I Am Just Going Outside: Captain Oates - Antarctic Tragedy

On January 18th, 1912 ‘Titus’ Oates, together with Captain Scott, ‘Birdie’ Bowers, ‘Teddy’ Evans, and ‘Bill’ Wilson reached the South Pole, only to find that Roald Amundsen had beaten them in their quest. They then turned their backs on the Pole and began the arduous return journey to Cape Evans and safety. On March 17th, with his companions exhausted and dying in their tent, and miles short of their resupply at One Ton Depot, Oates crawled bootless out of the tent and into a raging -40°C blizzard. He left with the words “I am just going outside and may be some time.” It was his 32nd birthday. This is a very nice biography of Oates and makes a good companion to Smith’s ‘An Unsung Hero’ on Tom Crean.