

An Empire of Ice
Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science
Author: Edward J. Larson
Narrator: John Allen Nelson
Unabridged: 10 hr 35 min
Format: Digital Audiobook Download
Publisher: Tantor Media
Published: 06/22/2011
Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Science, History, Modern History
Synopsis
Efficient, well prepared, and focused solely on the goal of getting to his destination and back, Amundsen has earned his place in history as the first to reach the South Pole. Scott, meanwhile, has been reduced in the public mind to a dashing incompetent who stands for little more than relentless perseverance in the face of inevitable defeat. An Empire of Ice offers a new perspective on the Antarctic expeditions of the early twentieth century by looking at the British efforts for what they actually were: massive scientific enterprises in which reaching the South Pole was but a spectacular sideshow. By focusing on the larger purpose, Edward Larson deepens our appreciation of the explorers' achievements, shares little-known stories, and shows what the Heroic Age of Antarctic discovery was really about.