I really enjoyed reading this account of Lincoln Ellsworth and his Arctic and Antarctica Explorations. I was familiar with many of the supporting characters but Ellsworth has been lost to history. He is not always likable. He has more money than luck, but he does continue to persevere. He is finally successful despite himself. The author adds a lot of humor to the narrative. I always enjoy reading books about early travel and exploration and this book did not disappoint. Historical photographs accompany the text. Enjoy this exciting armchair travel.

This interesting history of an almost forgotten polar explorer is sure to be appreciated by history buffs and armchair travelers alike.

The astonishing voyage of the first solo crossing of Antarctica by the unlikeliest of arctic explorers.

By the 1930s, no one had yet crossed Antarctica, and its vast interior remained a mystery frozen in time. Hoping to write his name in the history books, wealthy American Lincoln Ellsworth announced he would fly across the unexplored continent. And to honor his hero, Wyatt Earp, he would carry his gun belt on the flight.

The main obstacles to Ellsworth’s ambition were numerous: he didn’t like the cold, he avoided physical work, and he couldn’t navigate. Consequently, he hired the experienced Australian explorer, Sir Hubert Wilkins, to organize the expedition on his behalf. While Ellsworth battled depression and struggled to conceal his homosexuality, Wilkins purchased a ship, hired a crew, and ordered a revolutionary new airplane constructed. The Ellsworth Trans-Antarctic Expeditions became epics of misadventure, as competitors plotted to beat Ellsworth, pilots refused to fly, crews mutinied, and the ship was repeatedly trapped in the ice. Finally, in 1935, Ellsworth took off to fly from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. A few hours after leaving, radio contact with him was lost and the world gave him up for dead. Antarctica’s Lost Aviator brings alive one of the strangest episodes in polar history, using previously unpublished diaries, correspondence, photographs, and film to reveal the amazing true story of the first crossing of Antarctica and how, against all odds, it was achieved by the unlikeliest of heroes.

About the Author: Jeff Maynard's books include The Unseen Anzac, Wings of Ice, Niagara's Gold, and Divers in Time. He has written for television and is a book reviewer for the Melbourne Herald Sun. He is a member of the Explorers Club and a former President of the Historical Diving Society. This is his first book to be published in America.

my thoughts
4.5
it took me a while to get into the story , but once i did i couldn't put it down, with that said i would like to Netgalley for letting me read and review it in change for my honest opinion