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The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica

The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica

by StephenJ.Pyne (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2003

    $3.45

  • Used

    Paperback 2004

    $3.45
Synopsis

Stephen Pyne's overwhelming fascination with Antarctica is the compelling force behind this major book on this stark and largely unknown continent. It combines a geophysical examination of the ice with an inspirational survey of how one of the most alien landscapes of our planet has shaped and affected man's life on earth throughout the centuries. The sheer immensity of the ice sheet is staggering. Its weight is sufficient to deform the globe. Interleaved with each scientific examination are historical surveys dealing with man's assimilation of Antarctica. Pyne reveals how Cook's voyages to Antarctica not only affected the history of science, but inspired such works as Moby Dick and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. An all-encompassing guide to the continent which remains the ultimate symbol of the natural world.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 428
 Edition: illustrated edition
 Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 13 Mar 2003
ISBN 10: 1842126741
ISBN 13: 9781842126745
Book Overview: Set to ride the huge interest in Polar exploration generated by Endurance Both a natural and a cultural history of the Polar region and its exploration

Media Reviews
We have had a very good response to the book as can be seen from these really fantastic reviews: 'For nearly 200 years, explorers, scientists and first-rank writers have been attempting to come to terms with Antarctica through language. Stephen Pyne's magnificent book, The Ice, must be numbered among the finest of these attempts ... Pyne writes with breathtaking versatility and range of knowledge about the other aspects of Antarctica: its science, its exploration, the art and literature it has inspired, and its geopolitics. Each section is written in a unique hybrid of science, history, nature writing and meditation. One of the finest achievements of this fine book is that it makes scientific language sing, turning it into something approaching incantation ... Pyne's description of how icebergs crack of the Shelf ... is a lustrous, magical and elegaic piece of writing.' Robert Macfarlane, THE SPECTATOR (5/4/03) 'Stephen J Pyne has brought his considerable talents to bear on the environmental history of Antarctica and produced a wonderful book packed with the brilliance of the world's least-known region ... it is written with such conviction that it is hard to resist its icy grip' Anthony Sattin, THE SUNDAY TIMES(6/4/03) 'Pyne is a more than able science writer, and he has somehow managed to synthesise a vast mass of material into a form that is compellingly readable... The Ice is brilliantly original, thrillingly suggestive and endlesslybeguiling... this new edition is a smart piece of publishing.' Sara Wheeler,THE DAILY TELEGRAPH (22/3/03) 'THE ICE is a fascinating study ofthe world's least-known continent... With the possible exception of Francis Spufford's I MAY BE SOME TIME, no book gives a more comprehensive picutre of this extraordinary continent.' Fergus Fleming LITERARY REVIEW (July 2003) 'This genre-busting work is more Symphonia Antarctica than study, a scientific prose-poem of true sublimity. Considering not only the astonishing facts and figures of Antarctica itself but the ways in which it has haunted the imagination, this is a book to surprise, enlighten, awe and stir the soul.' Michael Kerrigan, THE SCOTSMAN (22/3/03) * * * * * 'Pyne's background as a historian gives him a truly novel perspective ... THE ICE is well worth the effort for conoisseurs ofthe white continent' THE NEW SCIENTIST (5/403) '...this is a book that givesthe icy continent a soul.' Kieran Falconer, THE TIMES (29 March - 4 April 03) 'THE ICE is an accessible read for anyone with an interest in the white continent. One of the most impressing things that comes across in the book is the extreme geography of Antarctica itself which is beautifully described so that the reader can almost imagine themselves stpping out across the icy landscape.' GLOBAL ADVENTURE (April 03) 'In his account of his journey to the centre of the Antarctic ice mass, Pyne describes the history, science and geopolitics of the continent. The core is an endless, empty region. All in all, Pyne's book is a significant attempt to study and understand the most inhospitable
Author Bio
Stephen Pyne is an associate professor of history at Arizona State University-West. He spent three months in Antarctica as a recipient of the Antarctic Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is also an Arizona fireman.