Mawson's Antarctic Diaries

by Douglas Mawson (Editor), Eleanor Jacka (Editor)

Sir Douglas Mawson, Australia's greatest Antarctic explorer, made four trips to the Antarctic during his long and storied career. He traveled south in 1907 with Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition; in 1911 as leader of the Australasian Antarctic expedition; and twice between 1929 and 1931 as leader of the British, Australian, and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition. Gathered here are Mawson’s diaries from each of these four trips, volumes which provide an intimate perspective on the stress and conflicts inherent to each journey, their achievements and failures, joys and tragedies. Gripping and unrestrained, this is a revealing look at one of history’s most daring adventurers.

Genres: Nonfiction

414 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Douglas Mawson (1882-1958) was Australian Antarctic explorer and geologist. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.

Reviews

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

CRIMINALLY underrated. This and his autobiography could easily be adapted as best biopic of all time.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is comprised of the diaries that Sir Douglas Mawson kept on his Antarctic expeditions, photographs from the expeditions, and a few examples of handwritten pages, sketches, and menus, etc. Attempting to read Mawson's handwriting made me really appreciate the person/s that did the work to type this up for the first time--yeesh! There are definitely some adventures described here, and some tragedies, and lots about cold and food and the lack of food. It's interesting to read this after reading The Home Of The Blizzard: A True Story Of Antarctic Survival, to see Mawson's reactions to events when they've just happened, and also to read his complaints about certain other expedition members, since those guys generally didn't choose to publish stuff like that. Definitely well worth a read for folks fascinated with polar history.

[John Jenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you have an interest in explorers the antarctic, this is a great one to add to your collection