NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 135, 4 December 1909, Page 13

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THE BOOK OF THE YEAR. "The Heart of the Antarctic : Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-1909." By E. H. Shackleton, C.V.0., with an introduction by Hugh Robert Mill, D.Sc, and an account of the First Journey to the South Magnetic Pole, by Professor T. W. Edgeworth David, F.R.S. Two volumes. London : William Heinemann. The latest chapter in the history of polar reseach is in many ways the most fascinating. Never before has the primitive strife of man with Nature in her sternest guise been associated with the most advanced scientific equipment as in the Nimrod expedition, and never before have explorers faced the unknown regions of endless frost with so full and clear a knowledge of the significance of tho phenomena they were thdre to investigate. It is the work of years, after an expedition such as this, to arrange and tabulate the scientific observations and issue them in that minute and methodical form which the scientific student loves, and who, indeed, finds them essential; but the general reader naturally demands all possible information while it is still new ; and in the two volumes before us Mr. Heinemann has provided everything that such a reader could desire. The work is in crown quarto, \ cloth gilt, printed in fine legible type, and containing, when the plates are counted, considerably over a thousand pages, besides all necessary maps. There are twelve fine coloured plates, facsimiles of water-colour drawings by Mr. G. E. Marston, the artist of the expedition, and over three hundred half-tone photo reproductions, selected from thousands taken by members of the expedition, and showing almost, every aspect of antarctic life and environment.' It thus becomes possible to realise with some degree of proportion what the expedition set out to do, and what it succeeded in doing* Save in the one point that it did not actually reach the geographical pole, the two things, plan and achievement, were almost identical. Three main lines of investigation were undertaken : First, the exploration and .ascent of ithe great antarctic volcano, Mount Erebus — in itself an amazing achievement, and fruitful in scientific results ; secondly, the discovery and precise locating of the South Magnetic Pole by Professor David and party, which incidentally involved a difficult icejourney of 1260 miles ; and, third, Lieut. Shackleton's sledge- journey, in which he ascended a vast glacier and traversed perilous ice-slopes to an altitude of ten thousand feet above sea-level, and planted the Union Jack within a hundred miles of the pole. The leader's previous experience and forethought were brought to bear to such pui'pose that the modest expedition was better equipped for all practical purposes than many a costlier undertaking; scurvy, the dread of polar voyagers, was averted, and for the first time an antarctio expedition has returned from its arduous work without the loss of a man. There was an outbreak of dysentery, which followed on eating the flesh of one of the ponies, and it is suggested that the toxins resulting from exhaustion had poisoned the animal's blood. The introduction, by Mr. Mill, conatins an admirable history of Antarctic exploration from the beginning, its objects and achievements, the contributions of each successive expedition to the world's knowledge being lucidly set forth. Sir Ernest Shackleton's own story is one of the most fascinating books of travel ever written. His literary powers are of a high order, and manifest themselves in that unaffected simplicity of style which gives their charm to the best narratives of adventure. There is the freshness and freedom that one finds in a diary or a friendly letter ; the bald records from the log which encumber the books of so many old voyagers are withheld, as are the minute and explicit natural history and other scientific details ; but everywhere there are indications of the seeing eye^— awake, amid all discouragement, anxiety, toil, and hardship to the grandeur, the beauty, and the significance of the impressive phenomena of the icy wastes, large tracts of which were seen for the first time by human eyes. A considerable part of the second volume is occupied with the no less interesting narrative by ■ Professor David, in charge of the expedition which located tho magnetic pole. In the long record of polar expeditions there is perhaps no more dramatic incident than the steering of the Nimrod, as accurately as to a harbour berth, "to the absolutely unknown point on the in- . terminable ice-barrier where the little company, their provisions exhausted, were waiting and wondering if or when relief would come. It can well be understood how, thrown back upon their own resources and with time ior meditation in these unkindly and threatening solitudes, the adventurers, with daily experiences of almost miraculous escapes from accident and death, whil© unrelaxing in their own efforts, were continually impiessed with the sense of the protection of an invisible Power, and have since given prominent expression to that consciousness. Following the historic record is a series of chapters giving in broad outline the scientific results of the expedition, geographical, physical, mineralogical, and biological. Mr. James Murray, the biologist, contributes a delightful chapter or the animal life, with special reference to the communities of seals and penguins. In the latter, he seems to have taken much the same sympathetic interest as the late Sir James Hector, who knew them so well ; but Mr. Murray's advantage in this respect were greater still, and his comparison of their social ways with those of men — to whom, in their erect figure and characteristic attitude they bear so odd a resemblance — is as instructive as it is entertaining. Animal-lovers, too, will sympathise with the toils and hardships of the gallant little ponies, and be interested in the vicissitudes of the dogs, including the several families of puppies. We would fain extract characteristic passage after passage, but quotations, however brief, must be reserved for other opportunities. No Briton can read or oven dip a little into this record without a feeling of justifiable pride. Whatever pessimists may say of "national decadence," we have here a proof that tho men of the Empire — those who count — arc true to all their great national traditions. The splendid unselfishness and self-sacrifice of all concerned, their devotion to duty and loyalty to each other, simply glow forth from the truthful and unadorned record. There is deep pathos in the episode where bhackleton's party, after planting the flag at the furthest south, were compelled to turn back with tho goal almost in sight. • The record at this point, made at the time, is untouched, as a facsimile page of the leader's diary shows. It/ is characteristic of that leader, that while never missing an opportunity of expressing appreciation of his fellows, he is modestly silent regarding any achievement of his own. Spa<# fails, or we might enlarge upon the splendid and accurate picture-gallery contributed by the cameras of the party. That successful photographs were secured in such unfavourable conditions says much for the energy and skill of the operators. The book is not only a worthy record of a great achievement, but a substantial addition to contemporary Htovftturo— in fact, the book of the year.