One hundred years ago, during the reign of King George V, Britain sent two great expeditions, that of Robert Falcon Scott in 1910, and four years later, that of Ernest Shackleton, into the great unknown. The rest is stuff of legend. Here in one handsome book are not only hundreds of haunting photographs by Herbert George Ponting and Frank Hurley, drawn from the albums presented to the king, but also lively essays, maps, paintings and other ephemera from the Royal Collection. Astute commentary by modern polar David Hempleman-Adams gives depth and context for each image, some published here for the first time. The accompanying exhibition is at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh until April 2010.  (ANT298, $47.50)