What does it take to be an explorer? Certainly it takes courage, determination, physical stamina and a problem solving adaptability to any environment. Part of that "problem solving" is the acquisition of funding and support from science foundations, wealthy investors, Royalty and sometimes from the explorer's own pocket. By the time an explorer gets started he's usually so deep in debt that he might never get out of it, even if the expedition is a success. An important part of any expedition is, of course, the explorer's team, men that can work and live together under trying conditions, for months, or even years, on end. But even with the best of teams there's going to be conflict, so success or failure often depends on who is in command and how that commander handles those conflicts. In "Flaws in the Ice" historian David Day takes close look at Douglas Mawson's 1911 Australasian Antarctic Expedition to explore and map Adelie Land and the surrounding coastline. Day's research is extensive, utilizing expedition diaries, journals and log books as well as personal communications and news releases of the day. But even with all these sources, the day to day actions and motivations of the various individuals involved are are often left to the researcher's imagination. Even so, I found Day's interpretations to be both plausible and possible, although a few of his conclusions were rather questionable. At the turn of the 20th Century interest in Antarctica was at an all time high with many high-profile expeditions seeking the ultimate prize: the South Pole. Men like Robert Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen would risk everything for fame and fortune at the bottom of the world. In 1908 Mawson was a member of Shackleton's expedition to explore and map the frozen continent, intent on finding the elusive South Magnetic Pole and, of course, the South Pole itself. While neither goal was realized, Mawson gained much needed, and valuable, experience working as a team member in subzero conditions. With this background out of the way the book moves into the main narrative, the AAEx, with Mawson in command. Each member of the team kept a daily log and those entries shows their morale fluctuating back and forth from high to low, with Mawson being the brunt of most complaints. Apparently there were some poor command decisions made in the outfitting and timing of various sledge-trips and the setting up of supply depots, the closest one was named "Aladdin's Cave". All this infighting was probably normal in this kind of expedition as bad weather kept them confined to the base-camp hut for days on end. When, at last, it was time for the final sledge-trips, Mawson assigned three men to each group with himself and two men manning one two-sledge group. What follows is a harrowing look at what an expedition of this nature is like for the explorers, with each team fighting the elements, illness and food shortages. Most famously, Mawson would face life threatening problems and, in the end, find himself alone on the ice. Day's writing is fast paced and graphic in detail, his descriptions of blizzards, scurvy and the brutal cold made me wonder why men would face this kind of life. I did have one negative issue: for me anything that happened after the explorers boarded the relief ship for the voyage home was somewhat anticlimactic and tended to drag on in spots but, on the whole, this was a fast, enjoyable read. Both the digital and print editions include maps, list of expedition members and a gallery of archival photos that bring the text to life. Look for Frank Hurley's stunning images: a dark and moody shot of their ship the Aurora; men battling the wind and, for scale, two men at the base of a huge ice barrier. This book is one that should not to be missed. I had no technical or formatting problems with this Kindle edition.Last Ranger