Tom Crean: Unsung Hero of the Scott and Shackleton Antarctic Expeditions
- Book Review,
by Michael Smith
From Library Journal
"Tom Crean was the difference between life and death" for two members of Robert F. Scott's 1910-13 Terra Nova expedition. With this statement, British journalist Smith demands that history revisit the heroic age of polar exploration, focusing on one of the lesser-known heroes. Tom Crean went to Antarctica with Scott's Discovery (1901-04) and Terra Nova (1910-13) expeditions, as well as with Ernest Shackleton's Endurance (1914-16) expedition. Some of his courageous accomplishments include ice-floe hopping and climbing the Barrier to affect a rescue, traveling 35 miles in 18 hours with minimal rations to get help for others, and the infamous crossing of the southern ocean to South Georgia Island with Shackleton. Crean was awarded many medals, including the Albert Medal, the highest recognition for gallantry. But Smith argues that because of politics and the class prejudices of the day (Crean was a poor Irishman), he did not receive the recognition he was due. Crean was not a diarist, so Smith relied on interviews, letters, the diaries of Crean's contemporaries, and previously published works for this captivating account of one man's often overlooked contributions. Recommended for polar and exploration collections and larger public libraries. Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville, IN Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Tom Crean survived three expeditions to the Antarctic. The first was with Robert Scott aboard the Discovery (1901-1904), the second with Scott aboard the Terra Nova (1910-1913), and the third with Ernest Shackleton aboard the Endurance (1914-1916). Crean's exploits are almost unbelievable, for along with Shackleton and Frank Worsley, he made the first crossing of South Georgia to save their comrades stranded on Elephant Island. In researching this engaging work, which is deliciously full of other such daring feats by this unassuming man, Smith interviewed Crean's two daughters and two grandsons. Additional sources include a number of archives in England, Ireland, and New Zealand; newspapers and periodicals, unpublished diaries, journals, and records; ships' logs; letters, and Crean's service documents. The result is an absorbing, meticulously researched biography of a genuine hero. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Tom Crean was a key figure and colorful member of three of the most famous polar expeditions and has had a glacier and a peak named after him. ·Will appeal to Shackleton buffs and fans of historical explorations ·Great for armchair adventurers who enjoy a ripping good yarn ·Popularity of this subject will stay fueled by media attention to big-budget television mini-series (A&E) and big- screen movie (Columbia Pictures) currently in the works After this engaging, well-written biography sold more than 18,000 copies in Ireland in its first year, The Mountaineers Books jumped on the U.S. rights for its customers. Tom Crean was with Ernest Shackleton on the famous Endurance trip-and was one of the survivors of that phenomenal tale of, well, endurance. He was also on Robert Scott's two earlier polar explorations and he was key to the survival of his fellow explorers each time out. What is engaging about Crean--and this book--was that he was not unmoved by the hard decisions and hardships he and the rest of the crew faced, nor did he blindly follow orders, but he did what had to be done, and was loyal to his captains and his crewmates in the process. The story of all three adventures of incredible courage and survival are told in this one 352-page volume.
From the Inside Flap
Tom Crean's name is not commonly recognized today, but he was an integral member of three of the most important Antarctic Expeditions of the twentieth century, and both a glacier and a mountain in Antarctica bear his name. Crean ran away from his home in Ireland's County Kerry to join the navy shortly before his sixteenth birthday and, in 1901, he volunteered to join Robert Falcon Scott's first expedition to Antarctica. It was three years before he returned to civilization, but Crean was hooked, and when Scott made his second--and fatal--voyage to the continent in order to reach the South Pole, Crean returned with him. And finally, Ernest Shackleton--who had also been on Scott's first expedition--was selecting the men he wanted with him on Endurance, he did not forget his old shipmate, Crean. Crean was clearly the sort wanted in a dangerous, uncertain venture: a loyal man of selfless courage, whose warmth and humor kept despair at bay in the life-and-death situations that arose in the extreme environment of the Antarctic. Alhtough facing unimaginable peril, he sang throughout the seventeen-day crossing of the Southern Ocean in a twenty-two-foot whaleboat with Shackleton. In what is arguably the greatest feat of individual heroism in the history of polar exploration, Crean trekked across thirty-five miles of snow and ice to reach rescue for his comrade, Teddy Evans, who incapacitated by scurvy. Tom Crean's epic story spans the entire Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. He spent more time on the ice than either the more celebrated Scott or Shackleton and outlived them both.
About the Author
Michael Smith is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to Britian's Guardian, Observer, and Evening Standard newspapers.
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