Cherry - A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard

Apsley Cherry-Garrard (1886-1959) was one of the youngest members of Captain Scott''s final expedition to the Antarctic. Despite appalling short sight, Cherry undertook an epic journey in the Antarctic winter to collect the eggs of the Emperor penguin. The temperature fell to -70, it was dark all the time, his teeth shattered in the cold and the tent blew away. ''But we kept our tempers,'' Cherry wrote, ''even with God.'' After serving in the First World War, Cherry was invalided home, and with the zealous encouragement of his neighbour Bernard Shaw he wrote a masterpiece: The Worst Journey in the World. The story of Captain Scott''s doomed expedition to the South Pole has been told more than once. But not that of the author of that classic masterpiece. Sara Wheeler has travelled extensively in the Antarctic and has had the unrestricted cooperation of Cherry-Garrard''s family in writing this biography. The result is a poignant portrait of Cherry, detailed and with plenty of introspection into the complex personality of the Antarctic explorer. Through Cherry''s life, Wheeler also gives a portrait of the great changes that took place during his life - in Britain and in the world. Another excellent book from Sara Wheeler.