The Crossing of Antarctica; The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic expedition 1955-1958

London: Cassell & Company LTD, 1958. First Edition. Very Good/Good. [9x6in]; xv, 337 pp. [1] , 92 color and black/white images, 9 maps, appendices and index; Light blue-gray cloth covers with silver lettering on spine, Antarctic map on front and rear endpapers; Panoramic pictorial dust jacket of Antarctic landscape with black lettering on front cover, black lettering on spine; Shelf wear to covers and edges, rubbing and large stain on back and spine; Shelf wear to dust jacket, large darken stain on spine, chips and closed tears on edges, some soiling and age toning. [Conrad p. 394, Spence 491]. 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, radio communications and resupply airdrops. 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.

Forty-one years after the ill-fated Shackleton Trans Antarctic Expedition Endurance was caught in the Weddell Sea ice and forced the Shackleton to change the mission to survival, Sir Vivian Fuchs, Sir Edmund Hillary and ten others embarked from Shackleton Base to fulfill the original expedition -objectives. However, this time the Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1957-1958) was done with eight vehicles, sledges and two dog teams to travel from the Weddell Sea to the South Pole and then continue on to Scott Base at McMurdo Sound on the Ross Sea. This was only one of the expeditions during the International Geophysical Year where over 65 countries participated in scientific studies in the Arctic and Antarctic.