Review of Eight men in a crate: the ordeal of the advance party of the Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955–1957 based on the diary of Rainer Goldsmith, by Anthea Arnold

The year 2008 is a milestone in terms of two notable anniversaries relating to Britain’s Antarctic history. One hundred years ago, the British made the first territorial claim to the Antarctic via Letters Patent, and in so doing precipitated a process that was to lead to six other countries pressing their own claims. Fifty years ago, the Trans- Antarctic Expedition (TAE) successfully executed the first mechanized crossing of the polar continent. Although a great deal of attention is now being given to the International Geophysical Year (IGY, 1957–1958), I would contend that the TAE, which did not take place under the auspices of the IGY, was an important element in the evolving scientific and political contours of human engagement with the Antarctic