Forgotten Footprints: Lost Stories in the Discovery of Antarctica

by John Harrison

A mix of history, geography, myth, and personal truth, this book explores the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland Islands, and the Weddell Sea—the most visited places in Antarctica. Filled with beautiful photographs by the author from his travels, this record offers a selection of anecdotal accounts of the merchantmen, navy men, sealers, whalers, and aviators who, along with scientists and adventurers, drew the first ghostly maps of the White Continent. It delves into the heads and hearts of those who were driven to discover the unknown land and is ideal for the armchair traveler who wants to explore the continent's past and present. WINNER OF BRITISH GUILD OF TRAVEL WRITERS’ BEST NARRATIVE AWARD John Harrison’s Forgotten Footprints is the untold story of the sailors, sealers and eccentrics who discovered the last continent: Antarctica. A thrilling record of lost triumph and tragedy, a saga of adventure and ambition against all odds, and a compelling insight into extraordinary personalities and the times that shaped them, Forgotten Footprints captures the fascination of this most extreme, mysterious and beautiful of environments in John Harrison’s characteristically vivid and affecting prose.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

478 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. This is John^^^Harrison, who writes about gardening.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Antarctic is a place that was discovered in stages, As the sailors and explorers of the 18th century ventured further from the safe waters of the Atlantic in into the southern ocean, they stared to think that there was an undiscovered land beyond the tip of Africa and South America. Little by little they came across the islands and the marine inhabitants.

Starting in 1728 with Cook, Harrison describes the journeys and the discoveries that these early adventures make. Traveling in those days was bad enough but by the time they encountered the harsh and brutal environment that makes this place so unique these guys were really suffering.

In-between each trip is a short interlude on a specific subject, whale hunting or scurvy and it breaks the book up nicely. As the title indicates these are the small and often forgotten trips that make up the history off this amazing place. Scott and Amundsen do get a mention, but he has deliberately avoided making another book about them, and they do not take over the book.

Harrison writes some fine travel books and whilst this is not just about his own journeys to and from the continent, it is not strictly travel. That said, it is a fine book, well written, and he does illuminate these often forgotten Antarctic stories.

[Tom Stanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In humankind’s history there have been many ages of discovery, but few that surmise the arduousness and strength of human endurance than Antarctica. Yet Antarctica, much as the race to the Moon, has its forgotten heroes, and it is here that John Harrison redresses this balance in Forgotten Footprints.

For those looking for a concise and detailed history of the discovery of Antarctica then Forgotten Footprints is much more. John Harrison has compiled a breathtaking account not only of some of those whose names are household names, namely James Ross and Ernest Shackleton but celebrated those who we've left behind, the unknowns in the discovery of this vast landscape which captured not just the imagination of explorers but also increased our scientific understanding of our natural world. Indeed, we owe these brave adventurers a great deal.

However, not all of this history is a celebration of daring deeds, as wherever humans enter there is inevitably bloodshed, and the effects of our exploitation of the whale and seal industries are still being felt today, even after decades since these industries have been banned and received worldwide condemnation, the damage to our natural world heals very slowly.

However, explorers such as Thaddeus Bellinghausen, Nathaniel Palmer, James Weddell, Jules Durmont D'Urville, and Jean Baptiste Charcot are just some of the names that have been long forgotten in our transient age of temporary information, much like those who joined the space program before the launch of Apollo 11, many of the names have been forgotten to the outside world, yet it is these intrepid explorers who dared push further to lead the way to our current knowledge of the world around us.

In Forgotten Footprints, John Harrison weaves a rich tapestry of history and adventure, with each page being as immediate as the last, made all the more authentic with Harrison has himself spent a fair amount of the time traveling in and around Antarctica, making Forgotten Footprints a compelling book for our twenty-first century and onwards.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, even if it did take forever to get through its 464 pages! It addressed in good writing style so many of the lesser-known but no less heroic and courageous people and their stories, about those who went to the Antarctic and helped bring it back to the rest of us over time.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish every topic had a John Harrison - someone to trudge through all the dull, vast research to put something together that is both informative and compelling to read. I feel like I'd read more non-fiction if it was like this. I don't really wanna read old guys journals.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I should have loved. A stirring remembrance of those little known souls who opened the way for the exploration and understanding of the great southern continent. Men like the Belgian, De Gerlach and the Russian Bellinghausen, known today only in their home towns and among a scattering of academics, paved the way for titans like Ross, Amundsen and Shackleton.
The main problem with Harrison's book, as engaging and well written as it is, is that the litany of expeditions - all full of heroism, horror and humanity - reads a bit too much like a Groundhog Day list of recurring problems: how to stay warm, overwinter and eat.
This is a shame because Harrison is without doubt a most talented writer and Antarctic specialist. I just wanted to hear more about him. Also, any serious reader is well advised to invest in a good map of the continent, as the detail in the book is rather granular at times.
I liked this book but it could have been so much better with some judicious editing and additions by the author.

[Rinus Ormeling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, with a lot of details (sometimes maybe a littele too much).
Fascinating subject, on powerfull men and women going out to discover this part of the world.

[Kittenwithawhip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating stories, but a tricky read for some reason. Felt like it needed a better narrative to pull it all together in the early chapters.