The first woman to be Writer in Residence at the US South Pole Station, Sara Wheeler spent six weeks living in Antarctica. Touching, funny and honest, while being respectably scholarly, Wheeler describes the lives of those living at the bottom of the world and the icy landscape that surrounds them.
An excellent field guide which includes a cultural and historical introduction to the region and a section on each of the main animal groups. Each animal is illustrated in colour by Dafila Scott (granddaughter of Scott of Antarctica) and is accompanied by lengthy notes and a map of its habitat.
A dramatic and engaging double biography of the two men engaged in the great race to the South Pole, Scott and Amundsen. Controversial because Huntford undermines Scott as a bungler in his attempt to rescue Amundsen from oblivion, the actual winner and far more professional explorer who he describes as 'the last great Viking.'
Encouraged by his neighbour George Bernard Shaw, one of the three survivors of Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, wrote this harrowing account. Beautifully-written, it combines stories of natural and scientific discovery with desperate human resilience. Highly recommended.