Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the World's Most Mysterious Continent

There have been many books about Antarctica in the past, but all have focused on only one aspect of the continent - its science, its wildlife, the heroic age of exploration, personal experiences or the sheer awesome beauty of the landscape, for example - but none has managed to capture whole story, till now. Gabrielle Walker, author, consultant to New Scientist and regular broadcaster with the BBC has written a book unlike any that has ever been written about the continent. Antarctica weaves all the significant threads into an intricate tapestry, made up of science, natural history, poetry, epic history, what it feels like to be there and why it draws so many different kinds of people back there again and again. It is only when all the parts come together that the underlying truths of the continent emerge. Antarctica is the most alien place on Earth, the only part of our planet where humans could never survive unaided. It is truly like walking on another planet. And yet, in its silence, its agelessness and its mysteries lie the secrets of our past, and of our future.

About the Author :
Gabrielle Walker has a PhD in natural sciences from Cambridge University and has taught at both Cambridge and Princeton universities. She is Chief Scientist of strategic advisory firm Xyntéo, a consultant to New Scientist, contributes frequently to BBC radio and writes for many newspapers and magazines. In 2009 and 2011 respectively she presented the Planet Earth Under Threat series and Thin Air for BBC Radio 4, and in 2011 she presented The Secret Life of Ice for BBC4. She lives in London.

Review :
Brimful of science, heroism, tragedy and laugh-out-loud humour, Antarctica is an exciting an informative read. This is a fascinating insight into one of the most inhospitable places on Earth and its implications for the world's future ... The informative and touching account of the expanse's beauty leaves the reader desperate to visit the area, but also desperately sad for its future. Gabrielle Walker's book comprehensively brings us up to date on the continent that is so much more than ice and seasonal penguins ... Many people will approach this book with images from David Attenborough's Frozen Planet stamped on their minds. Can it add to the live footage we've seen? Emphatically yes. This is not just a highly accessible ency­clopedia of Antarctic science. It interlaces researchers' stories with natural history, tales of the 'heroic age' of exploration and pas­sages that viscerally describe the cold, isola­tion and beauty of the environment. The early Antarctic expeditions are thoroughly covered in this enthralling book. But, then again, so is every other aspect of a place that continues to haunt the human imagination ... Perhaps best of all, Walker gives us a fantastically vivid sense of what it's like to be in Antarctica.