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  • Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age

  • Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen
  • By: Peter FitzSimons
  • Narrated by: Paul English
  • Length: 23 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (50 ratings)
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Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age cover art

Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age

By: Peter FitzSimons
Narrated by: Paul English
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Summary

Australia's best-selling nonfiction author of all time. Douglas Mawson, born in 1882 and knighted in 1914, was Australia's greatest Antarctic explorer. On 2 December 1911, he led an expedition from Hobart to explore the virgin frozen coastline below, 2000 miles of which had never felt the tread of a human foot. After setting up Main Base at Cape Denision and Western Base on Queen Mary Land, he headed east on an extraordinary sledging trek with his companions, Belgrave Ninnis and Dr Xavier Mertz. After five weeks, tragedy struck. Ninnis was swallowed whole by a snow-covered crevasse, and Mawson and Mertz realised it was too dangerous to go on. With the scant food and provisions they had left, turning back was almost equally perilous. Their dwindling supplies forced them to kill their dogs to feed the other dogs, at first, and then themselves. Hunger, sickness and despair eventually got the better of Mertz, and he succumbed to madness and then to death. Mawson found himself all alone, 160 miles from safety, with next to no food. Peter FitzSimons tells the staggering tale of Mawson's survival, despite all the odds, arriving back just in time to see his rescue ship disappearing over the horizon. He also masterfully interweaves the stories of the other giants from the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration - Scott of the Antarctic, Sir Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen - to bring the jaw-dropping events of this bygone era dazzlingly back to life.

©2011 Peter FitzSimons (P)2011 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

What listeners say about Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age

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An excellent listen

Would you consider the audio edition of Mawson and the Ice Men of the Heroic Age to be better than the print version?

Not having read the print version I can't comment

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have liked to listen in one sitting but it was too long for that

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This was an excellent book read by a very good narrator. I learnt a lot about explorers I'd never heard of and their amazing experiences.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's interested in real people and what they put themselves through in the cause of science and exploration

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Highly readable

A very well written truly inspiring story of wonderful people who struggled against all the odds and it was a very well narrated book as wellHighly recommend to anyone interested in Antarctic adventures

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A very fine book

One of the best books I've read a must for anyone who is interested in the antartic

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Best read in ages!

Heroic and powerful story of the Antarctic Expeditions. Very informative and comprehensive . A very enjoyable read.

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Fantastic story

I listened to this on audible and it captured me straight away. I hadn’t read anything on the Antarctic before although I had heard of Scott and Shackleton. The way the book was written was captivating. I really enjoyed the stories of all these brave adventurers and I am glad I learnt about Mawson and Ardmunsen too. An epic story that I would wholeheartedly recommend. The narrator on the audio book was also very good and made it most enjoyable.

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A Tour de force

What a book! I can’t recommend this highly enough. Superbly researched, wonderfully written & beautifully narrated. A winner on every level.

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Gripping

Must listen to all the episodes. Thank you so much for all your research. Andy

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Well enjoyed by my husband

Very well narrated. My husband loves all books which are full of exploration and adventure especially by those who struggled and risked their lives to discover places never before explored so this book was right up his street.

Simply excellent and highly recommended.

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