While the 1912 British Antarctic expedition is primarily remembered for Captain Robert Scott's party perishing as it returned from its losing race to the South Pole, Lambert focuses on the amazing survival of the expedition's other lost crew. In her first book, Lambert, former editor of the World Expeditionary Association's Expedition
magazine, tells the story of the six men who survived a seven-month Antarctic winter in a makeshift igloo with just over six weeks' worth of rations, eschewing dramatization for heavy use of the explorers' journals. The diary entries range from humorous to gut-wrenching, and truly show the men's raging obsession with the foulest of food ("had excellent hoosh with seal's brain... tasted rather like soaked bread"). Lambert's thrifty writing guides the men's story along as their journals convey the castaways' Britishness ("If I could at the present moment buy penny buns for a sovereign apiece, I don't think I should have much money left") and highlight the distinct personalities of each member of the group. Although Lambert's account lacks a history of the nature of polar exploration and a description of other polar survival stories, it is thorough and touching. The author's attention to detail allows her to portray the human spirit's triumph over adversity while adding another valuable text to the significant library of polar literature. Photos. (Oct.)
