title: Shackleton's Forgotten Expedition: The Voyage of the Nimrod
author:  Beau Riffenburgh 
description: Ernest Shackleton's fame has been restored due to renewed interest in the heroic tale of the <i>Endurance</i> expedition, but his original celebrity status stemmed from an earlier voyage to the Antarctic from 1907 to 1909, during which he led a small group of men to within 97 miles of the South Pole. Riffenburgh (<i>The Myth of the Explorer</i>) recounts this journey in riveting detail, describing how Shackleton and his crew survived under harrowing conditions, sometimes brought on by their own tactical misjudgments, like the decision to rely heavily on ponies to carry supplies across the frozen landscape. The story also offers vital clues to Shackleton's personality, revealing how he first went to the Antarctic in order to impress his girlfriend and, more importantly, examining the competitive rivalry between Shackleton and fellow explorer Sir Robert Scott. Scott had sent Shackleton home from an earlier expedition for health reasons, and when Shackleton vowed to return to Antarctica in part to prove he was strong enough to make it, Scott viewed it as a threat to his own plans and unfairly extracted a promise from his former crewman not to use "his" base camps, adding further complications to the journey. For those who thrilled to the <i>Endurance </i>saga, Riffenburgh offers an equally gripping adventure, which laid the foundations of Shackleton's capacity for brilliant leadership under pressure. <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  SHACKLETON'S FORGOTTEN EXPEDITION
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SHACKLETON'S  
  FORGOTTEN EXPEDITION
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Voyage of the Nimrod
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Beau Riffenburgh
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  B L O O M S B U R Y
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2005 by Beau Riffenburgh
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
  manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the
  case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For
  information address Bloomsbury Publishing, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
  10010.
  
  
  All photographs in this book are reproduced by permission of the Scott Polar
  Research Institute (SPRI), unless otherwise indicated.
  
  
  Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, New York and London Distributed to the
  trade by Holtzbrinck Publishers
  
  
  All papers used by Bloomsbury Publishing are natural, recyclable products made
  from wood grown in well-managed forests. The manufacturing processes conform
  to the environmental regulations of the country of origi