An Unsung Hero

Tom Crean was the adventurous farmer's son from Kerry who sailed on three major expeditions to the unknown Antarctic over a century ago. He was among the few men who served with both Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, spent longer on the ice than either and outlived them both.

But Tom Crean returned to Ireland and never spoke about his exploits, taking his incredible story to the grave – until the publication of An Unsung Hero, which unearthed his story and saw him rightfully placed amongst the annals of the great explorers.

This new, illustrated edition of the bestselling classic is a must for anyone with a taste for adventure.

'If one buys or reads only one polar book in one's lifetime, let that book be Michael Smith's An Unsung Hero.' Journal of The Shackleton School

'Remarkable … puts Tom Crean where he has long deserved to be – in the limelight amongst other great figures of the heroic age of Antarctic Exploration.' Jonathan Shackleton

'A wonderful Kiplingesque yarn about a great Irishman who didn't have to die to become a hero.' Irish Independent

'A riveting read.' Munster Express

'Tom Crean was a great man of immense strength and endurance and afraid of very little.' Sir Edmund Hillary

'A ripping yarn … the epic struggles, heroics and the unbelievable hardships of the voyages are wonderfully told.' The Irish Times