The White Darkness by David Grann Published by Doubleday Books on October 30, 2018
Pages: 160
Genres: Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover
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By the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a powerful true story of adventure and obsession in the Antarctic, lavishly illustrated with color photographs
Henry Worsley was a devoted husband and father and a decorated British special forces officer who believed in honor and sacrifice. He was also a man obsessed. He spent his life idolizing Ernest Shackleton, the nineteenth-century polar explorer, who tried to become the first person to reach the South Pole, and later sought to cross Antarctica on foot. Shackleton never completed his journeys, but he repeatedly rescued his men from certain death, and emerged as one of the greatest leaders in history.
Worsley felt an overpowering connection to those expeditions. He was related to one of Shackleton's men, Frank Worsley, and spent a fortune collecting artifacts from their epic treks across the continent. He modeled his military command on Shackleton's legendary skills and was determined to measure his own powers of endurance against them. He would succeed where Shackleton had failed, in the most brutal landscape in the world.
In 2008, Worsley set out across Antarctica with two other descendants of Shackleton's crew, battling the freezing, desolate landscape, life-threatening physical exhaustion, and hidden crevasses. Yet when he returned home he felt compelled to go back. On November 13, 2015, at age 55, Worsley bid farewell to his family and embarked on his most perilous quest: to walk across Antarctica alone.
David Grann tells Worsley's remarkable story with the intensity and power that have led him to be called "simply the best narrative nonfiction writer working today." Illustrated with more than fifty stunning photographs from Worsley's and Shackleton's journeys, The White Darkness is both a gorgeous keepsake volume and a spellbinding story of courage, love, and a man pushing himself to the extremes of human capacity.
About David Grann
David Grann has written about everything from New York City’s antiquated water tunnels to the hunt for the giant squid to the presidential campaign. His stories have appeared in several anthologies, including What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001; The Best American Crime Writing, of both 2004 and 2005; and The Best American Sports Writing, of 2003 and 2006. A 2004 finalist for the Michael Kelly award for the “fearless pursuit and expression of truth,” Grann has also written for "The New York Times Magazine," The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and The New Republic.
Before joining The New Yorker in 2003, Grann was a senior editor at The New Republic, and from 1995 until 1996, the executive editor of the newspaper The Hill. He holds master’s degrees in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy as well as in creative writing from Boston University. After graduating from Connecticut College in 1989, he received a Thomas Watson Fellowship and did research in Mexico, where he began his career in journalism. He lives in New York with his wife and two children.
What are you waiting on this Wednesday?
Can I just say that cover makes me cold!
Whoa, this sounds intense! I love survival stories, but the fact that someone else wrote a book about this guy leads me to believe he didn’t make it☹
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday [315] – THE GUTTER PRAYER by Gareth Hanrahan
Wow, this looks like it’s going to be a doozy. I get chilly watching Antarctica on Planet Earth, I can’t even imagine trekking it solo?!
Dani recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday: The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee
Sounds like an exciting true story. I wouldn’t want to do it solo. Hope you enjoy the book, Bonnie! 🙂
Sounds like my kind of book! I’ll keep an eye out for your review… but this is going on my TBR list for sure.
Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies recently posted…Shelf Control #133: Bird Box by Josh Malerman