An Unsung Hero

Tom Crean – Antarctic Survivor

By: Michael Smith

Narrated by: Gerry O'Brien

Tom Crean was the farmer’s son from Kerry who sailed on three major expeditions to the unknown Antarctic over a century ago. He 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.

©2009 Michael Smith (P)2021 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"Michael Smith has written a splendid biography." (The Nautical Magazine)

"The epic struggles, heroics and the unbelievable hardships of the voyages are wonderfully told." (The Irish Times)

"Wonderful Kiplingesque yarn about a great Irishman who didn't have to die to become a hero." (Irish Independent)

Well told account of this shy hero

Tom Crean is a legendary Irish explorer to Antarctica. Unsung Hero does a good job of telling his story and helping the reader understand the political, environmental and cultural issues that impacted the attempts to explore Antarctica in the early 1900’s.

Incredibly Engrossing

It was excellent. I loved how much detail was shared and provided. Definitely a must read.

The fearless of a hero who truly was unsung and persevered under the mist challenging circumstances!

Liked the storyline, and it was very emotional. Breen was a superlative person who puts others interests above his own. He was a truly laudable person who never sought out fame nor capitalized on it. Hard not to admire an exemplary person who was a team player his whole life. There are multiple reasons to admire this man, He tried to do the right thing and was faithful to that mission. I feel fortunate to have learned about this man’s life, which took place a hundred years ago in a far away place.

One of Ireland’s and the world’s finest explorers.

A moving tale of the Incredible feats of human endurance and comradeship. One of the greatest tales of exploration ever told.

Tom Crean: Modern day Bear Grills

Wow... I loved the book Endurance, which is phenomenal in it's own way. This takes you to the beginning, of how it all started w. Robert F. Scott and the Golden age of Arctic Exploration. Highly recommend! Crean deserves glory... what a life he lived.

Riveting

I was captured from the very first. A compelling story with a focus not on Scott, Shackleton, or Amundsen, but on Irishman Tom Crean and his courageous contributions to the Discovery, Terra Nova, and Endurance Antarctic expeditions.

Great adventure story.

Great writing and great research on a truly unsung hero. I recommend this book to anyone that likes true adventure stories, which IMHO should be everyone. I rated the performance low because the reading of every measure in both imperial and metric measurements is just brutal to hard to listen to. Very distracting.

Magnificent Man, Unbelievable Adventures

The world needs more Tom Creans. A loyal friend and comrade, capable of seemingly superhuman feats while maintaining his humility and equanimity. This story is beautifully written and wonderfully narrated. I learned much that I did not know about the incredibly arduous trips made by the early adventurers to Antartica. Will I be visiting earth’s nether regions? Probably not in this lifetime. The next stop for me will be the South Pole Inn and surrounds in Kerry. Land Ho! Slainte!!!

Well read, compelling for Shackletonians

Liked the reading and this particular lens on such a lovely sounding man. Great life, great story, great audiobook.

Must listen for all polar exploration aficionados

Wonderful narrator and refreshingly different from most of the other books about Scott, Shackleton, and others like them. You will love getting to know Tom Crean better, I sure did. Thumbs way up.