Michael Smith (born 1946) is a British author and journalist specialising in the history of polar exploration.
Early life
Michael Smith was born in 1946 and raised in London.
Career
Smith began writing about Antarctic and Arctic exploration after a successful career as an award-winning journalist in London. He was twice named Industrial Journalist of the Year (1987 and 1992). He is a Life Member of the
National Union of Journalists
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...
.
From 1978–1989, Smith worked at ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' as an industrial editor, political correspondent and transport editor. From 1990–91 he worked at ''The Standard'' as a city editor. From 1992–95 he worked at ''The Observer'' (1992–95) as industrial editor and business editor.
Michael Smith's first book, ''An Unsung Hero - Tom Crean'' was a notable success when first published in 2000 and became the No 1 best-selling non-fiction book in Ireland. The biography of
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to:
*Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor
*Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer
*Tom Crean (basketball)
Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
was responsible for raising awareness of the role played by Irishmen in the history of Polar exploration. A subsequent adaptation of the book for children (Tom Crean - Iceman) led to the story of Tom Crean being included on the national curriculum in Irish schools. Michael Smith has also written biographies of Captain
Lawrence Oates
Lawrence Edward Grace "Titus" Oates (17 March 188017 March 1912) was a British army officer, and later an Antarctic explorer, who died from hypothermia ,
Sir James Wordie and
Francis Crozier
Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier (; 17 October 1796 – disappeared 26 April 1848) was an Irish officer of the Royal Navy and polar explorer who participated in six expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. In 1843, he became a Fellow of the ...
. He also chronicled the role of lesser known Irish explorers, including
Edward Bransfield
Edward Bransfield ( – 31 October 1852) was a Royal Navy officer who served as a master on several ships, after being impressed into service in Ireland at the age of 18. He is noted for his participation in several explorations of parts of ...
,
Patrick Keohane
Patrick Keohane (2 June 1879 – 31 August 1950) was an Irish member of Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expedition of 1910–1913, the Terra Nova expedition, ''Terra Nova'' expedition.
Biography
Patrick Keohane was born in Courtmac ...
,
Robert Forde
Robert Forde (29 August 1875 – 13 March 1959) was an Antarctic explorer and member of the Terra Nova Expedition under Captain Robert Falcon Scott from 1910–1912.
Early life
Robert Forde was born in rural parish of Moviddy near Bandon, C ...
and
Tim and Mortimer McCarthy. Michael Smith's biography of Sir Ernest Shackleton was published in October 2014. Michael Smith has appeared in a number of television factual documentaries. He also wrote and presented a series about Irish explorers for RTE Radio. Michael Smith has lectured extensively. Venues include: Athy Heritage Museum, Athy; Seamus Ennis Cultural Centre, Naul; National Maritime Museum, Cornwall; National Museum of Ireland, Dublin; Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Pitlochry; Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London; Queen's University, Belfast; Royal Geographical Society, London; Stables Theatre, Hastings; University College, Cork; White-Oates Museum, Selborne.
Books
* ''An Unsung Hero – Tom Crean'', (The Collins Press; Hodder Headline; The Mountaineers Press), 2000
* ''I Am Just Going Outside – Captain Oates – Antarctic Tragedy'' (The Collins Press; Spellmount) 2002
[ Review]
* ''Polar Crusader – A Life of Sir James Wordie'' (Birlinn) 2004
* ''Tom Crean – An Illustrated Life'' (The Collins Press) 2006
* ''Captain Francis Crozier - Last Man Standing?'' (The Collins Press) 2006
* ''Great Endeavour – Ireland's Antarctic Explorers'' (The Collins Press) 2008
* ''Shackleton - By Endurance We Conquer'' (The Collins Press and Oneworld Publications)2014
Children's books
* ''Tom Crean – Iceman'' (The Collins Press) 2003
* ''Shackleton – The Boss'' (The Collins Press) 2004
Contributory author
* ''Shackleton – The Antarctic and Endurance'' (Dulwich College) 2001
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael
Living people
1946 births
British writers