Antarctica: Exploring the Extreme: 400 Years of Adventure - Softcover

Landis, Marilyn J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1556524803 ISBN 13: 9781556524806

Publisher: Chicago Review Press, 2003

Synopsis

"The danger and excitement of Antarctic exploration are unmatched in the annals of adventure travel. Antarctica: Exploring the Extreme surveys four centuries and 40 expeditions to Antarctica, recounting, often in the explorersÆ own words, the wonders and the catastrophes they encountered. Fabulous sights, hair-raising escapes, and macabre deaths from storms and scurvy attended Ferdinand MagellanÆs 1520 passage through the southern straits and Captain John BiscoeÆs 1830 Antarctic circumnavigation. Nineteenth-century sealing and whaling expeditions from around the world are chronicled, and Ernest Shackleton's, Roald Amundsen's, and Robert Scott's anguishing trials of body and spirit in their separate struggles to reach the South Pole early in the 20th century are detailed. A final section describes Antarctica today, detailing the wildlife and geology of a region that is drawing an increasing number of visitors who, like the adventurers before them, are fascinated by the isolation, beauty, and challenge of the continent. This replaces 1556524285."

About this title

About the Author:

Marilyn J. Landis was trained as a geologist and earth scientist specializing in Antarctica. She traveled to Antarctica seven times to research this book. She lives in Spokane, Washington.

From Library Journal:

Freelance writer and earth scientist Landis made several trips to Antarctica to research this historical survey of Antarctic exploration. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1, on general exploration, describes the voyages of the great explorers Ferdinand Magellan, Sir Francis Drake, James Cook, Capt. F.F. Bellinghausen, James Weddell, Dumont D'Urville, Charles Wilkes, Sir James Clark Ross, Robert F. Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and Richard Byrd. Part 2, on regional exploration, covers expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea, East Antarctica, and selected sub-Antarctic islands. Part 3, on historical geography and wildlife, chronicles the geological development of the continent and its wildlife. Landis has a knack for quickly characterizing historical figures, mentioning that Magellan "was a small, wiry, unassuming man with a severe limp" or that Drake was "permanently lamed" by a Spanish musket ball still in his leg from his exploits in Panama. There is some overlap of coverage, and names from Part 1 inevitably resurface in Part 2, but this well-written history is the best recent historical survey of Antarctica and a very good purchase for public and undergraduate collections. John Kenny, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chicago Review Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1556524803
• ISBN 13: 9781556524806
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416