Antarctic fiction and non-fiction - reviews

Perhaps we could give each other ideas for reading by posting notes/reviews on what we read. I'm planning to have an Antarctic category for next year's category Challenge (this year's was the 101010 Challenge - 10 books in 10 topics in 2010), so I plan to have a few reviews to post.

Mawson: A Life by Philip Ayres ***½ 8/4/10

Sir Douglas Mawson (1882-1958) was the first of the great Australian Antarctic explorers. A geologist and professor by trade, he alternated trips to Antarctica with surveying New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) and writing a major work on its geology, locating deposits of minerals with radioactive properties, and proving and dating Australia's glacial history. Through his connections with geologist Sir Edgeworth David, Mawson expanded his interest in glaciation by making the acquaintance of Ernest Shackleton and joining his 1908-09 Antarctic voyage as physicist. He was subsequently invited to join Captain Robert Scott's (ill-fated) South Pole sledging group, but instead he approached Shackleton for help raising funds for an expedition of his own. This Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1913), the trip for which he is most well-known and was knighted, is described below. Between 1929 and 1931 Mawson led two other voyages, known collectively as The British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE), and he was involved with Australian and Antarctic exploration policy until shortly before his death.

In Dec 1911, Mawson and his team set out for Antarctica and proceeded to set up base camp at Commonwealth Bay and do preliminary meteorological and geological studies. It was unknown at the time that this part of Australia was one of the windiest spots on earth. In November 1912, with spring coming on, the team split into several groups, planning to meet back at camp on January 15th for rendezvous with the ship. Mawson and his two companions, Xavier Mertz and Lieutenant Belgrave Ninnis, set out with dogs and sledges to explore inland along the coast. On December 14th, 315 miles from camp, Ninnis, the main sledge, and the best dogs disappeared into a crevasse. On the sledge were the tent and most of the food and spare clothing. Unable to see, hear, or reach Ninnis, Mawson and Mertz turned back to base, with 10 days of rations, six weak dogs, and a second sledge. They ate the dogs to replace the lost food supply, but they were able to travel only a few miles a day as Mertz sickened and, on January 7th, died. Alone, with few supplies and still a hundred miles to travel through blizzards and ice fields, Mawson fought on, despite frostbite, sloughing skin, and a fall down a crevasse from which only his sledge harness gave him a chance to climb out during the next few hours. He arrived back at base camp on February 8th, only to find that the ship had departed that morning. The captain had, however, left 6 men to stay for the winter and hopefully find Mawson, Mertz and Ninnis, and they nursed him back to health while waiting for spring and a ride back to Australia in December 1913.

Mawson's extraordinary journey has been described in several books, two of which he wrote himself, with photos by the legendary Antarctic photographer Frank Hurley, who was in the larger party. It is a nail-biting tale, even knowing the end. Mawson's life as a whole, however, is much less interesting, so the biographer had a choice: use Mawson's life as a frame for the 1911-1913 expedition, or give a measured, even look at the life as a whole. Unfortunately, Ayres choice the latter approach, and large sections of the book are very dull. The author had access to the massive Mawson archives of research, notes, diaries, and correspondence, and he seems to have had trouble glossing over the minutiae, such as guest lists and side interests. On the other hand, he does attempt to unsentimentally judge Mawson's contributions to Australian science and his relationships with other greats of the period. Apparently Mawson could be unfair and hold a grudge just like regular folk, and he held himself somewhat aloof from others on his expeditions.

This biography will be of interest primarily to Mawson fans (myself included) who want to know everything about him. General readers will do better with Home of the Blizzard or Mawson's Will to read about this man's extraordinary response to the tragedy which befell his team.

Just finished Home of the Blizzard last week. Liked it a lot.

Of course Arctic and Antarctic Exploration is one of my favorite subjects. Along with NASA or Space Exploration, and then mountaineering, or exploration in general.

I think I was born a century too late. All the good spots have already been explored.

Bill Masom

·3 I think I was born a century too late. All the good spots have already been explored.

Hmm.. I'm not so sure, Bill! There are plenty of tropical (and even temperate and polar) areas that are still virtually or absolutely unexplored and a huge number of sites that very far from being exhaustively documented. In fact, it's now that the majority of work is crying out to be done. OK, I admit that taking horses to the poles, getting your ship crushed in pack ice, scaling South Georgia in your hob-nails and martyrdom through foolhardiness is a bit passé, but there's still a role for the Victorian naturalist yet!

The White Continent: The Story of Antarctica by Thomas R. Henry **** 12/9/10

Published in 1950, this is an overview of Antarctic history, exploration, geology, flora and fauna. The author was a journalist who accompanied a large U.S. Navy fleet commanded by Admirals Byrd and Cruzen in their Antarctic "High Jump" expedition of 1946-47. Although unsourced otherwise, the book quotes from and refers throughout to past accounts by explorers and to observations made by the author and others on the High Jump mission.

Henry's information is sometimes inaccurate (for instance, he claims that fur seals are extinct, which even in 1950 was known not to be true), but his descriptions of human interactions with animals encountered on the expedition are evocative and sure to encourage further reading. So are his depictions of visual and weather phenomena and ice coloring. The chapters on geology are a bit slow-going, but these are more than made up for in the remaining chapters on mid-century air exploration, early assumptions about the far south (it was warmer because it was further south, and was therefore a tropical paradise; the earth is hollow and an opening into the center would be found in Antarctica); and, most intriguingly, Henry's thoughts on how Antarctica might be of use to the rest of the world, as
- a food freezer in case of famine
- a health resort (the air is pure)
- fertile land (after melting the ice with plutonium bombs)

So, well-written, entertaining and informative, but not to be taken too seriously without checking more recent sources. Definitely enjoyable for the enthusiast of all things Antarctica, though.

The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Northern Future, Laurence C. Smith

Smith, a UCLA geographer, has written an informative work on the present and near future prospects of countries above the 45th Parallel. Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Greenland (Denmark), US (Alaska). The Northern Rim Countries or NORCs. He addresses demographics, natural resources, geography, geopolitics, indigenous rights, globalization, and climate change. It is a resource rich area especially when it comes to water.

The futuristic speculation stays in the pragmatic, plausible, extrapolative range and stays away from the razzle-dazzle type of prognosticating. Indigenous rights may end up with some areas developing their resources in a way that their larger countries are at odds with. Smith has spent time in these areas and not just studied them from afar. Many Polar works are about history and various expeditions that have explored the region. This is a focus on current events in the Arctic region and possible scenarios that might arise there during the next four decades. It's written in a non-academic style that manages to cover a huge amount of information in a very readable manner.

ETA: Doh! I looked at the Group name but not the thread title. Sorry 'bout that.

>6 VisibleGhost: Hi Ghost! I probably should have had the thread cover both poles, but now I don't know of a way to change the title. (If you do, let me know.) Otherwise, perhaps we could have a second thread for the north.

Below the Convergence: Voyages Toward Antarctica 1699-1839 by Alan Gurney **** 3/28/12

A dense history of early voyages to the high south latitudes to determine if there was land and, if so, inhabitants and resources to be exploited. After a chapter on ancient and medieval propositions about what might be found, and chapters covering maritime reckoning, scurvy, the Antarctic convergence and the wildlife of the southern ocean, the author proceeds with vivid histories of trips by Halley, Cook, Bellingshausen, Weddell, Biscoe, Kemp and Belleny. There are also colorful but sad descriptions of the early-19th century discovery of massive seal colonies and their subsequent devastation over only a few years.

Anyone interested in the Antarctic should enjoy this. It fills a gap usually overlooked in favor of the famous explorers of the early-20th century and provides an intriguing look at what greatness there was in those who sailed into the void and made those later explorations possible. Personally, this book has led me to want to read about Halley and Cook, especially. What courage and vision (and maybe a bit of insanity) these men had.

The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard ***** 4/13/15

Magnificent, and easily deserving of its frequent praise as the best of adventure and exploration stories.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard (known as "Cherry") was 24 when he was invited to join Robert Scott's Terra Nova Antarctic expedition (1910-1912). The expedition, comprised of scientists and support staff, was formed to do extensive research and, as a bonus, and a major reason given in fund-raising efforts, to try to reach the South Pole, which had never been done. The first third of the book tells of the voyage to Antarctica in a dangerously unfit ship and the first summer in Antarctica, building a hut and sledging farther and farther into the Antarctic interior to lay depots of supplies for the Pole effort the following year. During this time the men built up their endurance, practiced sledging techniques, became familiar with each other's strengths, and adjusted to life in close quarters, endless bitter cold and storms, and life in 24-hour darkness. They also proceeded with their various scientific enterprises. The middle section, the actual Worst Journey, describes the winter sledging trip Cherry took with Birdie Bowers and Edward Wilson to an emperor penguin breeding ground to bring back embryos for study. The trip was done almost entirely in darkness in temperatures of -30 to -40F, and it almost killed the three of them. Nights were spent in frozen sleeping bags, the men shivering so hard their teeth cracked. Waking hours meant trying to travel a few more miles in frozen clothes. They just managed to make it back to their hut, weak and sick, and there is a famous photograph of them on their return after weeks in such conditions: (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Return_of_Wilson_Bowers_Cherry.jpg).

Wilson and Bowers, two of Cherry's best friends, survived that journey only to die the following summer after they were chosen to join Scott for the final push to the Pole. Much of the last section of Cherry's book is heart-breaking, relating the preparations for and much of Scott's run for the Pole, in which he was joined by Bowers, Wilson, Titus Oates, and Seaman Evans. Accompanied on the trip out by three other sledging parties who laid supply depots along the way, the five left behind the last of the other parties about 180 miles from the Pole and did get there, only to find that the Norwegians had beaten them. It was still an extraordinary achievement, but one they would not live to enjoy. On the return trip, Evans died from scurvy and a head injury; Titus became gangrenous and famously left the tent during a blizzard with the words "I'm just going outside and may be some time", hoping his sacrifice would give the others a chance to survive until the next depot. But Scott, Wilson and Bowers became trapped in their tent by a blizzard which lasted for over a week, and they died in their sleeping bags, lying next to each other. They were only 11 miles from the next big depot and almost home. It's interesting and enlightening to read the descriptions of how the line of command was followed closely, with any other method of decision-making being untenable in such dangerous circumstances. Cherry made a last-ditch attempt to take supplies to One-Ton Depot (the depot which Scott's party died so close to), but with no idea of where they might be stuck in the 900-mile expanse between camp and the Pole, he was ordered to return, since winter was closing in. Cherry describes the anguish of the party waiting in camp and finally acknowledging that the Polar party had to be dead. This second winter found them depressed and guilt-ridden, wondering what they could have done to bring about a different ending. When they were finally able to set out on a sledging trip in the spring, planning to travel about 2/3 of the distance to the Pole (after which they would not be sure of the path Scott might have taken), they were appalled to be out for only a few days before finding the tent.

I spent months reading this because I kept being pulled away to read parts of Scott's diary, or Cherry's biography, or to watch documentaries or read up on various techniques used in the expedition. Reading the book on the Kindle was a major help for understanding both polar terms and old British phrases, although the free version had no maps or illustrations, so I kept my tablet and several other books handy. Many of the people described in the book were major players in their fields, and Cherry was able to use diaries, letters, photographs and artwork from both deceased and surviving members of the expedition. More than in any other book I've read about the Antarctic, this one gave me a profound appreciation for the experience of early Antarctic exploration and the suffering endured by these men for the sake of science. Cherry was devastated by the loss of his friends and damaged physically by his own trials. His deep emotional reaction to his experiences makes the people and landscape come alive for the reader. For anyone interested in human drama, exploration, high adventure, history, or the Antarctic, this is highly, highly recommended.