Antarctica Books to Get You In The Mood

[Heartfelttraveler]

Does anyone have any suggestions for any good books that involve Antarctica or Antarctica travel?

 

When I booked my Antarctica Expedition with Hurtigruten (Fridtjof Nansen) they sent me a list of books that I might enjoy.  They are mostly informative books.  I enjoy fiction and non-fiction, and some biographies.

 

I just happened to recently read a fiction book that I really enjoyed which had a whole section that involves a cruise to Antarctica.

So for anyone interested, the book is "Where'd You Go Bernadette" by Maria Semple.

[kaisatsu]

I’ve read a handful of fiction, and most were kind of fun, but none of them were amazing.

 

Shiver by Nikki Gemmell - Of Antarctica-based fiction, I think this is the first I’d recommend. The novel about a young woman’s expedition to the white continent isn’t earth-shattering literature, but she does a good job evoking the excitement of setting off on such a trip.

 

Beneath the Dark Ice by Gregg Beck - (Action/Thriller) If you threw Who Goes There?  (The Thing), Indiana Jones, something by Dan Brown, and Captain America into a blender, this book might be what you'd end up with. Who Goes There? might be a better choice in this genre, but I’ve not read it yet (enjoyed the film).

 

Midnight Sun by M.J. Fredrick - (Romance/Action) A cheesy but amusing romance that seems to have been written by someone who can’t even find Antarctica on a map (not so much of an insult given how often it’s left off of world maps)!

 

There’s also Madeleine L’Engle’s Troubling a Star, but I haven’t read it since it first came out in the mid-90s. I couldn’t even tell you what it’s about anymore, but I’m curious to reread it now that I’ve been down there a few times.

 

More fiction on my to-read list:

Antarctic Navigation by Elizabeth Arthur

Antarctica by Kim Stanley Robinson

In Cold Pursuit by Sarah Andrews

Skating to Antarctica by Jenny Diski

An Antarctic Mystery by Jules Verne

 

And on the non-fiction side, Shackleton’s expedition is just as wild as the best adventure novels, and Endurance by Alfred Lansing gets lots of praise.

[bethtex]

I saw the  movie Where'd You Go Bernadette and really enjoyed it

definitely left me more excited about our trip 

I don't think it was actually filmed in antarctica, but that doesn't matter - still beautiful and inspiring.

[PerfectlyPerth]

Ive got half a book case of Antarctica based fiction and non fiction. 

 

Current fave that I just finished reading is a thriller set on a station. Very well researched and describing life on the station but also the overall feeling in the polar environment. While also being a great mystery. Out of the ice by Ann Turner.

 

My go to before every polar trip has been South by Ernest Shackleton. I first read it around age 10 in the 70s and it was the reason I spent decades wanting to go to Antarctica. Reading what the men went through - the stepping in their footprints at many of my landings - makes me appreciate the technological advances - even just in the fabrics we wear there. 

[rkacruiser]

The book about Shackleton Antarctica's exploration will be a good premier for the hazards and experiences in that area at that time.  It helped to make me appreciate even more my comfortable cruise during the time I was in Antarctic waters.

 

Prime Rib and Happy Hour was not available to Shackleton and his crew.  

 

[lois1112]

On 10/17/2019 at 4:41 PM, rkacruiser said:

The book about Shackleton Antarctica's exploration will be a good premier for the hazards and experiences in that area at that time.  It helped to make me appreciate even more my comfortable cruise during the time I was in Antarctic waters.

 

Prime Rib and Happy Hour was not available to Shackleton and his crew.  

 

I'm reading it (Endurance) right now in preparation for trip in January and no I don't think they had any luxuries....I will enjoy mine. Especially a warm cabin and soft bed at end of day

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, lois1112 said:

I'm reading it (Endurance) right now in preparation for trip in January and no I don't think they had any luxuries....I will enjoy mine. Especially a warm cabin and soft bed at end of day

 

Enjoy your cruise!  Antarctica is a truly unique travel experience.

[bethtex]

I board on Tuesday and am about half way through Endurance

I don't usually read non-fiction, but this book is well written and engaging.

I will definitely appreciate our luxury cruise more for having read this.

 

 

[lois1112]

On 12/7/2019 at 6:03 AM, bethtex said:

I board on Tuesday and am about half way through Endurance

I don't usually read non-fiction, but this book is well written and engaging.

I will definitely appreciate our luxury cruise more for having read this.

 

 

Have a great time, I board in 46 days....but whose counting

[Riversedge]

Mawsen's Will is another good book written by an explorer.  Really gives a good idea of what it was like.  

[PerfectlyPerth]

13 hours ago, Riversedge said:

Mawsen's Will is another good book written by an explorer.  Really gives a good idea of what it was like.  

 

Mawsen's [sic]

 

I am assuming you mean Sir Douglas Mawson - the great Australian explorer (who's grandchildren and great grandchildren I have met on many occasions at commemorative functions over the years).

 

Personally, for me, I prefer to read the books/diaries written by the actual explorers themselves - rather than authors who were not there to experience it. So with Mawson in particular - I prefer his book http://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/history/exploration-and-expeditions/australasian-antarctic-expedition/mawsons-book

And this one taken straight from his diaries https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/5874745-mawson-s-antarctic-diaries

Reading their own words can be quite chilling (literally).

 

I also have both of these written by his great grand daughter Emma http://www.douglasmawson.com.au/merchandise.html - An Antarctic Affair is really sweet - about Mawson and his wife.

 

 

[beezer248]

On 10/8/2019 at 5:05 PM, Heartfelttraveler said:

Does anyone have any suggestions for any good books that involve Antarctica or Antarctica travel?

 

When I booked my Antarctica Expedition with Hurtigruten (Fridtjof Nansen) they sent me a list of books that I might enjoy.  They are mostly informative books.  I enjoy fiction and non-fiction, and some biographies.

 

I just happened to recently read a fiction book that I really enjoyed which had a whole section that involves a cruise to Antarctica.

So for anyone interested, the book is "Where'd You Go Bernadette" by Maria Semple.

Antarctica by Gabrielle Walker. Very informative and interesting read,

[vakamalua]

For those that like H.P. Lovecraft:   the novella, "At the Mountains of Madness"

[Bookish Angel]

Sara Wheeler’s Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica

Caroline Alexander’s The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition

 

Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft’s No Horizon is so Far: Two Women and Their Historic Journey Across Antarctica

[Fairgarth]

On 3/22/2020 at 4:13 PM, Bookish Angel said:

Caroline Alexander’s The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition

 

 

I second that.  I was given it and have read it three times.  What a manager and leader of men!  They all got home.  I'm now of the opinion that Scott was an upper class twit who was out of his depth.