Florey's Book Co. welcomes local author David Hirzel as he discusses his new book, "Sailor on Ice: Tom Crean: with Scott in the Antarctic 1910-1913"
***Sunday, June 26th, 4pm***
About the book:
There are more famous names than Tom Crean’s from the “heroic age” of Antarctic exploration, but there are few stories as compelling as his. Tom Crean: Sailor on Ice tells the story of a common man in uncommon circumstances, who met every challenge as it came with steadfast purpose. If he knew fear, he never showed it. Sailor on Ice goes with him from England to the Antarctic plateau, and back. We share his trials as they happen—the thrill of discovery, the danger of the sea-ice, the terror of extreme isolation, the tragedy of the deaths of his closest friends.Who really are the heroes of Antarctic exploration? The familiar names--Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen--belong to those who claimed to lead. But those who lead are nothing without those who come a few steps behind, hauling the gear, pitching the camp, walking the long walk, steadfast, enduring. Without these men there would be no leaders. There would be no survivors, and no story to be told. Tom Crean was such a man.
About the author:
David Hirzel landed at Sky Ranch overlooking Pacifica, California at the end of 30 years of wandering that started in West Virginia, with extended stops in Florida, Virginia, Lake Tahoe and various points between. In the course of time he has published numerous poems, stories and articles, two plays and an online audiodrama at , but his true calling has always been the history of polar exploration in the “heroic” age. The fascination began with a first reading of Shackleton’s Valiant Voyage in 1961, and never ended. One result has been the book Tom Crean: Sailor on Ice, a labor of love that started in 1996 and hasn’t ended yet. Two more books are due in the series, covering Crean’s early days in Scott’s first expedition, and his triumph against all odds in Shackleton’s “Endurance” expedition. He lives at Sky Ranch with the cat Bellerophon (named for the ship of the line in Nelson’s navy), watching the whales and the Pacific sunsets.
For more information, please visit his websites:
http://terra-nova-press.com/
and
http://davidhirzel.wordpress.com/
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We hope to see you!
***Sunday, June 26th, 4pm***
Florey's Book Co.
2120 Palmetto Ave.
Pacifica, CA 94044
(650) 355-8811
open every day, 10am-6pm
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