Wow! eBook
Polar Crusader: Sir James Wordie – Exploring the Arctic and Antarctic
Author(s): Michael Smith (Author)
- Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
- Publication Date: 16 Aug. 2004
- Language: English
- Print length: 371 pages
- ISBN-10: 1841582921
- ISBN-13: 9781841582924
Book Description
Sir James Mann Wordie, born in Glasgow in 1889, was the elder statesman of polar exploration – the link between the heroic Edwardian Age of Shackleton and Scott and the mechanised modern era which opened up Antarctica and the Arctic. The remarkable life of one of Scotland’s gratest heroes remains surprisingly little known; although resolute and ambitious (perhaps even scheming), he shunned publicity and popular fame. Wordie’s career as both explorer and academic geologist opened with his participation in Shackleton’s epic Endurance expedition of 1914-16, where he proved one of the most resilient of those stranded in appalling conditions on Elephant Island. He continued to lead arduous expeditions to the Arctic well into his forties, while building his reputation as an academic and mentor to new generations of explorers and mountaineers. During and after the Second World War he was instrumental in safeguarding British strategic interests in the Antarctic territories, and later rose to be President of the Royal Geographical Society and Master of St John’s College, Cambridge. He died in 1962. This is the first full biography of Wordie to be written, and it makes use of a wide variety
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Michael Smith was a political and business journalist for over thirty years with The Guardian, The Observer and The Evening Standard. He has written two other books on polar exploration – An Unsung Hero and I’m Am Just Going Outside.
