Long before its actual discovery, the ancient Greeks had surmised that a continent must exist at the bottom of the world, and the desire to find and explore it has consumed countless adventurers ever since, notes Anthony Brandt in this superb collection of firsthand accounts. Along with the words of Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, and Roald Amundsen, this National Geographic Adventure Classics—part of a series that celebrates the 100 greatest adventure books of all time—includes Edmund Halley's amusing first encounter with penguins, Captain Cook's speculations on Antarctica's immense icebergs, and Douglas Mawson's heroic solo trek after losing his companions and his food.