Mawson's Will: The Greatest Survival Story Ever Written

Dust jacket notes: "For weeks in Antarctica, Douglas Mawson faced the most blistering wind, snow, cold ever known to man; loss of his companion, dogs, and supplies; thirst, starvation, disease, snowblindness - and he survived. Mawson's Will is the dramatic story of what Sir Edmund Hillary calls 'the most outstanding solo journey ever recorded in Antarctic history.' Sir Douglas Mawson is remembered as the young Australian who would not go with Robert Scott in 1911 to the South Pole. In 1908, Mawson had led an important expedition to the South Magnetic Pole, but even before that, he had seen the Transantarctic Mountains on the horizon and dreamed of walking there. In 1912, after a winter at his Cape Denison base camp, Mawson sent out small groups to chart nearly 1,500 miles of coastline and claim the resources for the British crown. His own party of three set out through the mountains across crevasse-filled glaciers in 60 mph winds. Six weeks and 320 miles out, one man fell into a crevasse, along with the tent, most equipment, all dog food, and all except a week's supply of the men's food. Mawson had hoped to find the sea frozen and return quickly to base camp; it was not. So the two men trudged back across the glaciers, eating the dogs. Three weeks later, Mawson had to go on alone. Mawson's Will is the unforgettable story of how his ingenious practicality and drive led him to struggle on and how he continued his meticulous scientific observations to the end. When the expedition was over, Mawson had added more territory to the Antarctic map than anyone else of his time...."