- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: The History Press Ltd; First edition edition (29 Sep 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0750940123
- ISBN-13: 978-0750940122
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.4 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 843,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"Born Adventurer" tells the story of Frank Bickerton (1889-1954), the British engineer on Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14. The expedition gave birth to what Sir Ranulph Fiennes has called 'one of the greatest accounts of polar survival in history' and surveyed for the first time the 2,000-mile stretch of coast around Cape Denison, which later became Adelie Land. The AAE was however only one episode in a rich and colourful career. Bickerton accompanied the ill-fated Aeneas Mackintosh on a treasure hunt to R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island, was involved with the early stages of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and tested 'wingless aeroplanes' in Norway. "Born Adventurer" follows him through his many experiences, from his flying career in the First World War to his time in California, mixing with the aristocracy of the Hollywood and sporting worlds, and from his safaris in Africa to his distinguished career as an editor and screenplay writer at Shepperton Studios. Stephen Haddelsey draws on unique access to family papers and Bickerton's journals and letters to give us a rich and full account of the story of this incredible adventurer and colourful man.
About the Author
Stephen Haddesley, a distant cousin of Bickerton's is a writer and freelance editor. His books include the acclaimed 'Charles Lever', 'The Last Victorian'. He lives in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've just recently completed reading 'Born Adventurer'. I was delighted when (shortly into the book) it became clear that the content is both engaging, well written and researched in intricate detail. The book describes many of Frank Bickerton's amazing adventures and unique life experiences. These include Antarctic expeditions, the trenches and RFC in WW1, life in colonial Africa, Newfoundland, California in the 20's, the heady London of the 30's and ending WW2 as a Wing Commander in the RAF.
Even though the world's a very different place from what it was in Frank Bickerton's day - this book won't fail to make the reader ponder further this man's unique life and experiences. Likely to be of interest to anyone who wishes to read further detailed accounts of some of the most notable events in the 20th Century - from one truly inspirational and unique individual's perspective.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've never known a book to be more aptly named. "Born Adventurer" recounts an amazing life of courage and daring. Frank Bickerton's life has been thoroughly researched by Stephen Haddelsey. After qalifying in engineering in the iron foundries of Bedford, he was tempted by his friend Aeneas Mackintosh to take part in a treasure hunt on Cocos island. From then on there was no chance of an "ordinary life". From treasure hunting to antarctic expedition with Douglas Mawson, he was hooked on adventure. After this came a period in the RAF during the first world war, first in the trenches and later as a fully qualified pilot. At the end of the war he needed to find more excitement, which he did in various different parts of the world including farming in East Africa and Newfoundland, safari in Africa and filming in Hollywood and England. Anyone who enjoys advnture by the fireside as I do would relish this book and I think it would make a wonderful film.
Format:Hardcover
Below are some excerpts from published reviews of "Born Adventurer":
"Some larger than life characters enter legend; others enter literature - the model for at least three fictional explorers, Frank Bickerton stuffed his life with event, and not only took part in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14, but was a treasure-hunter, served in both world wars... and worked in the British film industry in its heyday... It's the AAE that forms the focus of the first half of this biography, and Stephen Haddelsey is good on the minutiae of life in an Antarctic camp... one suspects undiscovered exploits still remain. What's here, however, represents enough for several ordinary lives". GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE, Feb 2006.
"Haddelsey makes a magnificent job of getting posthumous recognition for his ancestor's formidable list of achievements". NOTTINGHAMSHIRE TODAY, March 2006.
"A Fascinating character". ADVENTURE TRAVEL, Jan 2006.
"I have always suspected that inside every man there is a secret adventurer and inside every woman there is a desire to fall in love with one. And if ever there was a man who could ignite those inner passions, it is Frank Bickerton, whose spellbinding biography surely cries out to be made into a film... Born Adventurer takes the reader into the world of a real life adventurer who puts Hollywood action heroes into the shade". THE TAMWORTH JOURNAL, Feb 2006.
"Insightful and skilled". THE OXFORD TIMES, Jan 2006.
"A fascinating insight into a man who lived life to the full". SOUTH NOTTS ADVERTISER, Dec 2005.
"A true son of the heroic age". WESTERN MORNING NEWS, Nov 2005."
"The author has done a fine job of piecing together Bickerton's story and providing an insight into this engaging character". POLAR RECORD, 2006
"Some larger than life characters enter legend; others enter literature - the model for at least three fictional explorers, Frank Bickerton stuffed his life with event, and not only took part in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14, but was a treasure-hunter, served in both world wars... and worked in the British film industry in its heyday... It's the AAE that forms the focus of the first half of this biography, and Stephen Haddelsey is good on the minutiae of life in an Antarctic camp... one suspects undiscovered exploits still remain. What's here, however, represents enough for several ordinary lives". GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE, Feb 2006.
"Haddelsey makes a magnificent job of getting posthumous recognition for his ancestor's formidable list of achievements". NOTTINGHAMSHIRE TODAY, March 2006.
"A Fascinating character". ADVENTURE TRAVEL, Jan 2006.
"I have always suspected that inside every man there is a secret adventurer and inside every woman there is a desire to fall in love with one. And if ever there was a man who could ignite those inner passions, it is Frank Bickerton, whose spellbinding biography surely cries out to be made into a film... Born Adventurer takes the reader into the world of a real life adventurer who puts Hollywood action heroes into the shade". THE TAMWORTH JOURNAL, Feb 2006.
"Insightful and skilled". THE OXFORD TIMES, Jan 2006.
"A fascinating insight into a man who lived life to the full". SOUTH NOTTS ADVERTISER, Dec 2005.
"A true son of the heroic age". WESTERN MORNING NEWS, Nov 2005."
"The author has done a fine job of piecing together Bickerton's story and providing an insight into this engaging character". POLAR RECORD, 2006
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