Sir Douglas Mawson was Australia’s pre-eminent Antarctic explorer, a tall, quiet scientist who survived several gruelling polar expeditions, and went on to play a notable role in the academic and research establishment.

He is most famed for an ill-fated expedition in 1913, in which he trekked hundreds of kilometres alone, without supplies, after his two companions perished. But he was also the main architect of Australia’s official Antarctic presence in the first half of the twentieth century, instrumental in the Australian Government’s decision to claim part of Antarctica, and in the founding of Australia’s major organization for Antarctic exploration and research.

Philip Ayres’ life of Mawson is the definitive biography of the polar explorer, who died in 1958. In this richly researched and well-illustrated work, he paints a picture of a man who was a brave and resourceful hero, but also a deeply flawed personality.