primeideal

The title is a slight misnomer, it's an anthology of Antarctica exploration more broadly, but we get the idea.

One map in the front, that's great, but we could use even more maps. As my mom once told my brother's girlfriend (who was giving us a tour of the newspaper where she works), "sometimes we are just dumb and don't know much about geography." More maps.
There's a lot of just direct excerpting from a longer work, which is mostly fine, but then the annotations or footnotes will refer to the longer work where that's not relevant ("see the tables in the appendix," etc.) Could have been helpful to make clearer who those editors were, as distinguished from the overall editor.
Surprisingly consistent use of Fahrenheit? I guess the UK didn't convert to Celsius until the 1960s, that surprised me.

A few specific highlights/details:

Charles Wilkes, 1840: "obviously everyone can see that we, the Americans, are the ones who actually mapped and described this land, not like those other loser countries. I don't care about personal glory on my own behalf, I'm modest like that, but I can't be humble when national pride is at stake. USA USA USA."
One of his underlings, Henry Eld (Wilkes never uses first names, it's always "Mr. Eld" or "Passed Midshipman Eld") tries with varying success to capture penguins, and is droll about it: "Such a din of squeaking, squalling, and gabbling, I never before heard or dreamed could be made by any of the feathered tribe. It was impossible to hear one's self speak. It appeared as if every one was vying with his neighbour to make the greatest possible noise. I soon found my presence particularly displeased them, for they snapped at me in all directions, catching hold of my trousers, shaking and pinching my flesh so violently as to make me flinch and stand upon the defensive."
James Ross mapping of Ross Island with Mounts Erebus and Terror, etc. Pretty funny if you know what's going to happen with the Franklin expeditions (even if only by osmosis).
Captain Cook hero-worship continues for quite a while. "We were now in the latitudes reached by our Great Navigator in 1773," etc.
The Discovery expedition excerpt is Robert Scott's take on the second sledging season in the mountains. Gives more context to "when things were really desperate he was great, but when only somewhat inconvenienced he could be an emotional whiner." "What children these men are! and yet what splendid children! They won't give in till they back down, and then they consider their collapse disgraceful. The boatswain has been suffering agonies from his back; he has been pulling just behind me, and in some sympathy that comes through the traces I have got to know all about him, yet he has never uttered a word of complaint, and when he knows my eye is on him he straightens up and pretends he is just as fit as ever. What is one to do with such people?"
Shackleton (Nimrod expedition) on how everyone has their own routine for the nights when it's their turn to be watchman: "For instance, one member, directly the rest of the staff had gone to bed, cleared the small table in front of the stove, spread a rug on it and settled down to a complicated game of patience, having first armed himself with a supply of coffee against the wiles of the drowsy god." Sounds like my mom's idea of a great night.
Amundsen hiking through the mountains: "I named this one after my hero Nansen, I named these after my companions on this expedition, this one is named after my good buddy DON PEDRO CHRISTOPHERSEN." Apparently there were two Norwegian brothers, Wilhelm and Peter, who both lived in Buenos Aires and supported the expedition; Wilhelm was a diplomat, Peter was a businessman who used the Spanish version of his name. This shouldn't be so funny, but...I just love all the Norwegian guys and then here comes DON PEDRO.
Amundsen on passing Shackleton's farthest south: "No other moment of the whole trip affected me like this. The tears forced their way to my eyes; by no effort of will could I keep them back. It was the flag yonder that conquered me and my will....We did not pass that spot without according our highest tribute of admiration to the man, who--together with his gallant companions--had planted his country's flag so infinitely nearer to the goal than any of his predecessors. Sir Ernest Shackleton's name will always be written in the annals of Antarctic exploration in letters of fire. Pluck and grit can work wonders, and I know of no better example of this than what that man has accomplished."
As they get close to the Pole, the dogs seem to be smelling something in that direction, and the men are like "there's no way the British expedition could have gotten here first...unless? Why are the dogs being weird. :/"
Celebrating by engraving "South Pole" on their pipes and other supplies. "When I produced my pipe and was about to mark it, I received an unexpected gift: Wisting offered me tobacco for the rest of the journey. He had some cakes of plug in his kit-bag, which he would prefer to see me smoke. Can anyone grasp what such an offer meant at such a spot, made to a man who, to tell the truth, is very fond of a smoke after meals? There are not many who can understand it fully." I'm gonna be honest, I cannot understand it fully, but I'm happy for you.
Douglas Mawson survives trekking a month on his own after both his companions die. In the middle of this he falls into a crevasse, keeps trying and failing to get out. "In the moment that elapsed before the rope ceased to descend, delaying the issue, a great regret swept through my mind, namely; that after having stinted myself so assiduously in order to save food, I should pass on now to eternity without the satisfaction of what remained--to such an extent does food take possession of one under such circumstances."
Shackleton's leadership skills on Elephant Island, after the cook gets sick: "Then I took out to replace the cook one of the men who had expressed a desire to lie down and die. The task of keeping the galley fire alight was both difficult and strenuous, and it took his thoughts away from the chances of immediate dissolution. In fact, I found him a little gravely concerned over the drying of a naturally not over-clean pair of socks which were hung up in close proximity to our evening milk. Occupation had brought his thoughts back to the ordinary cares of life." See also: the second half of the book of Jonah.
Richard Byrd: "hey it's 'last entry' anniversary, time to celebrate by reading Scott's diaries :D" in case you thought millennials invented terrible holidays. He's self-deprecating about his Morse Code and cooking skills, noodle incidents are almost literally Noodle Incidents when he's involved.
Vivian Fuchs has the unprepossessing nickname "Bunny." He also gives a shoutout to Hannes from South Africa, who embroidered his own sledge flag "with a springbok on one side, and a protea on the other." Now I know about South African flora and fauna :D