Empire Antarctica
Ice, Silence & Emperor Penguins
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
* WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2013 *
*Shortlisted for the 2013 Costa Biography Prize*
* Shortlisted for the 2013 RSL Ondaatje Prize *
* Shortlisted for Banff Adventure Travel Prize *
* Shortlisted for Saltire Book of the Year Award *
Gavin Francis fulfilled a lifetime's ambition when he spent fourteen months as the base-camp doctor at Halley, a profoundly isolated British research station on the Caird Coast of Antarctica. So remote, it is said to be easier to evacuate a casualty from the International Space Station than it is to bring someone out of Halley in winter.
Antarctica offered a year of unparalleled silence and solitude, with few distractions and very little human history, but also a rare oppurtunity to live among emperor penguins, the only species truly at home in the Antarctic. Following the penguins throughout the year -- from a summer of perpetual sunshine to months of winter darkness -- Gavin Francis explores a world of great beauty conjured from the simplest elements, the hardship of living at 50°C below zero and the unexpected comfort that the penguin community bring.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this engrossing account of a doctor's 14 months at Halley, a British research station on the coast of Antarctica, what truly stands out is the book's lyrical prose. Francis (True North) forgoes a burgeoning medical career in Britain to live at Halley with a multidisciplinary crew of scientists to study among Empire penguins during a winter season of complete darkness, with temperatures as low as 55 degrees below zero Celsius cold enough to freeze boiling water in mid-air. While providing thoughtful observations on the life cycle and mating habits of the penguins, Francis also offers a history lesson about past Antarctic pioneers Ernest Shackleton, Apsley Cherry-Garrard, William Spears Bruce regaling the reader with the triumphs and failures of his predecessors. Despite struggling with the isolation and silence of Antarctic life, the author's buoyant optimism keeps the narrative moving; he includes anecdotes about celebrating Christmas, making Easter eggs, even participating in "extreme ironing." Through Francis's juxtaposition of literary allusions and poetic descriptions of the Antarctic sky, the vibrant rookery of penguins, and aurora australis, the reader gains new perspective on the frozen continent. Photos.
