Books about Antarctica and sub-Antarctic Islands

Some brief notes on the books

The Greenpeace Book of Antarctica, J May, Dorling Kindersley (1988)

The best of the 'coffee table books' on Antarctica. Well illustrated and with a lot to say about the protection of the environment. A good book highly recommended.

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Wild Ice, Naveen, Monteath, de Roy, Jones, BCA (1990)

A lavishly illustrated book with many spectacular photos. Each chapter is a different author's perspective on the continent.

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Antarctica Beauty in the Extreme, J Chester, Friedman Group (1991)

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Antarctica, the Last Frontier, R Laws, Boxtree (1989)

A fairly informative book, with some good illustrations. But the writing style is not to our tastes.

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Antarctica, No Single Country No Single Sea, Bond and Siegfried, New Holland (1988)

This book is in a large format so the pictures are very good. The text contains all the usual information, but nothing outstanding.

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Destination Antarctica, R Swan, Scholastic Inc. (1988)

This slim paperback is well written in simple straightforward language suitable for all age groups. It has some good illustrations.

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The Worst Journey in the World, A Cherry-Garrard, Penguin (1922)

Apsley Cherry-Garrard's account of Scott's last expedition covers the whole affair from recruitment in England to the eventual return. The worst journey of the title is the trip he undertook with Edward Wilson and Birdie Bowers to visit an Emperor penguin colony at Cape Crozier in the middle of the Antarctic winter so they could collect eggs. The book is well worth reading - though it can be quite hard going in places. It provides a lot of insights into the ways of the English at the turn of the century. Even though Cherry-Garrard treats Scott as a great leader, some of the actions portrayed make him seem more of a pompous fool!

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Antarctica, a lonely planet travel survival kit , Jeff Rubin , Lonely Planet (1996)

This is the first and so far only guide book to Antarctica. The book is crammed full of the most useful information about all aspects of Antarctica, including descriptions of all the places it is possible to visit, details of all the tour operators in the area as well as a wealth of other information. Everyone who has any interest in visiting the Antarctic regions needs this book.

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Antarctica, Mike Lucas , New Holland (1996)

This is another of the large format coffee table Antarctica books that have appeared in large numbers over the last few years. The book combines good photography of scenery and wildlife with a lively text - recommended.

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A for Antarctica, M Hooper, Piccolo Books (1991)

This short book seems to be written for children, it is a series of articles of aspects of the Antarctic in alphabetical order. However, the idea doesn't work for us. The choice of subjects leaves something to be desired and there are too many errors to make this one worth buying.

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Antarctic Isle, Niall Rankin, Collins (1951)

This book gives a detailed description of South Georgia.  The text includes descriptions of the terrain as well as the local flora and fauna - especially the King Penguins. It is a detailed journal of one man's private expedition to South Georgia during the 1940s. A very readable book, but unfortunately much of the detail is now known to be factually incorrect.

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Campbell Island: A History, I S Kerr, A H & A W Reed (1976)

This book describes the long history of Campbell Island, covering all the many shipwrecks at the island as well as detailing the attempts to start up sheep farming on the island.

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Sub-Antarctic Campbell Island, Alfred Bailey and J H Sorensen, A H & A W Reed (1962)

This book is a report of an expedition to Campbell Island mounted by the Denver Museum of Natural History to collect samples for an exhibit on the flora and fauna of sub-Antarctic islands.  The expedition also made important observations of the distribution of birds and seals as well as the vegetation.  All this is reported in this well written and easy to read book.

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Preliminary Results of the Auckland Islands Expedition, 1972-1973, J C Yaldwyn (ed), Dept of Lands and Survey, Wellington, NZ (1975)

This is a detailed report on the distribution of flora and fauna on the Auckland Islands. The report formed the basis for the programme to rid the Islands of imported mammals and rodents.  The programme was completed by the early 1990's.

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Sub-Antarctic Sanctuary: Summertime on Macquarie Island, Mary Gillingham, Gollancz (1967)

An account, by a botanist, of a visit to Macquarie Island. There are chapters on most of the birds and flowers found on the island.

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Macquarie Island, J S Cumpston, ANARE Reports, Australia (1968)

The textbook on Macquarie Island - if you are going there you must read this book.  The book covers the history of the island from its discovery through its use by sealers and whalers, including the time when penguins were exploited for their oil right up to the modern day. There is also plenty of information about the flora and fauna on the island.

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