Paul Hart Antarctic Explorer With Scott Before the Mast Book Review
With Scott Before the Mast Book Review by Paul Hart As a former Royal Navy Officer, who came from the ranks, I was hugely interested in this book and potential insights that it offered from a very different perspective than other books I have read about Scott. I am delighted to say that I was not disappointed and actually, the writings of Francis Davies offered not only an insight into Scott and the Terra Nova Expedition, but also the norms and the way that both the navy and society operated. In itself, this combination allows for a detailed consideration of the basis by which the expedition was undertaken and Scott’s leadership was executed. As a fellow naval Officer, who has led mixed groups of military and civilians in highly challenging environments and with a background of 30 years of expedition across the globe, I understand the complexities of managing mixed groups where the leadership of the military might necessarily be different to that needed to m...