Antarctica: A Biography - Hardcover

Day, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199670552 ISBN 13: 9780199670550

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2013

Synopsis

For centuries it was suspected that there must be an undiscovered continent in the southern hemisphere. But explorers failed to find one. On his second voyage to the Pacific, Captain Cook sailed further south than any of his rivals but still failed to sight land.

It was not until 1820 that the continent's frozen coast was finally sighted. Territorial rivalry intensified in the 1840s when British, American, and French expeditions sailed south to chart further portions of the continent that had come to be called Antarctica. For the nearly two centuries since, the race to claim exclusive possession of Antarctica has gripped the imagination of the world.

Antarctica: A Biography is the first ever major international history of this forbidding continent - from the eighteenth century voyages of discovery to the fierce rivalries of today, as governments, scientists, environmentalists, and oil companies compete for control. On one level it is the story of explorers battling the elements in the most hostile place on earth as they strive for personal triumph, commercial gain, and national glory. On a deeper level, it is the story of nations seeking to incorporate the Antarctic into their own national stories - and to claim its frozen wastes as their own.

About this title

Review:

David Day has written a substantial and substantive book with some 60 pages of scholarly notes, which are of interest to readers in their own right. ... it was a pleasure in large part to read a book by an author unburdened with the need to be concise. (Klaus Dodds, Polar Record)

Solid as a block of Antarctic ice itself, but no less readable for it, [Day's] latest book draws on five years of meticulous research. (The Economist)

A deeply researched exploration of the inhospitable continent spanning two centuries Touches on the dynamic personalities racing to claim the territory and the establishment of scientific bases. (Los Angeles Times)

[a] blockbuster of a book (Glyn Williams, BBC History Magazine)

Day's Antarctica is an impressive piece of work, an impartial and deeply researched account of the politics of polar annexation. (Richard Hamblyn, the Times Literary Supplement)

Day weaves a masterly tale of expeditions and their leaders in this hugely detailed and well-researched tome. There are some absolute gems with new insights for even the most avid readers on the subject. (Times Higher Education Supplement)

Antarctica is the first comprehensive history of the continent, spanning the centuries since Cook's voyage... Day has done a remarkable job of collating information from rich and varied international sources. thanks to Day, the intrigues and posturing that saturate the history of this distant land have now been exposed. (Nature)

In this meticulously researched book, the Australian historian David Day reminds us that there is considerably more to the story than say, the conquest of Roald Amundsen or the drama of Ernest Shackleton. (Michael Smith, Irish Times)

A clear and intriguing history of flag-raising (Literary Review)

This is an intoxicating book by Australia's greatest historian (Peter FitzSimons)

About the Author:

David Day was a research fellow at Clare College, Cambridge, and Professor of Australian History at University College Dublin before taking up a Senior Research Fellowship at La Trobe University in Melbourne, where he is currently an Honorary Associate in the History Program. His many books include best-selling histories of the Second World War, biographies of Australian prime ministers, and a study of Winston Churchill and Robert Menzies that has been made into a television documentary. His books have won or been short-listed for several literary prizes, with his history of Australia, Claiming a Continent, winning the prestigious non-fiction prize at the Adelaide Festival. His last book, Conquest: How Societies Overwhelm Others (2008, also published by Oxford University Press), appeared to acclaim in Australia, Britain, and the United States, and has been translated into several languages.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0199670552
• ISBN 13: 9780199670550
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 646