The Heart of the Antarctic is E. H. Shackleton's account of the British Antarctic Expedition he led in 1907-1909. Shackleton never made it to the South Pole. That would be left for Roald Amundsen a few years later, but he came within 97 miles, the farthest south anyone had traveled at the time. Part of their group did succeed in reaching the South Magnetic Pole. Offered is a first edition of this two-volume set published in 1909. $1,700.

Here is another two-volume set: Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, by General and President Ulysses S. Grant. This book was completed in the last days of Grant's life, as, suffering from cancer, he rushed to complete his autobiography so that there would be income for his family after he died. Writing about the surrender of Lee, which finally brought America's Civil War to an end, Grant recounts that he felt no joy: "I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse." $1,300.

The Manhattan Rare Book Company can be found online at www.manhattanrarebooks.com or reached by phone at 212-326-8907.