Mawson: A Life - Softcover

Ayres, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0522850782 ISBN 13: 9780522850789

Publisher: Melbourne University Press, 2003

Synopsis

A hero of the polar exploration age, Sir Douglas Mawson is profiled in this biography, which recounts his Antarctic expeditions of 1911–1914 and 1929–1931, which resulted in Australia claiming 40 percent of the sixth continent. The personal letters and professional correspondences included reveal Mawson’s relationships with influential friends and rivals. Recounted are such adventures as Mawson's confrontation of a delusional explorer in Antarctica who believed that he was Jesus Christ, his trip on an advanced monoplane, and his inspections of English war factories for chemical weapons.

About this title

About the Author:

Philip Ayres is an associate professor of English literature at Monash University and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He is the author of Malcolm Fraser: A Biography, Classical Culture, and The Idea of Rome in Eighteenth-Century England.

Review:

“In this definitive biography . . . Ayres reveals a man whose passions extended far beyond the frozen continent that made him famous.” —Sunday Times


“By unearthing a massive amount of new material, using thousands of previously unpublished personal letters and expeditioners' diary notes, Ayres manages to chip away the ice to reveal the man inside the well-known image of a knight in woolen armor.” —The Age

About this edition

• Publisher: Melbourne University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0522850782
• ISBN 13: 9780522850789
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 392