Just in case the breath-taking stories of Sir Ernest Shackleton are not enough to keep you enthralled and entertained, why not indulge your polar interests with those of Sir John Franklin, Capt. Roald Amundsen, Capt. Robert F. Scott or Sir Douglas Mawson? With photography, documentaries, books free to view online and a wide selection of reading elsewhere, we hope you find something that catches your attention!
They each include pioneering exploration, headstrong characters, fierce conditions, extraordinary human persistence & endurance, the untimely, tragic & mysterious loss of life, inspiring humanity and great stories.
For a start, use these first pages to tip a toe into the cold waters of polar explorers:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge:
Arctic World page of explorers:
http://www.arcticworld.net/explore.htm
Cool Antarctica history of exploration page: http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/exploration-history.php
Wikipedia entry, list of polar explorers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_polar_explorers
Sir John Franklin
Channel 4 documentary. Secret History: Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship (Channel 4 sign-up is required to view this documentary. Well worth it.):
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/hunt-for-the-arctic-ghost-ship/on-demand/61080-001
Andrew D. Lambert. Franklin: Tragic Hero of Polar Navigation:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Franklin-Andrew-D-Lambert/9780571231614
Upcoming publication charting and displaying the discovery of the HMS Erebus in 2014: John Geiger & Alanna Mitchell. Franklin’s Lost Ship: The Historic Discovery of ‘HMS Erebus’.
http://www.bookdepository.com/Franklins-Lost-Ship-John-Geiger/9781443444170
A. H. Beesly. Sir John Franklin. (1881):
https://archive.org/details/sirjohnfranklin00bees (Read free online)
Portraits of members of the British Naval Northwest Passage Expedition 1845-1848, at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge:
http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/picturelibrary/catalogue/bnnpe1845-48/
Captain Roald Amundsen
Roald Amundsen. My Life as an Explorer:
https://archive.org/details/roaldamundsenmyl00amun_0 (Read free online)
Stephen R. Brown. The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Last-Viking-Stephen-R-Bown/9780306822667
Fram Museum, Oslo, Norway:
Explorers: Amundsen documentary BBC 1976:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeEm5256pWQ
Captain Robert F. Scott
Scott’s ship, the Discovery, and the Dundee Heritage Trust exhibition
http://www.rrsdiscovery.com/index.php?pageID=129
90 Degrees South documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT2Z0obVSTg
Apsley Cherry-Garrard. The Worst Journey In The World (read free online):
VOLUME I: https://archive.org/details/worstjourneyinwo01cher
VOLUME II: https://archive.org/details/worstjourneyinwo02cher
Scott’s Last Expedition. Arranged by Leonard Huxley. (Read free online):
VOLUME I: https://archive.org/details/scottslastexpedi01
VOLUME II: https://archive.org/details/scottslastexpedi02
Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Captain Scott:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Captain-Scott-Sir-Ranulph-Fiennes/9780340826997
Herbert Ponting’s photographs of Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition 1910-13, at the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge:
http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/picturelibrary/catalogue/bae1910-13/
Sir Douglas Mawson
David Roberts National Geographic Live talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lkS5psgo6Q
David Roberts. Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Alone-on-Ice-David-Roberts/9780393347784
Sir Douglas Mawson. The Home of the Blizzard: Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914. (Read free online)
VOLUME I: https://archive.org/details/homeofblizzardbe01mawsuoft
VOLUME II: https://archive.org/details/homeofblizzardbe02mawsuoft
Three film clips from Home of the Blizzard documentary showing Sir Douglas Mawson’s 1911-1914 expedition: