In light of media attention on the upcoming New Zealand expedition to retrieve Ernest Shackleton’s century-old Scotch whiskey trapped under the Antarctic ice, it seems only fitting to also honor the legendary adventurer for his starring role in a new book.
In The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible, John Geiger tackles the mystery of the third man, an unseen companion who emerges to help people on the verge of death overcome dire circumstances.
At the core of the third man factor is Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-1916. Abandoning ship after 10 months on the ice, he left most of his crew behind on Elephant Island and traveled around Cape Horn, heading towards a British whaling station more than 600 miles away on South Georgia. Though initially reluctant to share their experiences publicly, Shackleton and two crew members eventually reported that they felt an unknown presence guiding them across South Georgia in the final days of their march.
The apparition impressed Shackleton as being not of this world, a manifestation of some greater power, writes Geiger. Immortalized in T.S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land, the visitor is remembered not as a fourth in addition to Shackleton, Commander Frank Worsley and second officer Tom Crean but oddly, as the third man.
Is the third man a benevolent apparition? A guardian angel? Or a delusion that can be rationally explained away with scientific analysis of the brain? From historic climbs to shipwrecks to the collapse of the south tower of the World Trade Center, Geiger attempts to tease out the answer as he recounts first-hand testimonies and proposes several physiological and psychological theories.
The phantom companion often appears in EUEs, or extreme and unusual environments, that pose danger or cause discomfort. This includes situations that depend on advanced technology (space, deep ocean); require special equipment and techniques (Arctic trips, mountains, deserts); or are transformed by disaster (earthquake, shipwreck, war, terrorist attack.)
Observing that it is a curious fact that explorers are driven into rigidly monotonous environments in an effort to escape from monotony, Geiger proposes that in some cases the fatigue and boredom from these isolated adventures can also rouse the third man. In all cases, the additional, unexplained friend offers the advice, encouragement and reassurance that ultimately lead to survival.
Whether you file the marvel into the category of ghost story, hallucination from physical exertion, spiritual guidance, or a medical condition due to low blood glucose or high-altitude cerebral edema, the shared occurrence is undeniable. While The Third Man Factor doesn’t provide conclusive evidence pointing to the origin of the third man, Geiger does effectively weave together dozens of gripping adventure stories with the common thread of a doppelganger who has connected humans in varying extreme situations, around the globe and throughout history.
Reviewed by Tara Kusumoto
Excerpt from The Waste Land (1922)
T.S. Eliot (1888 1965)
Who is the third who walks always beside you?
When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you.
