books-and-poetry/2015/07/01/a-gripping-tale-of-polar-exploration/" target=_blank rel="canonical">original article</a>.
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