Antarctic-Jkt-Chosen_thumbBook synopsis: “On the southern-most tip of the Earth lies one of the world’s biggest and most hostile landmasses. From the waters of the Southern Ocean to the ice-shelves, glaciers, volcanoes and mountains, Antarctica is one of the most mysterious yet intriguing continents in existence. It is the windiest, driest and coldest place on Earth making it uninhabitable for humans; however, the snow, ice, water and rocks make it simply stunning. Did you know that if you throw boiling water into the air in Antarctica, it will instantly vaporize? Despite these unimaginably harsh conditions, this unique continent is home to a vast array of wildlife; Penguins, seals and whales are among the animals that brave this frozen planet. From the Ross ice shelf – the largest ice shelf of Antarctica, to Mount Erebus – currently the most active volcano on the continent and from Shackleton’s Hut to an abandoned whaling station on Desolation Island, Antarctica is a fascinating exploration of this area of sublime beauty. Presented in a landscape format and with captions explaining the story behind each entry, Antarctica is a stunning collection of images celebrating this hostile yet striking continent.”

My Review

I know the bare minimum about Antarctica, so couldn’t resist this book, as going by previous books I’ve reviewed for Amber Books I knew I’d discover a lot more about it.

As always there were amazing photos with short text to explain what you’re looking at, making it easy to read, but also not too heavy on detail so as to be boring. The book is split up into five chapters including an Introduction, East Antarctica, West Antarctica, Islands and Wildlife, which showed me straight away that I didn’t have a clue as to just how enormous Antarctica is!

I loved the wildlife photographs, especially the cute penguins, but it was the images of the icebergs that I found breathtaking! They were stunning and looked like massive ice sculptures, which I suppose they are, but fashioned by the weather.

I didn’t realise that they were so many research stations down there and that the land has been claimed by so many nations! There is a permanent Argentinian research base that’s inhabited all year round, and is home to fifty people, including children and school teachers. Imagine spending some of your school days down there, and all the stories you could tell? Also the most southerly operational post office on the planet is at Base A, Port Lockroy, a former research station, and now a tourist site for the summer cruise ships that visit, as well a colony of gentoo penguins.

Did you know that there are volcanoes in Antarctica? One of them is Mount Erebus and it regularly produces gas and steam. It was climbed by Ernest Shackleton’s team in 1908 and has a lava lake in it’s crater. Amazing! Also did you know that it was the Halley VI Research Station that discovered the hole in the ozone layer in 1985?  Sadly I didn’t realise that Antarctica is one of the areas in the world that is warming up the fastest, which off course is having a horrendous effect on wildlife and rising sea levels. It made for sober reading at times.

As you can see I’ve discovered so much about Antarctica, and highly recommend this if you’re interested in the area or you enjoy armchair travel!

Thanks so much to Amber Books and NetGalley for my digital copy.

Book 17/20