Scott's Last Journey

📖 The Scoop

In 1910, British explorer Robert F. Scott set out on his second expedition to Antarctica determined to be the first man to reach the southernmost point on Earth. Low on supplies, Scott finally reached the South Pole only to discover that his rival, the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, had beaten him by five weeks. On his return trip -- slowed by ill health, frostbite, and bad weather -- Scott and three survivors found themselves trapped in their tent during a raging blizzard. Starving and near death from hypothermia, Scott and his companions were, as it turned out, only a few miles from food, fuel, and medicine. While Scott lacked the energy to make it to safety, he kept up his journal until the end. His final words were, "It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. . . . For God's sake, look after our people". Two months later, a rescue party found the diary next to his frozen body and it has stood as a testament to human bravery -- and tragedy -- since. A riveting, firsthand account of the perilous adventure, Scott's Last Journey is richly illustrated with recently released photos from the Royal Geographical Society and newly edited with sidenotes that reveal more clearly than ever before what happened on this fatal expedition.

Genre: Biography & Autobiography / General (fancy, right?)