An Unsung Hero is an unforgettable story of triumph over unparalleled hardship and deprivation.

Tom Crean was the farmer’s son from Kerry who sailed on three major expeditions to the unknown Antarctic over a century ago. He served with both Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton, spent longer on the ice than either and outlived them both. But Tom Crean returned to Ireland and never spoke about his exploits, taking his incredible story to the grave – until the publication of An Unsung Hero, which unearthed his story and saw him rightfully placed amongst the annals of the great explorers.

'Michael Smith has written a splendid biography.'
The Nautical Magazine

'The epic struggles, heroics and the unbelievable hardships of the voyages are wonderfully told.'
The Irish Times

'Wonderful Kiplingesque yarn about a great Irishman who didn't have to die to become a hero.'
Irish Independent

Food Network star Chef Michael Smith has been cooking professionally for over twenty years. An honours graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, Chef Michael's contagious love of food has earned him friends and admirers worldwide. His early career was spent in restaurants from London to South America, but in 1992 Chef Michael returned to Canada and joined the kitchen at Prince Edward Island's The Inn at Bay Fortune. Soon Chef Michael's focus on regional cooking and local ingredients had earned the restaurant a reputation as one of the top places to eat in Canada. Six years later, Chef Michael invited television cameras into the inn's country kitchen for his first hit television show, The Inn Chef, which premiered on the Life Network. Its popularity helped to launch Food Network Canada. After opening his own restaurant in Halifax, Chef Michael returned to Food Network Canada in 2001 in the show Chef at Large. It was followed by Chef at Home in 2004, which gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Chef Michael's home kitchen and the way he cooks for family and friends. This show became wildly popular almost immediately and still remains the highest rated Canadian show on Food Network Canada. Chef Michael is the author of three previous Whitecap cookbooks. Open Kitchen: A Chef's Day at The Inn At Bay Fortune, published in 1998, won the bronze medal at Cuisine Canada's Cookbook Award. Chef Michael followed its success with The Inn Chef and Chef at Home: Cooking with and Without a Recipe,which has sold over 30,000 copies.

Michael Smith's profile page

Gerry O’Brien has written three other books in the Bubba Begonia series, all published by the Acorn Press. He has also written two prize-winning picture books. As well, Gerry is the lyricist on three songs co-written with Tom Szczesniak and Ray Parker for Nelvana Productions in Toronto. One is featured in a Franklin The Turtle movie, another is the theme song for the children’s TV series called “Corduroy Bear” and the third is sung by Funshine Bear in the Care Bear movie Care Bears and The Journey to Joke A Lot. Gerry also has a poem entitled “Tis The Season” in Canadian poems for Canadian Kids [edited by Jen Hamilton] published by Subway Books, Vancouver. Formerly of the Argyle Shore in Prince Edward Island, he now makes his home in Kitchener, Ontario, where he lives with his wife, Loretta. Visit him at his website gerryobrien.ca or email him at gerryob@gmail.com.

Gerry O'Brien's profile page