The Crossing: Sir Vivian Fuchs, Sir Edmund Hillary and the Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1953-58

The Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1953-58, organized by Sir Vivian Fuchs and Sir Edmund Hillary, was one of the most successful exploits ever undertaken in Antarctica, but it has been largely forgotten for years. This is the first book to tell the complete story, and is illustrated with photographs from the Royal Geographical Society, with the permission of the wife of expedition photographer George Lowe. Sir Ernest Shackleton had tried unsuccessfully to cross the Antarctic in 1914, he and his men escaping by the skin of their teeth. So the new post-war expedition was a brave attempt to conquer the vast frozen continent. Planning had to be done at each end of the world, in the UK and New Zealand, and members of the expedition were drawn from all around the Commonwealth. This account shows how the expedition was organized, from the scientific insight it relied on, to the voyage to Antarctica and transport across the vast ice desert. Their survival at times was touch and go, and controversies arose amid the pressure of the journey. This book not only provides a technical insight into a groundbreaking venture but touches on the human aspects of the challenge.

John Knight trained as a mechanical engineer at Cambridge University and first traveled to Spitsbergen as a student, which sparked a lifelong interest in the Arctic and polar regions.