The Great White South

About this book

"Herbert G. Ponting (1870-1935) was already a world traveler, pioneering photographer, and travel writer when, in 1909, he met British explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912). Impressed with Ponting's credentials and manner, Scott asked him to document the expedition to the South Pole, the most elusive prize of exploration at that time. Ponting accepted, becoming the first professional photographer to join a polar expedition." "Racing to reach the pole before rival Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, Scott missed his mark by one month and, despite Herculean efforts, perished with three members of his party on the return trip during a ferocious blizzard." "This book is replete with 175 stunning photos taken by Ponting (who also documented the expedition in cine film, one of the most advanced technologies of the day). Ponting was not only an exceptional photographer, he was also an extraordinary writer - abundantly visual and acutely insightful. His account relates Scott's spectacular failure but, equally important, records a firsthand perspective of the experiences of those who, like Ponting, stayed behind on the Terra Nova at the base camp. They faced the same brutal landscapes and subzero temperatures as Scott and the same perils. Ponting himself was attacked by eight killer whales."--BOOK JACKET.