I'm writing the text for a 3-D children's atlas. It's actually a lot of fun, but much harder than I expected. I have to submerse myself in children's writing, to rearrange how I put words together. It's going to take a few months.
For the last two days, I've been writing about Antarctica. Should be easy, right? Penguins, ice, whales, Shackleton.
It's really not all that cut and dry. (Speaking of dry, did you know Antarctica is technically a desert?)
Yesterday I learned that the following famous quote is most likely an embellishment, even though just about everyone believes it was actually an ad placed by Ernest Shackleton for the Endurance voyage.
"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success."
No one has ever found a source! And people have really looked. It's a great quote though, and apt for a trip that included five months of camping on ice after the Endurance was crushed, followed by horrific sea voyages in row boats, and finally by a 36-hour hike over an icy island.
There's a hardcover book out of the incredible photos taken by the expedition photographer, Frank Hurley.
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