A biography covering the full range of Sir Douglas Mawson's life and work, his character and attainments, his virtues and faults, his place in the past and his significance for the present.

A hero of the polar exploration age, Sir Douglas Mawson is profiled in this biography, which recounts his Antarctic expeditions of 1911-1914 and 1929-1931, which resulted in Australia claiming 40 percent of the sixth continent. The personal letters and professional correspondences included reveal Mawson's relationships with influential friends and rivals. Recounted are such adventures as when Mawson confronted a delusional explorer in Antarctica who believed that he was Jesus Christ, his trip on an advanced monoplane, and his inspections of English war factories for chemical weapons.