Antarctica: A Biography

A Biography

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, History
Cover of the book Antarctica: A Biography by David Day, Oxford University Press, USA
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David Day ISBN: 9780199323623
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Publication: January 11, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: David Day
ISBN: 9780199323623
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication: January 11, 2013
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Since the first sailing ships spied the Antarctic coastline in 1820, the frozen continent has captured the world's imagination. David Day's brilliant biography of Antarctica describes in fascinating detail every aspect of this vast land's history--two centuries of exploration, scientific investigation, and contentious geopolitics. Drawing from archives from around the world, Day provides a sweeping, large-scale history of Antarctica. Focusing on the dynamic personalities drawn to this unconquered land, the book offers an engaging collective biography of explorers and scientists battling the elements in the most hostile place on earth. We see intrepid sea captains picking their way past icebergs and pushing to the edge of the shifting pack ice, sanguinary sealers and whalers drawn south to exploit "the Penguin El Dorado," famed nineteenth-century explorers like Scott and Amundson in their highly publicized race to the South Pole, and aviators like Clarence Ellsworth and Richard Byrd, flying over great stretches of undiscovered land. Yet Antarctica is also the story of nations seeking to incorporate the Antarctic into their national narratives and to claim its frozen wastes as their own. As Day shows, in a place as remote as Antarctica, claiming land was not just about seeing a place for the first time, or raising a flag over it; it was about mapping and naming and, more generally, knowing its geographic and natural features. And ultimately, after a little-known decision by FDR to colonize Antarctica, claiming territory meant establishing full-time bases on the White Continent. The end of the Second World War would see one last scramble for polar territory, but the onset of the International Geophysical Year in 1957 would launch a cooperative effort to establish scientific bases across the continent. And with the Antarctic Treaty, science was in the ascendant, and cooperation rather than competition was the new watchword on the ice. Tracing history from the first sighting of land up to the present day, Antarctica is a fascinating exploration of this deeply alluring land and man's struggle to claim it.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Since the first sailing ships spied the Antarctic coastline in 1820, the frozen continent has captured the world's imagination. David Day's brilliant biography of Antarctica describes in fascinating detail every aspect of this vast land's history--two centuries of exploration, scientific investigation, and contentious geopolitics. Drawing from archives from around the world, Day provides a sweeping, large-scale history of Antarctica. Focusing on the dynamic personalities drawn to this unconquered land, the book offers an engaging collective biography of explorers and scientists battling the elements in the most hostile place on earth. We see intrepid sea captains picking their way past icebergs and pushing to the edge of the shifting pack ice, sanguinary sealers and whalers drawn south to exploit "the Penguin El Dorado," famed nineteenth-century explorers like Scott and Amundson in their highly publicized race to the South Pole, and aviators like Clarence Ellsworth and Richard Byrd, flying over great stretches of undiscovered land. Yet Antarctica is also the story of nations seeking to incorporate the Antarctic into their national narratives and to claim its frozen wastes as their own. As Day shows, in a place as remote as Antarctica, claiming land was not just about seeing a place for the first time, or raising a flag over it; it was about mapping and naming and, more generally, knowing its geographic and natural features. And ultimately, after a little-known decision by FDR to colonize Antarctica, claiming territory meant establishing full-time bases on the White Continent. The end of the Second World War would see one last scramble for polar territory, but the onset of the International Geophysical Year in 1957 would launch a cooperative effort to establish scientific bases across the continent. And with the Antarctic Treaty, science was in the ascendant, and cooperation rather than competition was the new watchword on the ice. Tracing history from the first sighting of land up to the present day, Antarctica is a fascinating exploration of this deeply alluring land and man's struggle to claim it.

More books from Oxford University Press, USA

Cover of the book Great Games, Local Rules:The New Great Power Contest in Central Asia by David Day
Cover of the book Americanos: Latin America's Struggle for Independence by David Day
Cover of the book The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture:The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament by David Day
Cover of the book Rebels Rising : Cities and the American Revolution by David Day
Cover of the book Death-Devoted Heart:Sex and the Sacred in Wagner's Tristan and Isolde by David Day
Cover of the book Six Degrees of Social Influence: Science, Application, and the Psychology of Robert Cialdini by David Day
Cover of the book The Great Depression And The New Deal: A Very Short Introduction by David Day
Cover of the book OK:The Improbable Story of America's Greatest Word by David Day
Cover of the book What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 by David Day
Cover of the book A Cubic Mile Of Oil : Realities And Options For Averting The Looming Global Energy Crisis by David Day
Cover of the book The 1979 Book Of Common Prayer by David Day
Cover of the book The Divine HoursTM, Pocket Edition by David Day
Cover of the book Why America Fights : Patriotism And War Propaganda From The Philippines To Iraq by David Day
Cover of the book The Alice Behind Wonderland by David Day
Cover of the book Empire Of Liberty : A History Of The Early Republic, 1789-1815 by David Day
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy