Fifteen months in the Antarctic / by Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery ; translated by Maurice Raraty ; with foreword by Baron Gaston de Gerlache de Gomery.

"The Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-9 was the most cosmopolitan of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration - and one of the most lucky. Led by Lt. Adrien de gerlache of the Royal Belgian Navy it was underfunded from the start and ill prepared to overwinter in the pack ice. Despite being stuck in the ice for almost a year the ship survived without serious damage. The mixture of nationalities - Belgian, Polish, Norwegian, American, Rumanian, Russian - ensured that communication was always a problem and this was exacerbated when they were all trapped inside the cold, damp ship in the winter. That all ended well was largely due to just four men: the American doctor Frederick Cook, the Norwegian second mate, Roald Amundsen, the Belgian first mate, George Lecointre and de Gerlache himself. The earliest known photographs of Antarctica were taken during this expedition."--Provided by the publisher.