Aurora Australis

Although it's currently out of print, we can hope that the recent flood of Shackleton-related titles will provoke a reprint of the facsimile edition of the "Aurora Australis," the book written and published by Shackleton's 1907-1909 Nimrod Expedition in Winter Quarters. Most of the men contributed written works including articles, poetry, and even some fantasy (by as strait-laced a scientist as the future Sir Douglas Mawson!), expedition artist George Marston produced illustrations, then Frank Wild and Ernest Joyce typeset and printed the pages, and when everything was finished Bernard Day crafted covers from empty cases and bound the books. It is estimated that something from 75-90 copies were made, making this one of the rarest of Antarctic collectibles. If you are fortunate enough to find a used facsimile copy, as I was, snap it up; if not, let's hope someone realizes its value as a reprint.