It's at about this time every year that it suddenly dawns on me that I really should get a move on with buying Christmas presents. I think I've just found the perfect one for my Dad (guess where the interest in Antarctica comes from!), which is a relief! Sir Wally Herbert's stunning book 'The Polar World' has just been published in a hardback edition (RRP £35) in October, in good time for the festive season. The book is also available in leather hand-bound (RRP £450) and real cloth (RRP £220) special limited editions, if you're feeling flush. All three are available now from the Museum Shop at Scott Polar Research Institute (which also has a very tempting selection of stocking fillers to choose from). If you're in the Cambridge area then I strongly recommend you stop by the Institute to see the exhibition of Sir Wally's beautiful pictures that are on display, but you'll need to hurry to get there before 8 December 2007.
A bit more about 'The Polar World', taken from the Friends of SPRI's Polar Bytes newsletter:
This stunning book captures the spirit of the Polar World, as never seen before - through the eyes of a man who was the bridge between the heroic age of exploration and modern adventure; a visionary who walked in the footsteps of all the greatest explorers, and learned the art of survival from the Inuit themselves. This superb collection of Sir Wally's paintings, together with personal anecdotes of his experiences in the Polar World and his connection with the polar pioneers of the past, as well as his descritpions of the inspiration behind his paintings, makes this, his last book, outstandingly valuable as a vital contribution to polar literature, and as a unique collector's item. Visit www.polarworld.co.uk or email hello@polarworld.co.uk - the website has a wealth of information about the unique vision of Sir Wally Herbert, and is the creation of Sir Wally himself as well as his wife and daughter.
This reminds me of another book called 'An Unsung Hero' written by Tom Crean, another adventurer, who triumphed over the unparallelled hardship of the Antarctic. I saw the book here: http://www.antarctic.talktalk.net/
Posted by: Darren Clark | August 10, 2008 at 11:54 PM