Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea During 1875-6 in H.M. Ships 'Alert ̓and 'Discovery ̓

"In the following narrative I have endeavoured to give a plain and faithful account of the voyage of H.M. ships 'Alert' and 'Discovery' to and from the Polar Sea; together with the results of the explorations which were made along its shores, and over the ice in the direction of the North Pole, by means of sledging. I have written for the information of future Arctic explorers; and also under a feeling of duty to the many, both in this country and abroad, whose earnest good wishes and kind sympathies were with us during our absence. As the expectations which were entertained regarding our reaching the North Pole were not realized, I must, in justice to the gallant men whom I commanded, express my firm conviction that it was due solely to the fact that the North Pole is Unattainable by the Smith Sound route. The illustrations in the present work are either reproductions of photographs taken by Mr. F. Mitchell, Paymaster of H.M:S. 'Discovry', and Mr. George White, Assistant Engineer of H.M.S. 'Alert', or from sketches taken on the spot by Dr. Edward Moss, M.D., Surgeon of H.M.S. 'Alert', Lieutenant G. Le C. Egerton, and Mr. Mitchell. The Natural History collections made by two naturalists who were attached to the Expedition were, on the recommendation of the President and Council of the Royal Society, submitted to specialists, who have most kingly and generously drown up full reports on the various groups. many of these papers have already been published in the proceedings of various learned societies. In the Appendices to this work, my friend Captain Feilden, the naturalist attached to the 'Alert', in addition to supplying original papers, has arranged in an abridged form these valuable contributions to Natural History ... "-- Preface of the book.