The story of Robert Falcon Scott and his team's adventures (and misadventures) while they were working and living at Antarctica. His journals very much highlight just how challenging the conditions were (and it doesn't make me want to go work there any less). I think he provides a relatively balanced account of his experiences. While personal opinions and biases will always creep in, he does come across as providing a reliable account of his Antarctic adventures. I admire his ability to see his shortcomings and reflect how he could have done better (although he was a little arrogant at times - see how unsurprised he is that his better and stronger team keeps overtaking the other part of his group). There are parts that are less interesting than others, like debating how best to optimise supplies for a journey (I mean, this is a journal recounting his experiences), but it is overall very enjoyable. I can recommend it to those who are interested in polar exploration. I do think I might have enjoyed it a bit less if I hadn't been listening to the audiobook though, especially at the slower parts there are some breathing noises but the overall quality of the Librivox audiobook I listened to was good).

This is also a long work so you are in for quite a journey. I definitely feel like I got a good idea of the kinds of people Scott and his team were, and as someone who has lived in (less) remote (and warmer) places for fieldwork, a lot of the (not always explicitly stated) thoughts and feelings very much ring true. Just be warned that living in these cold, harsh conditions is challenging, and if you are familiar with his story at all, you will know that this often leads to sad events. ( )

Reading Scott's account of the Discovery expedition is like a glimpse back in time and one of the keys to understanding much that would happen later on [b:Scott's Last Expedition|220469|Scott's Last Expedition The Journals|Robert Falcon Scott|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172809605s/220469.jpg|213478] and in [a:Ernest Shackleton|80438|Ernest Shackleton|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1185317398p2/80438.jpg], [a:Apsley Cherry-Garrard|27180|Apsley Cherry-Garrard|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg], and [a:Roald Amundsen|225399|Roald Amundsen|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1297112558p2/225399.jpg]'s lives and how their experiences would be received by their contemporaries and later by today's readers.

There were three ways to find a way onto Scott's first National Antarctic Expedition aboard the Discovery: bad luck, directions from the Admiralty/Navy, or favoritism. Like so many human endeavors, this one did not get off to a smooth start.

Scott himself was one of two second-choice candidates and his appointment was made by an acrimonious committee decision on a slim majority vote . The Admiralty/Navy would not release the commitee's preferrred candidate, John de Robeck. In a way, the Admiralty's reluctance to release de Robeck and the expedition commitee's impatience may have doomed Scotts expeditions a little from the start?

[a: Shackleton|80438|Ernest Shackleton|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1185317398p2/80438.jpg], who would later become reknowned for his ability to keep his men alive under extreme polar conditions, was first refused a spot on Scott's trip, then later mercuriously accepted when his candidacy was promoted by a financier of the expedition. He would accompany Scott on an overland journey during the trip and be invalided home. Upon the publication of Scott's memoir of the journey, Shackleton's attitude to Scott would turn to "smouldering scorn and dislike"

[a:John Walter Gregory|3489512|John Walter Gregory|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg], an experienced field geologist/glaciologist had been appointed four months before Scott was selected. Gregory, was to have led the scientific team and expected to lead the overland journey as well. He resigned because of Scott's appointment over him.

[a:William Speirs Bruce|528169|William Speirs Bruce|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg], another experienced man who'd previously explored the antarctic turned down a spot on the expedition, mounting his own in the Scotia. His men, like Shackleton's later, would successfully winter over when their ship was iced in.

The staffing of Scott's first expedition was determined by commitee, favoritism, and who the Admiralty/Navy was willing to release. Compromise and acrimony as much as aptitude and experience determined who would sail. ( )

Personal description of Scott's first Antarctic expedition including his glorifying of man hauling versus dog sledging. ( )

"Another book which shows the romance and the heroism which still linger upon earth is that large copy of the " Voyage of the Discovery in the Antarctic " by Captain Scott. Written in plain sailor fashion with no attempt at overstatement or colour, it none the less (or perhaps all the more) leaves a deep impression upon the mind. As one reads it, and reflects on what one reads, one seems to get a clear view of just those qualities which make the best kind of Briton." --Through the Magic Door. 232-233