South Pole

Nature and Culture

Nonfiction, History
Cover of the book South Pole by Elizabeth Leane, Reaktion Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth Leane ISBN: 9781780236292
Publisher: Reaktion Books Publication: April 15, 2016
Imprint: Reaktion Books Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Leane
ISBN: 9781780236292
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Publication: April 15, 2016
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Language: English

As one of two points where the Earth’s axis meets its surface, the South Pole should be a precisely defined place. But as Elizabeth Leane shows in this book, conceptually it is a place of paradoxes. An invisible spot on a high, featureless ice plateau, the Pole has no obvious material value, yet it is a highly sought-after location, and reaching it on foot is one of the most extreme adventures an explorer can undertake. The Pole is, as Leane shows, a deeply imagined place, and a place of politics, where a series of national claims converge.  
           
Leane details the important challenges that the South Pole poses to humanity, asking what it can teach us about ourselves and our relationship with our planet. She examines its allure for explorers such as Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen, not to mention the myriad writers and artists who have attempted to capture its strange, inhospitable blankness. She considers the Pole’s advantages for climatologists and other scientists as well as the absurdities and banalities of human interaction with this place. Ranging from the present all the way back to the ancient Greeks, she offers a fascinating—and lavishly illustrated—story about one of the strangest and most important places on Earth.

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

As one of two points where the Earth’s axis meets its surface, the South Pole should be a precisely defined place. But as Elizabeth Leane shows in this book, conceptually it is a place of paradoxes. An invisible spot on a high, featureless ice plateau, the Pole has no obvious material value, yet it is a highly sought-after location, and reaching it on foot is one of the most extreme adventures an explorer can undertake. The Pole is, as Leane shows, a deeply imagined place, and a place of politics, where a series of national claims converge.  
           
Leane details the important challenges that the South Pole poses to humanity, asking what it can teach us about ourselves and our relationship with our planet. She examines its allure for explorers such as Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen, not to mention the myriad writers and artists who have attempted to capture its strange, inhospitable blankness. She considers the Pole’s advantages for climatologists and other scientists as well as the absurdities and banalities of human interaction with this place. Ranging from the present all the way back to the ancient Greeks, she offers a fascinating—and lavishly illustrated—story about one of the strangest and most important places on Earth.

More books from Reaktion Books

Cover of the book The Waterless Sea by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Here Comes the Sun by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Faith and Sword by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book London From Punk to Blair by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Countering Terrorism by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Animal by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Wood, Whiskey and Wine by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Susan Sontag by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book The Temple of Perfection by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Global Financial System 1750-2000 by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Lenin by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Inventing American Tradition by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Swan by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book A History of the Internet and the Digital Future by Elizabeth Leane
Cover of the book Liquid Crystals by Elizabeth Leane
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