Alone / Richard E. Byrd ; decorations by Richard E. Harrison ; afterword by Kieran Mulvaney.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Byrd, Richard Evelyn, 1888-1957.

Byrd, Richard Evelyn.

Byrd Antarctic Expedition--(2nd : 1933-1935).

Byrd Antarctic Expedition.

Solitude.

Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--American.

Antarctica.

Discoveries in geography.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

xi, 314 pages : illustrations, maps

Place of Publication:

Washington, [D.C.] : Island Press/Shearwater Books, [2003]

Summary:

When Admiral Richard E. Byrd set out on his second Antarctic expedition in 1934, he was already an international hero for having piloted the first flights over the North and South Poles. His plan for this latest adventure was to spend six months alone near the bottom of the world, gathering weather data and indulging his desire "to taste peace and quiet long enough to know how good they really are." But early on things went terribly wrong. Isolated in the pervasive polar night with no hope of release until spring, Byrd began suffering inexplicable symptoms of mental and physical illness. By the time he discovered that carbon monoxide from a defective stovepipe was poisoning him, Byrd was already engaged in a monumental struggle to save his life and preserve his sanity.

When Alone was first published in 1938, it became an enormous bestseller. This edition keeps alive Byrd's unforgettable narrative for new generations of readers.

"Better than most modern explanations, Byrd's book shows why men and women still cast themselves into danger in remote parts of the world." --The Los Angeles Times Book Review

Contents:

1933: The Idea 3

March: The Decision 29

April I: The God of 2.5 60

II: The Night 86

May I: The Intimation 119

II: The Blow 146

June I: Despair 173

II: The Struggle 195

III: The Proposal 212

July I: Cold 228

II: The Tractors 249

August: The Searchlight 272.

Notes:

Reprint. Originally published: New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1938.

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

1559634634

OCLC:

187619401