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dustysummers's review against another edition
4.0
And so we returned from the mysteries of the Antarctic, with all its white-bound secrets still unread, as if we had stood before ancient volumes that told of the past and the beginning of all things, and had not opened them to read. Now we go home to the world that is worn down with the feet of many people, to gnaw in our discontent the memory of what we could have done, but did not do. – W.G. Burn Murdoch
hulluliini's review against another edition
3.0
Too much introspection, not enough about Antarctica and the people there. I don't care that the author gave up alcohol or suffers from depression back in the UK.
readingrara's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.0
A long read about life on Antarctic bases.
osirismind's review against another edition
A very interesting read. I wish we would have gotten more descriptions of nature and knowledge about penguins. The history and memoir aspects the book mainly focused on were still very interesting tho.
solliereads's review against another edition
I think, possibly, if I didn't have to read this for class and I was reading for pleasure, I may have gotten a bit more stuck into it but it just didn't really grip me. I couldn't even tell you what's happened so far, and I'm halfway through the book.
myrto229's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book a lot, though the occasional scientific diversions sometimes distracted from the narrative.
The author is a great writer, with lots of colorful and descriptive tools in her arsenal. I enjoyed the fact that she wove historical anecdotes and scientific concepts into the book. The main scientific thrust of this book is the effect that climate change is having on Antarctica, which is awful but true. Still, I felt that was a bit too much of a focus.
But when she's writing about the people who live and work in Antarctica, and about the historical figures who have been a part of the story, the book is fascinating.
I really recommend it!
The author is a great writer, with lots of colorful and descriptive tools in her arsenal. I enjoyed the fact that she wove historical anecdotes and scientific concepts into the book. The main scientific thrust of this book is the effect that climate change is having on Antarctica, which is awful but true. Still, I felt that was a bit too much of a focus.
But when she's writing about the people who live and work in Antarctica, and about the historical figures who have been a part of the story, the book is fascinating.
I really recommend it!
clarereadstheworld's review against another edition
3.75
I decided to include Antarctica on my tour, because it's a place I don't know anything about, and so I thought it would be an interesting addition, and it was !
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Obviously, it's impossible to find a book written by someone who was born and grew up in Antarctica, because that just dosen't exist, I'm pretty sure it's impossible actually, so Sara Wheeler was the next best thing. She visited Antarctica in 1997, so the book is kind if old now, and I'm sure if you know a lot about Antarctica, you'll notice things which are no longer true, or have since changed, but I don't, so I didn't.
.
I did find the narrative style a little hard to get on board with. Especially in the first half Wheeler switches quite a lot between her own experience, and those of the early polar explores. Which these anecdotes were interesting they sometimes took away from the main plot of Wheelers experience. At times I wished she would stick to either her story, or recalling the early polar expeditions, but stop mixing the two up. It did get better as the book went on, and I got used to this narrative style and started to enjoy it.
.
I did find it fascinating to learn the details of life in Antarctica. I had no idea just how many people are there and how long they sometimes stay for. I loved learning the little details everyday life. It was completely different to anything I had ever imagined.
.
I did wonder how the climate emergency has impacted the Antarctica. This was not mentioned at all in Wheeler's book, as no one was really thinking about it in the 90's, but I suspect it would probably be the main focus of a book written on the topic.
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Overall I found this book quite slow going, and although it was interesting in some respects, there are only so many different ways to say 'it was really cold, there was a lot of snow'. Sill worth reading if you want to learn more about Antarctica.
.
Obviously, it's impossible to find a book written by someone who was born and grew up in Antarctica, because that just dosen't exist, I'm pretty sure it's impossible actually, so Sara Wheeler was the next best thing. She visited Antarctica in 1997, so the book is kind if old now, and I'm sure if you know a lot about Antarctica, you'll notice things which are no longer true, or have since changed, but I don't, so I didn't.
.
I did find the narrative style a little hard to get on board with. Especially in the first half Wheeler switches quite a lot between her own experience, and those of the early polar explores. Which these anecdotes were interesting they sometimes took away from the main plot of Wheelers experience. At times I wished she would stick to either her story, or recalling the early polar expeditions, but stop mixing the two up. It did get better as the book went on, and I got used to this narrative style and started to enjoy it.
.
I did find it fascinating to learn the details of life in Antarctica. I had no idea just how many people are there and how long they sometimes stay for. I loved learning the little details everyday life. It was completely different to anything I had ever imagined.
.
I did wonder how the climate emergency has impacted the Antarctica. This was not mentioned at all in Wheeler's book, as no one was really thinking about it in the 90's, but I suspect it would probably be the main focus of a book written on the topic.
.
Overall I found this book quite slow going, and although it was interesting in some respects, there are only so many different ways to say 'it was really cold, there was a lot of snow'. Sill worth reading if you want to learn more about Antarctica.