Author(s): Wilson McOrist

History

Shackleton's Heroes is a genuine treasure of Antarctic history, and an almost unbelievable tale of real heroes who risked themselves for the lives of others. It tells the extraordinary story of how a small party of men, against almost insurmountable obstacles, put down vital food depots on the Great Ice Barrier for Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 - 1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Their efforts to help each other survive comprise some of the most incredible feats of heroism in the history of polar exploration, which until now have been entirely overshadowed by the legendary feat of Shackleton on the other side of the continent after the sinking of the Endurance. The complete story is revealed here for the first time, through the diaries of these forgotten men, written out on the ice and at their base camp. We can experience their pain and suffering through their own words, 100 years after the original expedition began. With a foreword by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Shackleton's Heroes is an adventure story of the highest calibre, told through the voices of the men who completed an almost impossible task in horrific conditions.