Antarctic Adventure; The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-58

London: Cassell, 1959. First Edition. Near Fine/Very Good. [children's version of 'The Crossing of Antarctica', 1958] [8.5x6in]; [8], 189 pp., [1], illustrated title page, numerous black and white and color images and illustrations, nine maps and plans, ; Dark blue cloth covers with silver lettering on spine, all edges trimmed; Pictorial dust jacket with red and black lettering on front and spine, color wrap around illustration of Antarctic field tent camp; Minimal shelf wear to covers, edges and corners, dusty top edge with slight fading to top and bottom of spine, age toned spots along edges of text block; Some shelf wear to dust jacket with age toned spots on front and inside flaps, slight darkening of spine and fading of red lettering, small chips and wear to top edges. Sir Vivian Fuchs ( 1908-1999) was an British explorer and scientist well known for his early African and and later Antarctic expeditions. In college at Cambridge, he was tutored by James Wordie, the geologist and senior scientist on Shackleton's 'Endurance ' expedition (1914-17). In 1947, he was appointed a geologist for the Falklands Dependencies, which included bases in Antarctica, and operated the British Antarctic Survey since 1943. At the time the bases were to claim the Antarctic sector for Great Britain in addition to the science. This was the start of his career as an Antarctic explorer. This book is about the survey work over 30 years.

Vivian Fuchs (1908-1999) and Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) led the Trans-Antarctic expedition 1955-1958. They were successful in accomplishing Shackleton's failed Trans-Antarctic expedition in 1914. However, they did it with modern mechanized SnowCats and radio communications. This expedition was one of many that part of the International Geophysical Year research projects (July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958). Over 70 countries and organizations sent teams primarily to the Antarctic, Arctic and other remote areas in the world to coordinate collection of scientific data and discovery. During this 1957, the United States established the Scott-Amundsen South Pole base as a permanent station and the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting satellite.