The Worst Journey in the World

Prior to this sad denouement, Cherry-Garrard's account is filled with details of scientific discovery and anecdotes of human resilience in a harsh environment. Each participant in the Scott expedition is brought fully to life. Cherry-Garrard's recollections are supported by diary excerpts and accounts from other teammates. Despite the sad fate of Scott, the reader will grudgingly agree with the closing words of The Worst Journey in the World: "Exploration is the physical expression of the Intellectual Passion. And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore.... If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg."

I wish it had more pictures but I guess you can't have everything.

P.S. I can't help but looking at modern things and modern problems and thinking what would Bowers think of that or Cherry, I'm sure they'd be depressed at the overall state of morals around the world and Englands decline would suprise them but in particular I wonder what they would think of modern clothing and stuff like GPS.


It's my Benchmark   March 6, 2004
Yaker (Poquoson, VA United States)
I read this book two years ago, and have read a lot of true adventure books since then. I can honestly say that I have compared all others to "Journey" - it has become my benchmark!

The level of human suffering combined with positive life affirming attitudes in this book is overwhelming! It's difficult to apprehend the challenges these men faced, and for such long periods of time. Their feats are nothing short of miracles.

To top it off, "Cherry" recounts the story with superb style and grace. In todays world of "keep it simple", "dumb it down", and "shorter is better", it's refreshing to read an author who lets the language flow and uses it with a beauty of it's own. Granted, it was "normal" language at the time that it was written, but even among his peers, he excelled at the written word. That's why "this" book is a better choice that other books on the same topic. You get this one from Cherry's own diary and words, not a modern author looking at it from the outside in.

In spite of the illustrations included in the edition that I read, it would be helpful to consult other maps of the area. There were times when it took some digging to figure out exactly where the authors were (geographically) and the terrain difficulties that they discussed. Once you figure it out, though, there is usally another "WOW" moment attached to it.

If there is anything wrong with this book, it would be that it needs better maps in a variety of scales for frames of reference, and MORE PICTURES! There are times when your imagination just won't do justice to reality. Seeing it in a photo would be fantastic. There are many other sources for those photos... check them out while reading this book.

All in all, a GREAT adventure book. If you are interested in true life adventure which tests the limits of the human soul, spirit, and physical abilities, this book is an absolute MUST read.


he makes us understand   March 6, 2004
Kristin F. Smith (Timothy's, on the Bayswater Road)
Either the Antarctic draws explorers of uncommon literary ability, or something in that desolate, terrible beauty draws out eloquence from those who go there. Apsley Cherry-Garrard stands primus inter pares among south polar chroniclers. With the hindsight of ten years, and with liberal use of letters and diaries written by his companions on the Terra Nova expedition, he gives us a clear insight into the splendor and horror, the tedium and exhilaration of life in Antarctica. He talks about everything; most eloquently, perhaps, of his companions and their life in the snug little hut at the base of Mount Erebus. But his narrative gleams with wonderful portraits of fractious ponies and rambunctious dogs; of killer whales and of penguins notable for "devouring curiosity and a pigheaded disregard for their own safety". He tells of the "worst journey": a harrowing, immiserating and near-fatal trek through the Antarctic night in quest of ... a penguin egg. He describes a barren landscape of snow and ice which somehow vibrates with color and awes all who see it. And he makes us understand why they go back.


Stubborn Reading   October 28, 2003
Weegee
Perhaps the worst journey in the world is to sit and read every word of this book. Okay, I just made a horrible joke, but in all honesty I get the feeling that 200 pages could have been chopped off of this book. I have no problem reading "thick" books, as I read this one in 4 sittings. I now question whether I'm better off for having done so. Honestly, if I could go back in time, I probably wouldn't read it knowing what I know now, however I do feel better off having read it. (I know, total oxymoron)

There are some brilliant passages and descriptions buried here and there. When the author is in form, it truly is captivating reading. I can feel how cold these people were. I can see the horrible conditions they live under and when he speaks of weather conditions getting better because it was ONLY -30 instead of -70, you really can empathize with the madness.

The problem is there is so much prose around these poignant moments that by the time you reach them you are still in speed reading mode. I had to go back and re-read some of the better moments of the book because it didn't hit me at the first pass that this was "the good part." For instance, the whole jumping from ice berg to ice berg with Killer whales licking their chops is compelling stuff, but it is handled so lightly. The different ways to cook a biscuit got better press. Same with the journey that is in fact his "worst journey in the world" to retrieve Emperor penguin eggs. He spent 90% on the set up, but then when it got to the conflict and climax (losing the tent, hurricane winds, running out of oil) this was quickly glanced over and summarized in a few pages.

Not only the page count, but the wording is tough going. Is it just me, or was everyone's journal and diary entries more stylized than the next. It was like this guy was on an expedition with Shakespeare, Tennyson and Milton. And I don't understand the technique to spend pages setting up an event and then using a journal entry or two to restate (sometimes almost to the word) what was just written.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I do to a certain extent and call me crazy, but I'll go back and re-read it, now knowing where to find those choice moments. However, I cannot recommend this to a new reader. Simply put, your time is better spent elsewhere. This is a hell of a story however, and it is mostly for that reason it gets 3 stars. I would probably give it 3.5 stars in all honesty. If you are truly fascinated in this genre or this particular subject, I suppose you should add it to your wish list as you do get the "whole story." The problem is, sometimes the whole story isn't worth telling in its entireity.

p.s. 90 Degrees South is a must purchase DVD to accompany this book. Get most of the visuals with this fabulous film shot by one of the crew members


A masterpiece of its topic and its era   August 7, 2003
bensmomma (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Although this book is something like 550 pages long, it maintained its grip on me for the three weeks it took me to explore it fully. Cherry-Garrard was a young wealthy Englishman with a longing to test his mettle, who joined the famously doomed Scott expedition to the South Pole. Despite a complete lack of experience, he proved to be both a stalwart explorer and an excellent writer.

Imagine this: three men pulling their own sleds hundreds of miles across broken ice, living for weeks in temperatures as low as -77 F. Then, a blizzard. Then, there tent blows away and they are left in this blizzard with no shelter for more than a day. How will they ever make it back to the home base? This particular episode, Cherry's "Winter Journey", is only a detour on the main narrative about the journal to the Pole.

Not only does he convey the "what" - the breathtaking and death-defying details of his experiences, he conveys the "why" - what it meant to him to be there, and why he went. If you have read elsewhere that the expedition proved to England that its men were still capable of great things, you may have scoffed at this as the last longings of a dying Empire. But when Cherry-Garrard writes it, it is with utmost sincerity, and you believe him.