"Nimrod": The Extraordinary Story of Shackleton's First Expedition - Softcover

Beau Riffenburgh

3.95

168 ratings by Goodreads

9780747572534: "Nimrod": The Extraordinary Story of Shackleton's First Expedition

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747572534 ISBN 13: 9780747572534

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2005

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On New Year's Day 1908, the ship Nimrod set off for the mysterious regions of the Antarctic. The leader of the small expedition was Ernest Shackleton who, in the next year and a quarter would record some of the greatest achievements of his career and would then, together with his companions, return home as a hero. Shackleton and his party battled against extreme cold, hunger, danger and psychological trauma in their attempt to reach the South Pole and to return alive. They climbed the active volcano of Mount Erebus, planted the Union Jack at the previously unattained South Magnetic Pole, and struggled to within 97 miles of the South Geographic Pole. Beau Riffenburgh has written the definitive account of what Shackleton grandly called the British Antarctic Expedition. The story features an extraordinary cast of characters including Scott, Douglas Mawson, who would become one of the greatest Antarctic explorers, and the Antarctic pioneers Nansen and Amundsen. Nimrod is a story of an adventure which was a source of huge pride and fascination to both the leaders and subjects of the British Empire, and a journey almost too incredible even for Shackleton.

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Review:

‘Gripping ... sumptuous’ -- Daily Telegraph

‘Masterful ... moves with the speed of a novel ... captures the essence of polar exploration and explorers’ -- Sir Ranulph Fiennes

‘Riffenburgh’s perceptive book blends first-hand accounts with original research and a fast-paced narrative, providing a cracking adventure’ -- Times Literary Supplement

‘The remarkable story of Shackleton’s greatest achievement has at last been told in Riffenburgh’s gripping and superbly researched Nimrod’ -- Max Jones, author of The Last Great Quest: Captain Scott’s Antarctic Sacrifice

‘The story of the expedition is retold with verve and pace’ -- Michael Binyon, The Times

About the Author:

Beau Riffenburgh is an historian specialising in exploration, particularly that of the Antarctic, Arctic and Africa. Born in California, he earned his doctorate at Cambridge University, following which he joined the staff at the Scott Polar Research Institute, where he is the editor of Polar Record. He is the author of the highly regarded The Myth of the Explorer and is currently serving as Editor of The Encyclopedia of the Antarctic. He is currently working on a book about Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition.

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