Second edition paperback now available

The Quest Chronicle – Reviews and Testimonials

“Only once in an Antarctic moon does a book burst into the accepted narratives of the great exploration epics with sublime freshness. The Quest Chronicle is such a book! Revealing long ignored material from his family and other archives, Jan Chojecki’s masterfully researched investigation into the awkward silence surrounding his grandfather lays bare the agonising effort of Shackleton’s last expedition. A must read, for any polar pundit.”

Dr David Wilson, FZS, polar historian and author of Nimrod Illustrated: Pictures from Lieutenant Shackleton’s British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909.

“No Shackleton library is complete without The Quest Chronicle. It stands poles apart from the Shackleton we know, the explorer whose exploits on the Endurance expedition inspired an entire subgenre of leadership books. Shackleton is correctly celebrated today not only as history’s greatest polar explorer, but as perhaps the greatest explorer, period. Yet Endurance provides just one perspective on a highly complex man. The assiduously researched Quest Chroniclereveals another. Not a different Shackleton, as such, for the stoicism, the bravery, the loyalty and the humour are still there, but so too is an element of quixotism. Throughout his life of exploration, Shackleton navigated a perilous course between triumph and misfortune, glory and tragedy. With The Quest Chronicle, more than any other account, we see the risks that such a journey entailed.”

John Geiger, CEO Royal Canadian Geographical Society and internationally bestselling author. John’s seven books include Frozen In Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition and The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible.

“The Quest Chronicle is a vitally important book. Expertly researched and written by Jan Chojecki, the grandson of the gentleman who funded Shackleton’s Quest expedition, it fills a needed spot in Polar literature shattering the myths of this often under-appreciated expedition. Highly recommended to Polar enthusiasts around the world, and everyone seeking to understand Sir Ernest Shackleton.”

Brad Borkan, FRGS, co-author of When Your Life Depends on It: Extreme decision making lessons from the Antarctic, and Audacious Goals, Remarkable Results: How an explorer, an engineer and a statesman shaped our modern world.


We Are All Flourishing – Reviews and Testimonials

“Walter Coats emerges from this narrative as one of the key chroniclers of the First World War: his letters home read as freshly as they would have done when his family received them all those years ago.  Shorn of hysterics or heroics Coats simply recorded what his battalion was experiencing and in so doing he reveals how he and his fellow Glasgow Highlanders responded to the peculiar miseries and excitements of life on the Western Front. A more genuine and even-handed account would be difficult to find.”

Trevor Royle, author and broadcaster

“Among the best – one to keep on the shelf”

“The centenary of the Great War seems to have teased many private papers, memoirs and diaries out of the drawers and cupboards and out into the public domain. “We Are All Flourishing” is among the best of them.   I enjoyed the book and learned much from it.   One to keep on the shelf.”  

Chris Baker, The Long, Long Trail

“I read it over two days cover-to-cover.  Although not a novel, We Are All Flourishing reads just as well” 

This is an enlightening, easy and insightful read that is worth having for the pleasure of reading, but also as a valuable reference for the insights it gives. 

“We Are All Flourishing” is full of photographs that are directly related to the text, the very pictures the author sent or was sent in the letters that are published. The supporting footnotes are invaluable, adding to what is both of useful historical record, as well as a ‘good read’.

Jonathon Vernon, The Western Front Association

“an astounding and ultimately very moving story.”

Alexander McCall Smith, CBE, British author