G A Mawer is the author of numerous books about exploration and seafaring adventures, his most recent being The Life and Legend of Jack Doolan, the Wild Colonial Boy. Now he turns his attention to the last continent, Antarctica, a continent that became the last Holy Grail for so many. With exceptional detail Mawer reveals the history of the magnetic crusade, a crusade often overshadowed by the race between Scott and Amundsen for the South Pole. The magnetic pole was not only the origin of systematic Antarctic exploration, but subsequently relevant to the claiming of the last continent. From the French, British and North American expeditions in the 1830s to the Australian triumph of finally tracking down the south magnetic pole, Mawer illustrates the importance of one of the major objectives of Antarctic exploration. Most exploration buffs would love this book, with maps and illustrations that allow the reader incite into the world of the 19th century explorer. Not to mention enjoying Mawer’s ability to weave a story through his research and capture the essence of the Antarctic challenge. Fans of Scott, Shackleton and other prominent explorers, will enjoy this history of the unsung hero.

Tony O’Loughlin is a bookseller at Melbourne’s Avenue Bookstore, in Albert Park

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: granville allen mawer