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kpolly's review against another edition
4.0
I never thought working at Barnes and Noble for 5 years would be so similar to working for a government scientific research company in Antarctica. They even have a guy named Ted the Racist. At B&N we had a guy named Joe the Racist. Small world.
This is less about Antarctica than it is about bureaucracy, micromanagement and people going mad from small amounts of power. Very, very funny and wonderfully frustrating.
This is less about Antarctica than it is about bureaucracy, micromanagement and people going mad from small amounts of power. Very, very funny and wonderfully frustrating.
filawless's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
An interesting insight into what live is like living at the stations on Antarctica. It seems struggles with bureaucracy and bad management are amplified when you cannot leave the ice covered continent. I would have liked a bit more of an insight into what day to day life was like.
tanya_the_spack's review against another edition
4.0
While the writing is mediocre, this is a brilliant, maddening tale of bureaucracy gone crazy, of management incompetence and pettiness. Having endured lesser but recognizable actions from government contractors in a place not quite so remote, I find his experiences completely believable.
margaret_adams's review against another edition
I really regret that I didn't read this book sooner, before the author's unexpected death. I'd exchanged brief emails with him once, years ago, when he'd blasted my newspaper column on his website. He leveled some excellent criticisms at me that were very, very true and which took me several years to "hear." This book was full of the same brand of clear-sighted criticisms that had made me so uncomfortable when I'd crossed paths with him before. "Big Dead Place" is not the single story of contemporary Antarctica, but it is a story, one which yes, made me uncomfortable, but also made me laugh out loud, and was full of undeniable veracity. I think what struck me the most about reading this and comparing it to my own experiences of working in the USAP was how honest the author was willing to be with himself, how wholly unwilling he was to romanticize his own experiences, something I have a tendency to do with unconscious regularity. It's a good book, done well. I wish I could email him and thank him for it.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
4.0
Funny and really interesting. I've always wondered what it would be like to live on Antarctica, and now I know: full of bureaucratic bullshit, just like the Peace Corps.
lfagundes's review against another edition
3.0
i must, absolutely must, work on antarctica one of these days. i will not have lived a full life until i have accomplished this.
domesticat's review against another edition
2.0
4 stars for material, 1 star for horrendous editing. This book could have been wickedly sharp and focused, because the source material is fantastic, but the narrative was a circular, misspelled muddle.
missantarctica's review against another edition
5.0
I dream of going there and this is the greatest behind the scenes view ever. The station would be well served if the people he introduces us to would revolt and overthrow the place - the saddest thing in the world is that this little alien world is run by a corporation no different than the one that ruined lasagna for me by running the cafeteria in my college dorm.