The Worst Journey in the World

May 11, 2009 Buck rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: life-writing

Never again. Never again will I complain. About anything. The sufferings heaped on the members of Scott’s second polar expedition make the ordinary misfortunes of modern life –- the fender-benders, hangovers and breakups –- seem like pleasant diversions. There are passages in this amazing memoir where the reader, appalled, begins to suspect that these men were collaborating on a metaphysically refined form of self-destruction.

Apsley Cherry-Gerrard –- and let me say now what a wonderfully plummy...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Pete daPixie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, polar, travelogues

Apsley Cherry-Garrard's 'The Worst Journey in the World' is quite simply a 20th century classic. Published in 1922, the author recounts, in almost six hundred pages, Scott's polar expedition of 1910-1913.
I find reviewing this book extremely difficult. I'm probably still in a state of reverential and dumfounded awe after reading such an eloquent masterpiece. In the field of polar exploration or travel writing, this book is utterly astounding.

It is now a century past since the exploits of this 'wo...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: 2011, kindle-baby, own, faves, 2011s-most-enjoyed

He wasn't lying with that title, but what's missed out is that it's perhaps the most incredible journey too, as well as one of the most incredible books I've ever read (if I could give this 10 stars it wouldn't be enough).

Concerning Scott's last expedition to the Antarctic of which I previously knew woefully little (even though he's a hometown boy), I no longer have to lament that fact thanks to this most comprehensive and compelling account by Apsley Cherry-Garrard who, at 24, was a member of t...more He wasn't lying with that title, but what's missed out is that it's perhaps the most incredible journey too, as well as one of the most incredible books I've ever read (if I could give this 10 stars it wouldn't be enough).

Concerning Scott's last expedition to the Antarctic of which I previously knew woefully little (even though he's a hometown boy), I no longer have to lament that fact thanks to this most comprehensive and compelling account by Apsley Cherry-Garrard who, at 24, was a member of the expedition (though not of the last dash to the pole) and made it back to tell the tale. Painstakingly compiled from not only Garrard's diaries and remembrances but also through those of the other men, from letters home and the many, meticulous records of the journey (it chiefly having a scientific object), Garrard fully presses home the ideal that these men strove to uphold even in the face of certain death - to shine a little light on the darkest, most inhospitable corners of the world and bring forth a little more knowledge, laying a foundation for those who came after to build upon.

Garrard does a truly fantastic job of immersing you in his material, not only giving you all of the detail surrounding the expedition down to temperatures, wind directions, logistics, etc but also painting a vivid picture of their lives there. Alongside the hardships there are moments of wonder and joy; in the beauty of their surroundings, of their discoveries and studies and in the way Garrard writes of the personalities of the animals and men (I adored the indomitable Bowers as, clearly, did Garrard). Sitting alongside is unhistrionic documentation of the most unimaginably inhospitable environments and acts of incredible endurance, bravery and generosity that I don't think I'll be ever able to forget (Crean's solitary journey of 35 miles, on foot and with no equipment, to raise help for a dying man, completely awes me). Waking afloat on a patch of floating sea ice, teeth splitting due to the cold, frostbite, hourly drops into crevasses and the terrible blindness of blizzards are just some of the other horrors within. I can't even begin to imagine what a temperature of -75 feels like, but if I ever whinge at a festival that my clothes are damp again, you have my permission to slap me.

We all know now became of Scott's last Polar Journey and it's very easy to look at it with the benefit of hindsight and point out mistakes. I spent quite a lot of time cursing the horrific distances between depots and Garrard, in his stated aim of passing on knowledge to future explorers, is forthcoming about the many shortcomings and miscalculations as well as the plain rotten luck experienced by the party. Having read this now, and feeling like I've come through the journey with them, I find it hard to condemn any of the actions within and am instead struck with a feeling of awe at what was accomplished and endured, and what a debt we owe to all of the people who have gone out and discovered all of the wonderful things we know about the world.(less)

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Jun 25, 2011 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dad

Shelves: history, biography-autobiography, favorites, great-big-hunks-o-nature

“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” said Henry David Thoreau when he read the galley proof of Walden and realized what kind of gonif editor he was faced with. Still, it did rather well. So has The Worst Journey, in spite of the fact the Natointal Geograhpic society ! has gotten hold of it.”

Now the book is over, and it’s back to my stinkin’ life. This is a fudge sundae of personal history, journals of explorer friends; of mountains, glaciers, ice, crevasses, pemmican and killer wh...more “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” said Henry David Thoreau when he read the galley proof of Walden and realized what kind of gonif editor he was faced with. Still, it did rather well. So has The Worst Journey, in spite of the fact the Natointal Geograhpic society ! has gotten hold of it.”

Now the book is over, and it’s back to my stinkin’ life. This is a fudge sundae of personal history, journals of explorer friends; of mountains, glaciers, ice, crevasses, pemmican and killer whales; of hauling a sledge in the dark at 77 degrees below zero; cold and dark and light in word-pictures from every angle till you see and feel them in your sleep. There are courage and triumph and loyalty and disaster. Yet the only happiness in it is when, well, let’s face it, “All the world loves a penguin.” Cherry clearly loves the Adelie penguins, with their little dinner suits, their cheeky waddle, their brutal life cycle, and their fearlessness. He will make you love them too.

Is it wrong to fall in love with an author? I feel like I know him. At just 24, he begged and bribed his way into the expedition—no doubt hoping for high adventure, like a medieval knight—after being initially turned down because of his extreme nearsightedness. Because he couldn’t wear his glasses when sledging (they fogged up), and because he volunteered so often, and because he was “often scared out of my wits,” he suffered more than most of the men from cold, hunger and sickness. He suffered, too, from the loss of his best friends when the Polar party died, and never forgave himself for waiting at One Ton Depot and not taking supplies farther south to relieve them, although on his return to the winter quarters he was so sick he could barely walk. After the Great War he sat down to write an Official Narrative, and in the Introduction apologizes to the Antarctic Committee for leaving out the tedious details they doubtless expected. This is characteristic of his self-effacement throughout. But one can imagine his friend Bernard Shaw, who read and helped write, snorting into his enormous beard.

Cherry emphasizes that the Scott expedition was devoted to science, unlike Amundsen’s expedition (which beat them to the Pole, and lived to tell the tale), and he insists that he is writing for the sake of science. But he studied classics, so we will forgive him for writing a memoir instead. They did a lot of scientific observation—geology, zoology, meteorology—and some of it was actually useful, and a little of it makes sense in the text. But the reader is left wondering why in the world these men put themselves through three long years of hellish wind and wet and cold and dark at the risk of their very lives. He does address this: Science is an investment that requires patience, and its returns are seldom quick or obvious. “We are a nation of shopkeepers…If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin’s egg.”

Was it worth it? The question is open.

I would knock the book down to four and a half stars if I could because of all the errors. The typos are annoying enough, but there are a couple of places where large chunks of text are missing. During the nightmare Winter Journey (from which, at Bernard Shaw’s suggestion, the book takes its title), Cherry, Wilson and Bowers experimented with different amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fat in their diet. But we never get to find out how it turned out, because the editor decided to skip a very large bit of information, right in the middle of a sentence. And then there are the maps. For their own reasons, the three maps the editors have included show only a few of the places Cherry mentions, not including Cape Adare, Evans Coves, any of the supply depots except One Ton, or THIS THING CALLED THE BARRIER that is basically the protagonist of the book, but nowadays it’s called the Ross Ice Shelf, which good luck figuring that out from the maps because “Map reflects present-day place names.” Seriously? This is the National Geographic Society?

There are no pictures in this barren edition, and the maps are terrible, but the Public Library yielded up A First Rate Tragedy by Diana Preston, which has useful maps, some photos, more information, the full names of most of the party (which Cherry leaves out), and a detailed analysis of reasons for the Polar party’s fate. It is not nearly as good a book, but it’s a fine companion. In The Coldest March Susan Solomon, a meteorologist, re-examines the Scott expedition and concludes that the main reason Scott perished was the unusually cold temperatures they encountered on the Ross Ice Shelf. On Solomon’s recommendation, I picked up The Worst Journey, which I would never normally have read. In my (futile) search for a map with Evans Coves on it, I have found more references to this book than any other single source. It is the classic of Polar exploration. I think you should read it.
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Mar 28, 2010 Maureen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: maciej-recommends

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Feb 03, 2008 Tom rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a first rate adventure story told by a man who is sensitive, thoughtful, courageous, and kindhearted. The part of the book from which the title is taken is maybe the most harrowing saga I've ever encountered, involving minus 70+ degree temperatures, howling winds, deadly crevasses, starvation, hopelessness, and endless darkness, all to collect Emperor Penguin eggs in the middle of an Antarctic winter.
I am not so big on non-fiction generally, but this is a book I could read again and a...more

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Feb 11, 2009 Leftbanker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: travel

Read this book and you'll never bitch about stuff like not having enough towels in your hotel room or an over-cooked steak you were served at a restaurant in Paris. Yet another story that makes the modern man relize that there are no more worlds to discover. Polar exploration was just about the last of the travels into the unknown. I don't count space exploration because for that you need an entire country's economy behind you. Now any knob can circle the world with only a credit card. Sic trans...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Eugene Miya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: exploration, travel, tr

It truly was one of the worst journeys in the world, and he came back.

The author was one of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic men (who over wintered). But this is the journey the winter before Scott's final journey (South Pole attempt which didn't quite succeed) except author Cherry-Garrard was turn around as one of the logistical porters rather than finalists (thus saving him from Scott's fate).

No this journey was a small scientific mid-polar winter man-haul from Cape Evans to Cape Crozier...more

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Mar 28, 2013 James & rated it 5 of 5 stars

Actually, I listened to this book on Audible. It's possible that it could have accompanied me to the end of the world and back again. It is not short, and the better for it. You feel invested in the staggering persistence and extraordinary, dogged, foolhardiness that stretches over years. Listening to it unfold at its own pace was a distinctive experience; never boring, but almost mesmerizing.
Some of the casual descriptions of appalling and/or hilarious events were all the more perfect for the...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Douglas Dalrymple rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apsley Cherry-Garrard was one of the younger members of the cursed 1911-1912 Robert Falcon Scott expedition to Antarctica and the South Pole. Cherry, as his fellow expedition members called him, was one of three who undertook the infamous 70-mile “winter journey” in total dark and temperatures of 75 degrees below zero (F) to retrieve three emperor penguin eggs for science. He was also a supporting member of the Polar team and among those who finally discovered the frozen corpses of Scott, Wilson...more Apsley Cherry-Garrard was one of the younger members of the cursed 1911-1912 Robert Falcon Scott expedition to Antarctica and the South Pole. Cherry, as his fellow expedition members called him, was one of three who undertook the infamous 70-mile “winter journey” in total dark and temperatures of 75 degrees below zero (F) to retrieve three emperor penguin eggs for science. He was also a supporting member of the Polar team and among those who finally discovered the frozen corpses of Scott, Wilson and Bowers on the Ross Ice Shelf.

The book was originally written to provide an official record of the expedition, and it shows in the details. Cherry quotes at length from the letters and journals of other expedition members, and especially from Scott’s recovered diaries. If his book tends to drag at times (he could have cut 200 of the book’s 550 pages and given us a better read), it’s because Cherry wants to document everything as precisely as possible. Though not, in the end, published as the official record of the expedition (it was considered too personal a narrative), Cherry-Garrard's books is the most fitting monument to the persons and aims of the expedition that could be imagined.

It's Cherry’s own voice that really makes the book as a piece of literature. He’s writing after his own return from the front in WWI, and ten years after his return from Antarctica, but the Scott expedition haunts him more than the war. Reading the book I was reminded again and again of T.E. Lawrence’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom. There are similarities in tone, but it’s more than that. Apparently, as I learned only today, Cherry had written an appreciation of Lawrence’s work later in life, concluding that both he and Lawrence had employed the writing process to exorcise their personal demons of loss and suffering.

As a record of physical and mental endurance, it’s hard to imagine anything that could top The Worst Journey in the World. “Exploration,” Cherry-Garrard writes in the conclusion of the book, “is the physical expression of the intellectual passion.” Passion, however, may be both that which drives us forward, and that which we must endure. The Antarctic, for him, was not simply a place of scientific fascination, nor was the pole a mere crown for competitors, but it became, both literally and figuratively, the spot “where a man loses his orbit and turns like a joint on a spit,” with all the pain and scorching that image suggests.
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Jul 03, 2012 Luthien rated it 5 of 5 stars

The story of Scott's journey to the South Pole told by one of the members of the expedition. Borrowing a line from Dan Simmons, it also amazes me that men born in civilized England - a pretty nice place to live despite the rain - feel the need to go to the most inhospitable, desolate, dangerous and freezing places in the world.
They did it in the spirit of scientific discovery and for the honor of their country (one of their goals was to be the first to reach the South Pole). And from what Cherr...more

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Nov 23, 2011 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This lengthy tome details Robert Falcon Scott’s final expedition to the South Pole. Though many other stories and analyses have already been offered (including Scott’s own accounts from his diaries), Cherry-Garrard’s is a first-hand rendering of his and other lesser-known members’ experiences.

It is truly incredible that anyone survives in the arctic. This book gives an intimate account of the daily life and habits of those who spend consecutive years in this inhabitable place – half of every yea...more This lengthy tome details Robert Falcon Scott’s final expedition to the South Pole. Though many other stories and analyses have already been offered (including Scott’s own accounts from his diaries), Cherry-Garrard’s is a first-hand rendering of his and other lesser-known members’ experiences.

It is truly incredible that anyone survives in the arctic. This book gives an intimate account of the daily life and habits of those who spend consecutive years in this inhabitable place – half of every year in darkness.

The most compelling aspect of this book to me was the titular journey attempted by Cherry-Garrard and two other members of the expedition in the middle of winter to retrieve Emperor penguin embryos. With -75 degree temperatures, complete darkness, yawning crevasses, and shelter-destroying storms, it is truly miraculous that these men survived their multi-week journey at all. This, not the Expedition to the Pole itself, was truly The Worst Journey in the World. The tale is made even more poignant by the knowledge that two of the party (Bowers and Wilson) will perish with Scott on the return journey from the Pole – a journey whose difficulties pale next to those of this particular winter expedition.

The book is comprehensive – often giving blow-by-blow accounts of certain journeys (such as those to set up supply depots for the Polar Expedition). Cherry-Garrard writes as if his readers have working knowledge both of Scott’s previous and final journey to the Pole. It would be helpful to have a firm grasp of the basic history of the expedition and geography of the South Pole region since names, and places are tossed about continually and casually as if the reader knows them as intimately as the author.

Though Cherry-Garrard writes from an older time and different era, and though his account often drags with the monotony that must have accompanied everyday life in the Arctic, he as often delights with rapturous accounts of landscapes, with self-deprecating humor, and even with satisfying barbs. Writing of the difficulties with the ponies, for example, he offers, “He [the pony] rivals our politicians in that he has little real intellect.” More gems abound.

In the end as he dissects Scott’s disastrous final journey, he also passionately defends the whole notion of polar exploration, which must have come under some scrutiny after Scott’s tragedy. For all who seek adventure, he writes:
“Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion. And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore, If you are a brave man you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have the need to prove their bravery.”
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Aug 20, 2011 Ollie Murphy rated it 5 of 5 stars

An insanely awesome story. It's truly remarkable what Garrard went through on the South Pole and, furthermore, that he managed to survive.

The 'Worst Journey' title actually only refers to a small expedition that Garrard undertook along with two others, Dr Bill Wilson and Birdie Bowers. Basically, they set off during the winter time on a many week long odyssey to find Penguin eggs (which they falsely thought could hold the keys to evolution).

At any rate, during winter, in Antarctica, it's basica...more

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May 27, 2012 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well-deserved place atop the world's greatest adventure stories ever told. (Whether Cherry-Garrard wrote it himself, or had Shaw help him, is irrelevant, in my opinion.)

The title of the book refers to a brief slice of the 1911 trip to Antarctica that killed Scott and many members of his expedition. Scott's race to the South Pole is the background, the "worst journey" refers to a side-trip made by two members of the party. (I won't spoil it with any other details.) This is a flat-out superb book,...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Arthur rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

We were told that books can make you travel without leaving your home. However, I only understood the exact meaning of this phrase while reading The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry Garrard. The book is a firsthand account of the doomed expedition to the South Pole, organized in 1911 by Captain Robert Scott. Apsley was the youngest member of the expedition that intended to be the first one to reach the South Pole.
Imagine going on a cold, brutal journey with what we would call primiti...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Ryan Murdock rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: road-wisdom-top-travel-books

The Worst Journey is a memoir by one of the survivors of Robert Scott’s 1910-1913 Antarctic Expedition, and it’s probably the greatest piece of adventure literature I’ve ever read. It’s a giant brick of a book, but I never once found it slow. The hardships these men endured are difficult to believe—the author’s midwinter expedition to collect eggs from the Emperor penguin’s breeding grounds was an epic of survival in itself, with temperatures so low it took the men half an hour each night to wor...more The Worst Journey is a memoir by one of the survivors of Robert Scott’s 1910-1913 Antarctic Expedition, and it’s probably the greatest piece of adventure literature I’ve ever read. It’s a giant brick of a book, but I never once found it slow. The hardships these men endured are difficult to believe—the author’s midwinter expedition to collect eggs from the Emperor penguin’s breeding grounds was an epic of survival in itself, with temperatures so low it took the men half an hour each night to work their way in to their frozen sleeping bags, thawing them bit by bit with their failing body heat. The entire story is told in such an underrated way, and so matter of fact. It’s a tale of true heroism and an up close look at an age of exploration that’s long since vanished.

Upon his return to England 3 years later, with most of his companions dead and Robert Scott frozen to death along with several other members of the South Pole party, Cherry-Garrard took those hard-won eggs he had gathered at such cost on his scarcely believable winter ordeal, and he donated them to the British Museum. They were left in a storeroom drawer unstudied, and not a single person thanked him for bringing them.

The closing pages of the book contain one of my favourite passages in all of travel literature:

“And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore. If you are a brave man, you will do nothing: if you are fearful you may do much, for none but cowards have need to prove their bravery. Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all will say ‘What is the use?’ For we are a nation of shopkeepers, and no shopkeeper will look at research which does not promise him a financial return within a year. And so you will sledge nearly alone, but those with whom you sledge will not be shopkeepers: that is worth a good deal. If you march your Winter Journeys, you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin’s egg.”(less)

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Nov 10, 2011 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my favourite books. The title gives high expectactions, and Cherry-Garrard does a good job of justifying these. The book gives a real sense of the lives and the decisions that the early polar explorers faced. Cherry-Garrard's esteem for his colleagues is clear. Wilson in particular comes across as some kind of buddha figure.

The worst journey was going to collect penguin eggs in the middle of winter. The reason was that there was a theory that penguins were one of the most primitive specie...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Zabetta Camilleri added it · review of another edition

There is no way I can articulate words that do justice to this book and to the journey. You have to envy their amazing courge and heorism, admire their strength to struggle trhough starvation and misery but more than anything admire their amazing sense of adventure .. their love for exploration and discovery. The human aspects of it are incredulous, surely redefines the meaning of friendship and mutual respect. I loved the last few senteces "Some will tell you that you are mad, and nearly all wi...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Tom Stallard rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, travel, autobiography

This is, quite simply, my desert island book. No other book encapsulates the message of hope in amoungst utter futility quite as perfectly as this. Describing the adventures of the Scott expedition, for all its joy and folly, based on the jaded observations of a man who went filled with hope and expectation and looks back at an older, more cynical age. As a travel diary, it has no comparison: this truly was a journey into the heart of darkness. While the famous Scott expedition to the pole is co...more

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May 10, 2013 L.F. Falconer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: purchased

"So much of the trouble of this world is caused by memories, for we only remember half."--Appsley Cherry-Garrard

I have always been intrigued by the stories of polar exploration and the sheer, indomitable spirit of those early "adrenalin junkies" who chose, in the pursuit of knowledge, to face such harsh, unforgiving environments, a state of mind aptly related by Lt. H.R. "Birdie" Bowers following his survival of a harrowing experience when he found himself stranded adrift upon an ice-floe: "Cert...more "So much of the trouble of this world is caused by memories, for we only remember half."--Appsley Cherry-Garrard

I have always been intrigued by the stories of polar exploration and the sheer, indomitable spirit of those early "adrenalin junkies" who chose, in the pursuit of knowledge, to face such harsh, unforgiving environments, a state of mind aptly related by Lt. H.R. "Birdie" Bowers following his survival of a harrowing experience when he found himself stranded adrift upon an ice-floe: "Certainly we shall start for the Pole with less of that foolish spirit of blatant boast and ridiculous blind self-assurance that characterized some of us on leaving Cardiff."

Also, I have read several different versions of Amundsen's and Scott's run for the South Pole, but never one quite as in depth or as poignantly conveyed as Cherry-Garrard's, The Worst Journey in the World. No one looking for a light, breezy adventure should take this on, for the author, an actual survivor of the expedition, goes into great and wonderful detail of the ill-fated, three-year Antarctic expedition. Every page paints a spectacular picture of the wildlife, the landscape, the triumphs, the hardships, the environment, and the tragedies that these hardy souls encountered. I slowly savored every word. Cherry-Garrard vividly describes gripping moments of hopelessness and courage, interspersed with light touches of humor where appropriate and drew me so far into his experience with such extraordinary finesse it almost felt as if I was a part of it (as much as I could be in my secure, climate-controlled surroundings).

True-life accounts such as these can only leave us in awe at the tenacity of mankind and the strength of team spirit when faced with overwhelming defeat. Written near the end by Capt. Scott, "Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman." Captain Scott, rest assured your tale is well told.

A book well worth the effort, and I would recommend it to any history buff.

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May 12, 2013 Vickey Foggin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, history, science, favorites

After reading this I feel as though Apsley Cherry-Garrard is my friend. He's written the story of the greatest adventure (and greatest tragedy) of his life with charming enthusiasm and honesty. The first part of his story is filled with keenness, pluck, and sheer joy about the wonders he's experiencing. Through him you learn that every member of the expedition was a king among men, and even the crankiest, naughtiest ponies were charming beasts, in their way. The second part is about bravery, per...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Joshua Horn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a first hand account of Captain Scott's Terra Nova Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1912. The expedition's goal was to send the first party to the South Pole, as well as other parties to do scientific research. The book was well written, although it got slightly dryer and hard to follow when Cherry quotes extensively from letters and journals of his fellow explorers. The book really gets exciting when Cherry, Wilson and Bowers went on a journey during the Antarctic winter to get specimens of...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Jonathan Hutchins rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At a time when traditional heroism has been deconstructed and psycho-analysed out of existence, it becomes more necessary to understand the nature and purpose of the desire which drove a crew of men, most no longer young, to explore Antarctica and reach the South Pole. Note the order of those objectives: the comparison of Scott's 'failure' with Amundsen's 'success' is outrageously wrong: the latter was in a race to the Pole, the British party had a wide variety of scientific observations and int...more At a time when traditional heroism has been deconstructed and psycho-analysed out of existence, it becomes more necessary to understand the nature and purpose of the desire which drove a crew of men, most no longer young, to explore Antarctica and reach the South Pole. Note the order of those objectives: the comparison of Scott's 'failure' with Amundsen's 'success' is outrageously wrong: the latter was in a race to the Pole, the British party had a wide variety of scientific observations and interests as well as that other goal. Cherry-Garrard's testimony (not being widely read in the literature of polar exploration I don't know to what extent its account and conclusions have been revised or contradicted in the years since) describes a life of barely comprehensible arduousness and snails'-pace progress in weather conditions which were often alarmingly unpredictable and which in the end probably defeated the Polar Party. What makes Scott's well-known final testimony excruciatingly poignant is that he knew they were only eleven miles from One Ton Depot but because of continuous heavy blizzards none of the party were able to set out. Edgar Evans had died some miles before. It made me think how primitive in some ways was 1912: allegedly the ignorance of the crucial role of vitamins in diet contributed to their hunger and debility. The motor sledges were a novelty but all failed. Cherry-Garrard's writing is articulate and always interesting, whether describing the corporate comfortable fug in the Hut at Hut Point over the 1911-12 winter, the crazy winter journey to obtain Emperor Penguin eggs, or the tragedy of the Polar Party. And it's evident that he was haunted for the rest of his life by the 'what-if's of the expedition, to the extent of bouts of depression and compiling a privately published postscript to this book. The head-doctors term this 'post-traumatic stress'; on a higher level it can be understood as the difficulty of adjusting to a more undemanding existence after a sustained period of heightened awareness, exertion, perception, and experience.(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Scott Nuttelman rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those true stories that can make your jaw drop in a way that no fictional tale can. A book about the triumph of the human spirit, but at the same time a sad and foolish waste of lives. The mental and physical torture that these men endured is truly impossible to comprehend. On recent nights here in Wisconsin, the temperature dropped to 15 degrees below zero. The fact that the author and his companions welcomed such "warmth" as an opportunity to shed gloves and dry their gear is th...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Kxv rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

La increíble epopeya de un grupo de ingleses que, liderados por Scott, llegó al Polo Norte hace ahora un siglo en las más duras condiciones que pueda imaginarse. Varios muertos en el intento, la frustración de alcanzar el objetivo un mes después del noruego Amundsen, la terrible crónica de tres años azotados por auténticos huracanes, con temperaturas de -60ºC... La historia, en definitiva, de un grupo de superhombres contada por uno de los supervivientes, Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Una obra que no d...more

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Aug 19, 2012 ♥Bella★✰ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history, memoir, my-ebooks, non-fiction, ebook

This is an account of Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. But the title refers to a expedition made in the winter of 1911 by Bowers, Wilson and Cherry-Garrard to Cape Crozier to get Emperor penguin eggs. They believed there was a rookery there and that Emperor penguins laid and incubated their eggs in the wintertime. This was a very hazardous time for travel, intense cold and no sunlight means they were traveling in the dark over land that has crevasses and ice. It was either the...more This is an account of Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. But the title refers to a expedition made in the winter of 1911 by Bowers, Wilson and Cherry-Garrard to Cape Crozier to get Emperor penguin eggs. They believed there was a rookery there and that Emperor penguins laid and incubated their eggs in the wintertime. This was a very hazardous time for travel, intense cold and no sunlight means they were traveling in the dark over land that has crevasses and ice. It was either the height of bravery or foolishness depending on your point of view.

The book covers more then just that, Cherry attempts to give the reader an idea of what it was like to actually live in the Antarctic for as long as they did. Detailing their daily activities, the work they did, the food they ate, their “Saturday night toast”: “Sweethearts and wives; may our sweethearts become our wives, and our wives remain our sweethearts.” Also a Sunday night toast to “Fallen Friends”. He also gives some of the conditions that factored in Scott’s death, how the weather and the men’s health, frostbite and injuries affected the outcome. He also tells of the other samples they collected, some specimens that only exist in the South Pole. He talks about searching for Scott’s body, and how they had to decide between searching for the Polar party or going to find another group since they couldn’t do both.

Cherry relies on his own memories, and the diaries of other explorers, including Scott and Wilson, Bowers letters home to his mother. He really gives you a feel for what happened, you can understand a little more of how, when a blizzard hit, they were basically helpless, couldn’t move from their spot. Although it was peaceful, you could sleep for hours in your bag, if you were running low on food it could be quite dangerous. They were also cut off from the world. Depending on a ship that might come, might shipwreck, or might get caught in a gale or an ice pack.

This could be a difficult read for some, Cherry doesn’t gloss over anything, he talks about the diseases, about the killer whales trying to eat them, having to kill their horses and dogs to survive. But if you can handle that, this is definitely a book I would recommend.(less)

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Dec 01, 2008 Sapetron rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pemmican, apparently, tastes quite delicious when stirred into hot water and eaten as a "hoosh." Also, the Antarctic is cold & horrible & I really want to go there because falling in a crevasse would look amazing on a tombstone.

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Apr 04, 2009 Mark Mallett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, history

Wow. What a story.

It's long. There are 8o pages of introduction before you get to page 1 - some 50 or so by the author, providing some background material for the reader, and the rest by George Seaver as a preface to the 1985 edition, shedding a little light on the life, character, and habits of the author. These both make great reading: I recall thinking that if the book was as enthralling as its lead-in material, I had something to look forward to. And it was, and I did.

The book is about Scott...more Wow. What a story.

It's long. There are 8o pages of introduction before you get to page 1 - some 50 or so by the author, providing some background material for the reader, and the rest by George Seaver as a preface to the 1985 edition, shedding a little light on the life, character, and habits of the author. These both make great reading: I recall thinking that if the book was as enthralling as its lead-in material, I had something to look forward to. And it was, and I did.

The book is about Scott's 1910 expedition to the Antarctic. The expedition is remembered for Scott's drive on the Pole, but the book also deals with some other of its aspects. Just the telling of the trip from England to New Zealand, and then again the one from there to the Ross Sea, would be an amazing read. But then it really gets going.

The title of the book comes from a mid-winter trip along one side of Ross Island, some 70 miles or so, by three men (one of them the author) dragging a sledge through constant night, gale winds, and temperatures typically -65F (sometimes below) for over a month - all to get a penguin egg. This was the Worst Journey, but that epigram is meant, I'm sure, to echo across the entire trip.

The writing is, for the most part, very matter-of-fact. You're not told, for example, about every time someone falls through a crevasse and has to be hauled back up; you've been told that it happens several times a day and you should simply remember that if the conditions are present, it's probably happening. Quite a lot of the story is told by excerpting diary entries from one man or another, and those diary entries have that same property: there's no dwelling on the hardships (though you are informed of the conditions that produce them), and certainly not on any problem the writer might be having. The reader is expected to understand these things from hints and small mentions. It all seems very stereotypically British in that regard. And yet it still grabs you. You feel the days go by, the progress being made, the failures, the small daily trips and chores, the wet, the dry, the weather, and on and on.

I don't think that imagination can come anywhere near what it's like to live that life for a moment, let alone for three years. Fun to try, though, from my living room.(less)

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Jan 16, 2008 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who are too hot

Shelves: history

Besides having the best title ever, this book is in turns witty, engaging, harrowing, fascinating, and filled with penguins, smoked and otherwise.

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Mar 21, 2011 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars

"At the same time, to visualize the Antarctic as a white land is a mistake,for, not only is there much rock projecting wherever mountains or rocky capes and islands rise, but the snow seldom looks white, and if carefully looked at will be found to be shaded with many colours, but chiefly with cobalt blue or rose-madder, and all the graduations of lilac and mauve which the mixture of these colours will produce. A White Day is so rare that I have recollections of going out from the hut or the tent...more

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