Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard
by Sara Wheeler
List Price:
Our Price: $4.65
You Save: $22.30 (83%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.44 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sara WheelerEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04-16
ISBN: 0375503285
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Random House
Book Reviews of Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Book Review: Spoiled Elitist Fop Never Did anything of note after Journey
Summary: 2 Stars
Tough to scold the author on this since her depiction of 'Cherry' was probably accurate....which raised the question, Is a book about this spoiled relic of the age of the upper class worth it? Here is a chap who "bought" his way aboard Scott's expedition through a sponsorship, probably screwed up resulting in Scott's death, and then spend the rest of his life in a self-absorbed, bored, sometimes depressed state, with concerns about the end of "separation of the classes". Oh by the way, I have a feeling G.B. Shaw wrote more of Cherry's book than the author of his bio lets on. But seriously, what did this fop do after the "worst journey" that was worthy of anything? Not much...which makes me question why we should care about this chap? Bottom line, the author is a fine writer, but her subject is about as interesting as a television test pattern.
Summary of Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard
The first authorized biography of the antarctic explorer who gave us the greatest classic of polar literatureIn February 1912, Apsley Cherry-Garrard drove a team of dogs 150 miles to a desolate outpost on Antarctica's rough ice shelf to meet Robert Falcon Scott and his men, who were expected to return victor-ious any day from their epic race to the South Pole. Winter was closing in, and Cherry was handicapped by brutal temperatures and diminishing light. Less than two weeks later, three dying men pitched their tent for the last time just twelve miles to the south. One was Captain Scott, the leader of the expedition. The other two, Birdie Bowers and Bill Wilson, were the closest friends Cherry had ever had.
Ten months later, once the polar winter had released them from captivity, Cherry and his search party found the tent, piled with snow and pinned to the ice by his friends' corpses. It was a tragedy that would rever-berate around the world and inspire Cherry to write his masterpiece, The Worst Journey in the World, which recently topped National Geographic's list of the 100 greatest adventure books of all time.
Cherry discovered in his writing a means to work out his grief and anger, but in life these doubts and fears proved far harder to quell. As the years progressed, he struggled against depression, breakdown, and despair, and was haunted by the possibility that he alone had had the opportunity to save Scott and his friends.
Sara Wheeler's Cherry is the first biography of this soul-searching explorer, written with unrestricted access to his papers and the full cooperation of his widow-who has refused all requests until now. Wheeler's biography brings to life this great hero of Antarctic exploration and gives us a glimpse of the terrible human cost of his adventures.
Sara Wheeler, author of the acclaimed Terra Incognita, became fascinated with Antarctic explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard after reading The Worst Journey in the World, his classic account of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole, of which he was a survivor. "His book was not the disembodied account of an expedition: it was an intimate reflection of the man behind the authorial mask. I wanted a glimpse of that man," she writes. What she offers is much more than a glimpse; Cherry is a fascinating and detailed look at this complicated and often troubled hero.
A man of substantial means and a strong sense of duty, Cherry "recoiled from the sedate life of the country squire," throwing himself into strenuous adventures whenever he was not crippled by episodes of severe depression which haunted him his entire life. After returning from the pole, he traveled to eastern China as part of a zoological expedition and then served Britain in World War I before writing The Worst Journey in the World, which National Geographic has called the greatest adventure book of all time. Wheeler covers not only his many adventures, but the inner workings of the man, such as his bouts with mental illness, including delusional phases, hypochondria, and severe anxiety, all of which affected his physical health as well. She also covers his often complex relationships, including his close friendship with George Bernard Shaw, who certainly influenced Cherry's writing. Written with the cooperation of Cherry's widow and full access to his papers and notes, this is the first authorized biography of this extraordinary man. --Shawn Carkonen
General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Polar Explorations
Crossing Antarcticaby Will Steger
Knopf; Published: 1991-12-17; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Across the Top of the World: To the North Pole by Sled, Balloon, Airplane and Nuclear Icebreakerby David Fisher
Random House; Published: 1992-11-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.69
Price in other shops:
The Noose of Laurels: Robert E. Peary and the Race to the North Poleby Wally Herbert
Atheneum; Published: 1989-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.49
Price in other shops:
The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karlukby Jennifer Niven
Hyperion; Published: 2001-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.48
Price in other shops:
The Search for the North West Passageby Ann Savours
St. Martin's Press; Published: 1999-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Across the Top of the World: The Quest for the Northwest Passageby James P. Delgado
Facts on File; Published: 1999-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrardby Sara Wheeler
Random House; Published: 2002-04-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.65
Price in other shops:
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expeditionby Caroline Alexander
Knopf; Published: 1998-11-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Last Place on Earth (Modern Library Exploration)by Roland Huntford
Modern Library; Published: 1999-09-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.70
Price in other shops:
Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen: Ambition and Tragedy in the Antarcticby David Thomson
Basic Books; Published: 2002-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.34
Price in other shops:
Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hattonby Sara Wheeler
Random House; Published: 2007-04-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.73
Price in other shops:
Travels in a Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile (Modern Library)by Sara Wheeler
Modern Library; Published: 1999-03-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops:
Journals: Scott's Last Expedition (Oxford World's Classics)by Robert Falcon Scott
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2008-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.28
Price in other shops:
The Worst Journey in the World (Penguin Classics)by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-02-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.14
Price in other shops:
Mawson's Will: The Greatest Polar Survival Story Ever Writtenby Lennard Bickel
Steerforth; Published: 2000-02-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.85
Price in other shops:
The South Pole: An Account of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition in the Fram, 1910-1912by Captain Roald Amundsen
Cooper Square Press; Published: 2001-01-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.74
Price in other shops:
Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarcticaby Sara Wheeler
Modern Library; Published: 1999-03-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
The Worst Journey in the Worldby Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Published: 1997-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.52
Price in other shops: