Product Description

In the 1830s, the forbidding Antarctic region represented the ultimate mystery. The prospect of discovering a lucrative whaling ground made this as yet uncharted and unexploited region especially enticing. Three expediti ons to the pole were launched simultaneously by the United States, France, and Britain, each nation vying to be the first to venture farther south than any vessel had ever sailed before. these expeditions paved the way for the explorers, traders, and whalers of what was to become known as the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic exploration. "The Race to the White Continent" provides an account of their adventures.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1268423 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
The yacht designer Alan Gurney is the author of the "riveting read" (The Economist), Below the Convergence: Voyages Toward Antarctica, 1699-1839 (Norton). He lives on the Isle of Islay.

Customer Reviews

MORE A RAMBLE THAN A RACE
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The last few years has seen a spotlight put on Antarctica. We've had the success of all the recent Shackleton books, TV shows and IMAX films on the Frozen South. My own fascination in all matters Antarctican stems from a boyhood spent in Hobart Tasmania. It was from this port that many ships head south - to south of the Circle. I grew up with tales of Cook, Scott, and Mawson and their Antarctic adventures.

I bought Gurney's book on the strength of the title and the publisher's blurb. The author acknowledges in his "Introduction" it was the marketing and publicity department of his publisher, who rejected his suggestion and gave the book its "racy" title. The title is quite misleading.

We have to get through 100 pages of pre-amble before we get to the real subject of his book. Does detail on the circumnavigation of Australia by Matthew Flinders in 1802 belong here? This story is better covered elsewhere. The first crossing of Australia on foot by John Eyre is another strange addition particularly when coupled with a parenthetic (and absurd) observation that modern travellers face certain death in this hostile environment if they get off their train in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain.

However, we do get the benefit of Gurney's encyclopedic knowledge, in all matters maritime. We learn that sailors called the weevils in their biscuits, bargemen. We get familiar with all the arcane terminology from the age of sailing ships. His use of extracts from the 1867 "Sailor's Word-Book" at the head of each chapter is a neat touch.

The notes at the end of each chapter add very little that could not otherwise be included in the text. More bluntly, they look like off-cuts from the editor's desk. They give a pseudo-academic flavor, which is not warranted. Editing of the book is very sloppy, with many typos creeping through. Structurally the text contains frequent convolute passages and at times, repetitious detail. Particularly annoying is Gurney's tendency to refer to his characters' ages in many passages. Yet often we are not given the year in which he's talking about and it's impossible to work this out from the context. On page 206 we have "... the sixty-two-year-old Humboldt who stood like a colossus ..." No year is specified. This is very confusing. When dealing with historical subjects, dates are the key references for the reader trying to follow the author's story.

His emphasis on the farcical Wilkes' expedition would have been better downplayed with more detail on the efforts of Ross and D'Urville. At no times does the sense of a "Race" really come through. Examining the timing and context of the voyages, it was coincidence that the English, French and Americans were on government expeditions at the same time. No evidence is provided by Gurney that the 3 countries were in a race, as the title of the book boldly purports.

By most people's reckoning, the most exciting phase of Antarctic exploration would have to be the real race, the one to the South Pole that took place in the early years of the 20th Century. Gurney's book serves really only as a preliminary "backgrounder" for readers who wish to understand these later events. The most accessible and delightful encapsulation of Antarctic exploration is found in the 1940-1950's era "The Children's Encyclopedia" edited by Arthur Mee. It's worth digging out Volume 9 and reading "The South Pole Men."

Gurney's book would be a useful addition to the shelves of readers who like histories of scientific and naval exploration. However, many more authoritative and entertaining books on this subject are around.

As a footnote, the book's cover illustration shows Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship "Endurance" locked in the ice in 1914. His incredible story is not covered in this book, nor is credit given to the photographer of this well-known image, the famous Frank Hurley.