Exhaustively researched withnew material, including major revelations abouthis previously unknown and secret private life, this is the first major biographyof Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates who became a dashing cavalry officer and hero in the Boer War, a successful jockey, and part of Scott's doomed South Pole expedition, before becoming a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Substantial new information is includedfrom previously undisclosed sources, especially relating to his clashes with Scott. Having paid 1,000 to join the expedition, he was at centerstage in the unfolding tragedy, becoming a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Fresh analysis is offeredof his military career, both as hero in the Boer War, where he was denied a VC, and later in Ireland.A different perspective from the traditional myth of Scott's heroic failure and Oates' suicide is offered here. Oates' private life is exploredand the role of his austere mother who exerted a powerful influence during his life and continued to control his memory long after his death, especially by ordering the destruction of his letters and diaries, kept hidden by her, and previously thought to have been destroyed, from her deathbed. Beautifully illustrated with maps and photographs, many previously unpublished. Exhaustively researched withnew material, including major revelations abouthis previously unknown and secret private life, this is the first major biographyof Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates who became a dashing cavalry officer and hero in the Boer War, a successful jockey, and part of Scott's doomed South Pole expedition, before becoming a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Substantial new information is includedfrom previously undisclosed sources, especially relating to his clashes with Scott. Having paid 1,000 to join the expedition, he was at centerstage in the unfolding tragedy, becoming a national hero for sacrificing himself to save his comrades. Fresh analysis is offeredof his military career, both as hero in the Boer War, where he was denied a VC, and later in Ireland.A different perspective from the traditional myth of Scott's heroic failure and Oates' suicide is offered here. Oates' private life is exploredand the role of his austere mother who exerted a powerful influence during his life and continued to control his memory long after his death, especially by ordering the destruction of his letters and diaries, kept hidden by her, and previously thought to have been destroyed, from her deathbed. Beautifully illustrated with maps and photographs, many previously unpublished."

On 17 March 1912, Lawrence 'Titus' Oates crawled bootless from a tent to his death in blizzard conditions of -40°C. Oates, always an outsider on Scott's Polar expedition, died on his 32nd birthday. His parting words were: 'I am just going outside and may be some time.' Oates was the epitome of the Victorian English gentleman: a public schoolboy who became a dashing cavalry officer and hero in the Boer War. Stationed in Ireland from 1902 to 1906, his passion became horse racing and he won numerous victories at racecourses throughout Ireland. Oates' austere and dominating mother blamed Scott for her son's death and was among the first to challenge the accepted version of events. She continued to control his memory long after his death, keeping his diary and letters hidden, even ordering their destruction from her deathbed. Oates always had difficulty forming lasting relationships with women. He died without realising that he was a father. The story of how Oates died, unaware of his daughter, has been a closely guarded secret until now. This is a compelling and heart-rending story of endurance, bravery and folly. From the author of TOM CREAN: AN UNSUNG HERO

Account of the thrilling race to the south pole. With an introduction by Fridtjof Nansen.

When Captain Scott died in 1912 on his way back from the South Pole, his story became a myth embedded in the national imagination. Everyone remembers the doomed Captain Oates's last words: 'I'm just going outside, and I may be some time.' Francis Spufford's celebrated and prize-winning history shows how Scott's death was the culmination of a national enchantment with vast empty spaces, the beauty of untrodden snow, and perilous journeys to the end of the earth.

New paperback edition - A moving and original account of the effect of Scott's tragic expedition on the men's wives and families, who fame and history have overlooked.

For many the dawn of the twentieth century ushered in an era where the world map had few if any blank spaces left to discover. The age of exploration was supposedly dead. "New Spaces of Exploration" challenges this assumption. Focusing specifically on exploration in the twentieth century, the authors demonstrate how new technologies and changing geopolitical configurations have ensured that exploration has remained a key feature of our rapidly globalizing world. Ranging widely in their geographical focus - from the Europe and Asia to Australia, and from the polar regions to outer space - they demonstrate the increasing diversity of modern exploration and reveal the continuing political, military, industrial and cultural motivations at play. The result is a major contribution to our understanding of the significance of exploration in the twentieth century. Contributors include: E. Baigent, C. Collis, K. Dodds, F. Driver, M. Godwin, J. Hill, F. Korsmo, F. MacDonald, S. Naylor, J. Ryan, N. Thomas, and K. Yusoff.

The story of the remarkable Tom Crean who ran away to sea aged 15 and played a memorable role in Antarctic exploration. He spent more time in the unexplored Antarctic than Scott or Shackleton, and outlived both. Among the last to see Scott alive, Crean was in the search party that found the frozen body. An unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation.

Captain Scott's own account of his tragic race with Roald Amundsen for the South Pole thrilled the world in 1913. This new edition of his Journals publishes for the first time a complete list of the changes made to Scott's original text before publication.

Ernest Shackleton is one of history’s great explorers, an extraordinary character who pioneered the path to the South Pole over 100 years ago and became a dominant figure in Antarctic discovery. A charismatic personality, his incredible adventures on four expeditions have captivated generations and inspired a dynamic, modern following in business leadership. None more so than the Endurance mission, where Shackleton’s commanding presence saved the lives of his crew when their ship was crushed by ice and they were turned out on to the savage frozen landscape. But Shackleton was a flawed character whose chaotic private life, marked by romantic affairs, unfulfilled ambitions, overwhelming debts and failed business ventures, contrasted with his celebrity status as a leading explorer. Drawing on extensive research of original diaries and personal correspondence, Michael Smith's definitive biography brings a fresh perspective to our understanding of this complex man and the heroic age of polar exploration.