A biography of Ernest Shackleton, the quintessential Edwardian hero. A contemporary of Scott, he sailed on the "Discovery" expedition of 1900, and mounted three expeditions of his own. A social adventurer, it was the pursuit of wealth, fame and power that attracted him more than snow and ice. Shacketon an Anglo-Irishman who letf school at 16, he needed status to raise money for his own expeditions. A frustrated poet, he was never successful with money, but did succeed in marrying it. At his height he was feted as an national hero, knighted by Edward VII, and granted #20,000 by the government for his achievements. Poverty stricken by World War I, he had to pay off his debts through writing and lecturing. This book won the Nelson Hurst and Marsh biography award.