The Heart of the Antarctic by Ernest Shackleton

This book is Shackleton's report of his 1907 polar expedition. Included in the discoveries are the existence of the polar plateau, the ascent of Mt Erebus and reaching the South Magnetic Pole. Its relationship to other expeditions is a bit like The Hobbit's relationship to The Lord of the Rings: A great story in it's own right, but merely setting the scene for Scott's last expedition, and Mawson's starvation march in 1910.

This expedition is known for Shackleton's decision to turn around a mere 97 miles from the South Pole. This is usually portrayed as a hard decision to make. From my reading of Shackleton's journal, it was merely a prudent and possibly overdue choice.

Mawson has fallen down a crevasse, and we got to the Magnetic Pole!