Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica

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Environmental historian Tom Griffiths reflects on the history of human experiences in Antarctica, taking the reader on a journey of discovery, exploration, and adventure in an unforgettable land.

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Library Journal (09/15/2007)
Antarctica, that great, unknown continent, has attracted explorers and scientists for centuries. Like many before him, Griffiths (history, Australian National Univ., Canberra) was drawn to this harsh but beautiful landscape. Believing that to understand the experiences of explorers and the history of Antarctica one must experience its mighty winds, cold, danger, and silence, the author, in 2002, joined a ship delivering scientists and supplies to Casey Station. This book is part diary of that voyage and part history of that most southerly land. Griffiths pleasantly meanders from topic to topic discussing humanitys fascination with the South Pole, from the early explorers to the race to be first to the pole, the multinational land grab, and the continents designation as the natural laboratory of science and research. This enjoyable and highly readable book would be an excellent addition to any natural history, polar history, or adventure travel collection. [See also the review of "The Ends of the Earth", p. 81.Ed.]Betty Galbraith, Washington State Univ. Science & Engineering Lib., Pullman Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly (12/31/2007)
As the climate changes and polar ice caps shrink dramatically, author and environmental historian Griffiths ("Forests of Ash") provides essential background for understanding how we reached the current state of meltdown. Griffiths weaves journal entries from his own voyage to Australia's Antarctic stations in 20022003 with extended chapters on the history of human exploration in Antarctica. His description and analysis of the polar experience is clear and comprehensive: he knows the rough seas, the storms, the desolation, the strange lack of green, the physical disruption of body rhythms and the psychological distress, and makes vivid use of that knowledge in his accounts of past explorers (Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, Douglas Mawson, Richard Byrd and many others). As an Australian, Griffiths looks European colonial misdeeds head-on, but he also analyzes forthrightly the Australian government's claims on and behavior toward Antarctica. A jumpy style can be difficult to follow at first, but soon Griffiths's many angles of pursuitthe effects of solitude, the experience of overwintering, the struggle for survival, the biology and behavior of penguins, etc.come together in an engrossing and highly satisfying pastiche. A fine and informative ecological adventure, Griffiths' history is worth reading and rereading". (Oct.)" Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

ISBN: 0674026330 | EAN: 9780674026339
Publisher: Harvard University Press  | Publication Date: September, 2007

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