An evocative collection of writings about Antarctica including travelogues, fiction and cultural history from the likes of Ernest Shackleton, Robert Scott, Sara Wheeler and H. P. Lovecraft.
A fascinating and scholarly exploration of the concept of heroism through the reputation of Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott and how their reputations changed over the years.
An enthralling but equally horrifying account of Douglas Mawson's 1913 geological expedition to Antarctica. Mawson was the sole survivor; he watched one of his companions die and one descend into madness, and was eventually forced to eat his own dogs. The remarkable survival story of a modest, professional and resolute man.
A tenderly written natural and social history of the region; David G. Campbell gives as much attention to the plants, rocks and glaciers as he does to the explorers, whalers and scientists.
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.
Acclaimed author Jenny Diski describes her journey to Antarctica. A humorous and evocative travelogue, which is also a cool appraisal of her dysfunctional childhood, a history of the region and a meditation on memory amid a landscape of ice and snow.
Part travelogue describing Gretel Ehrlich's exhaustive travels in this desolate landscape and part cultural, natural and sociological history. Beautifully-written by a woman passionate about this land of ice and light.
Tracing old trade routes and folklore, Francis fuses the history of this enigmatic region with the contemporary challenges it faces. A thoughtful and enthralling work of travel writing.
Jill Fredston has rowed over 20,000 miles of the Arctic and these are her astonishing stories. From meetings with humpback whales, to battles with terrifying Arctic storms and grizzly polar bears, you have to read it to believe it.
A broad-sweeping history of expeditions to Antarctica, from Edmund Halley's in 1699 to John Balleny's in 1839. Entertaining tales of scurvy, unchartered territories and frozen conditions, although at times the narrative becomes a little confused.
A definitive biography of this Antarctic explorer, which presents a balanced view of this brave but arrogant man and out of the story of his life, has created a thrilling Victorian saga of adventure, jealousies and dangerous ambition. The text is accompanied by contemporary photographs.
A detailed biography of the Norwegian, who first crossed Greenland, made an attempt to reach the North Pole and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Roland Huntford is the biographer of a number of Polar explorers and he brings a satisfying depth to this book by accessing masses of previously unseen material.
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.'
Making the incredible journey from the West African jungles of Togoland to the desolate, icy wasteland of Greenland, Tete-Michel Kpomassie describes his time among the tribal hunters of the Inuit. Kpomassie explorers the unexpected similarities between these people and his own, combining the fresh voice of an astonished traveller with the clear, concise description of an impeccable writer.
A poetic masterpiece and a quiet meditation on the beauty of the Arctic. Barry Lopez describes the bright silent landscape, the animals from the polar bear to the musk oxen, the people and the magnificent northern lights. Highly recommended.
As Britain went to war in 1914, Ernest Shackleton set off on the HMS Endurance to conquer the South Pole. The hopes and optimism of the crew plummeted however, when they became trapped in the ice and began a desperate fight for survival against the harshest conditions on earth. A captivating and astonishing personal account by the leader of the expedition.
A balanced and evocative biography of Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the youngest member of Scott's expedition team and one of the only survivors. Cherry was among the search party to find Scott's frozen body and his guilt at having survived would drive him to write 'The Worst Journey in the World' and later to despair and deep depression.
Sara Wheeler recounts her two year long travels around the Arctic Circle while narrating the brutal history of the place, meeting its inhabitants and exploring its threatened future. Wise, elegant and utterly fascinating.
Sara Wheeler ‘s remarkable writing displays a fondness and curiosity for the poetics of daily life. In this immensely satisfying collection of her shorter writings, Wheeler roams from pole to pole, from Cuba and Kerala, learning to belly-dance, wing-walk and cruise the QE2.
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.
For centuries, explorers, scientists and merchants dreamed of locating an ocean route that would take them through the frozen, labyrinthine wilderness above North America to the wealth of the Far East. From Frobisher’s first voyage in 1576 to the era of global warming, this captivating history weaves together chilling tales of delusion and heroism, obsession and courage.
A first-hand account of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 expedition to the South Pole aboard the aptly named HMS Endurance. A tough, no-nonsense description of a fearsome fight for survival.