arctica

From the introduction: Seeking men for dangerous journey. Low salary. Icy cold. Long months of total darkness. Permanent danger. Return not guaranteed. Honour and recognition in the event of success. Sir Ernest Shackleton, the man who placed this advertisement in the Times on the 1st of January 1914, was, in his time, one of the greatest adventurers of the world. Over 5000 people would respond to his offer for 25 places available on board his ship. Arctic adventure is the story of these explorers who, following James Cook in the XVIIIth Century, wanted to find out what lay beyond the seas and on the farthest lands of the earth. In addition to Shackleton, these men were John and James Clark Ross, Fritdjof Nansen, Jules Dumont d’Urville, Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen. […] The spirit of adventure drove them, no doubt, more than the desire for money; the taste for effort and sacrifice too, and most of all, the search for glory, as much for themselves as for their flag. […] These explorers at the ends of the Earth displayed extraordinary fortitude and strength of character – the photographs you are about to see attest to this. They were also great captains and leaders, ready to test their limits. Their story is punctuated with tragedies, acts of bravery and fierce but loyal battles to be the first to achieve the target they had set for themselves. It is a human story, and therefore one not exempt from occasional weakness, mean-spiritedness and jealousy.

Edition: 2010