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A History of Polar Exploration in 50 Objects

From Cook’s Circumnavigations to the Aviation Age

Anne Strathie

$59.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English
The History Press Ltd
21 November 2024
A History of Polar Exploration in 50 Objects covers just over 150 years of polar exploration during which a mysterious southern continent and an elusive northern sea-route became less incognita and increasingly charted and understood.

The objects of the title include instruments used by explorers and scientists, their means of transport and representations of previously unrecorded sights and creatures. Others evidence how explorers financed expeditions, survived during them or shed light on the lives of those who awaited their return in an era before the modern communications now taken for granted. While individual objects are of their own time, they form part of a continuum of polar exploration; they also evidence networks and collaborations which bind polar explorers and scientists to each other, to other mariners and those living in or near polar regions.

The fifty objects include: . Mrs Elizabeth Cook's ditty-box made of wood from HMS Resolution. . John Ross's long-preserved canister of meat . A rock marker left by James Clark Ross for his best friend, 'Frank' Crozier . John Rae's surveying octant . Edward Wilson's portable paintbox . Ernest Shackleton's 'Farthest South' sledging-compass . A samurai sword . Matthew Henson's North Pole expedition fur suit . Roald Amundsen's fjord-side refuge . HMS Erebus's long-silent bell

Some objects remain in polar regions, others are in public spaces, museums, archives and galleries all over the world. They and the stories relating to them are illustrated with almost 150 images, some rarely or not previously published.

A History of Polar Exploration in 50 Objects is Anne Strathie's fourth book on polar regions and is the culmination of approaching fifteen years of research and travel in polar regions and in Britain and other countries lying between the two extremes.

AUTHOR: Anne Strathie is an acclaimed polar historian and biographer. She has written three biographies of members of Captain Scott's 'Terra Nova' Antarctic expedition, all published by The History Press.

75 colour, 75 b/w illustrations
By:  
Imprint:   The History Press Ltd
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 156mm, 
ISBN:   9781803991054
ISBN 10:   1803991054
Pages:   288
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming

ANNE STRATHIE is an acclaimed polar historian and biographer. She has written three biographies of members of Captain Scott's Terra Nova Antarctic expedition, all published by The History Press.

Reviews for A History of Polar Exploration in 50 Objects: From Cook’s Circumnavigations to the Aviation Age

'Strathie has done it again! This time she has researched even deeper and cast wider. Through these objects she tells of all those, from Weddell and Franklin to Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton and beyond, who probed frozen wastes at both ends of our globe. It is more than a history, it is a celebration, an allegory even, of humankind’s indomitable urge to push boundaries. This is a book not only for polar buffs – it is for everybody.' - Mensun Bound, Director of Exploration, 2019 and 2022 Endurance wreck expeditions, author of The Ship Beneath the Ice and (co-authored with Mark Frary) Wonders in the Deep 'The continuum of scientific, artistic and personal affiliations linking the exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic regions is rarely appreciated. Savour, then, the polar epics revealed anew through the objects presented in this book – and be astonished!' - Dr David Wilson, great-nephew of Dr Edward Wilson and author of, among others, Nimrod Illustrated, The Lost Photographs of Captain Scott and Edward Wilson’s Antarctic Notebooks 'Anne Strathie has chosen wisely – some objects will be familiar, but many more are discoveries in their own right, plucked out of museums, archives and private collections, or from remote sites visited during the author’s own travels. It’s a tour-de-force of the human element of polar explorers, their families, and all who have found in these venturesome voyages inspiration for their own.' - Russell A. Potter, author of Finding Franklin and Arctic Spectacles 'This beautifully illustrated treasure trove of polar objects is an absolute joy to delve into. There are surprises in store even for those who know a great deal about polar history. It’s particularly gratifying that objects created by and treasured by women who played a role in the history of polar exploration are given such prominence. A wonderful addition to any polar library.' - Anne Fletcher, historian and author of Widows of the Ice


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