In this retelling of one of the greatest adventures of all times, Dr. T. H. Baughman, polar historian, will take the listener back to the Heroic Era of Antarctic exploration to learn about Sir Ernest Shackleton, a favorite of Antarcticans everywhere, and a model for leadership in times of great stress and danger.
Twenty-eight men stood on a desolate Antarctic ice floe one thousand miles from the nearest human contact. In a few months the ice would melt. To survive they would have to be safely on land before that happened—if they did not starve first. The odds were stacked against them. They faced all the horrors that the Antarctic could bring to bear: numbing cold and the worst weather on the globe. They could freeze, starve, or drown. They had a single advantage, however, one that proved to be decisive. They were led by Shackleton.
The story of the Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17 is one of the amazing adventures of all time. One of the closing moments of the Heroic Era of Antarctic exploration (1901-1922), this voyage began with the hope of being the first to cross the whole of Antarctica on foot and ended up as one of the most majestic of all sea voyages.
The whole endeavor provides a perfect stage to demonstrate the reasons why those who sailed with him regarded Shackleton as one of great leaders of his—or any—generation. Baughman brings to this retelling of the adventure the underpinnings of his work as a serious historian and his talents as a master story teller to provide an entertaining and illuminating presentation.
Dr. T. H. Baughman is a professor of history at the University of Central Oklahoma. His interest in the polar regions began when Ian M. Whillans, the noted glaciologist, invited Tim to join an expedition to Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica as the token humanist. That expedition also included Lonnie Thompson, now recognized around the world as one of the foremost scientists of climate studies.
Subsequently, Dr. Baughman has published extensively in the field of polar history. Among his publications are “Before the Heroes Came: Antarctica in the 1890s” (University of Nebraska Press, 1994), “Ice: The Antarctic Diary of Charles F. Passel” (Texas Tech University Press, 1995), and “Pilgrims on the Ice: Robert Falcon Scott’s First Antarctic Expedition” (University of Nebraska Press, 1999). He has also published a short popular biography, Shackleton of the Antarctic. Currently, he is at work on an account of U.S. involvement in Antarctica since 1948.
Baughman has lectured widely on his research interests not only for their impact on polar history but also on how historical and polar figures demonstrate leadership lessons for the business world. He is a popular lecturer on expedition cruise ships to both polar regions and throughout Europe. His lecture venues this year include the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, the Explorers Club in New York City, and lecture series in the Black Sea, Baffin Island, and Antarctica.