Product Description

The dazzling landscape central to this multifaceted tale of adventure and aspiration is the white Antarctic vastness known as the Ice. The story told is of an expedition to the South Pole, led by a young, ardent American woman, Morgan Lamont - an expedition inspired and haunted by the tragic journey, eighty years before, of the British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. For Morgan, Scott's life, his dream, his death and the very concept of Antarctic navigation are obsessive emblems of the search for integrity in a morally precarious age. Freed by her mother's quixotic and frightening sacrifice and the generosity of a hitherto estranged grandfather, she sets out to fulfill her own dream - to "vindicate" Scott by recreating his historic polar expedition. At once extravagant and austere, pulsing with colour and detail against the stark Antarctic ice, this is a novel as singular as the continent it reveals. It is a work whose authenticity, storytelling force and metaphorical richness - immersing us in the world of Antarctic exploration - illumine both the meaning of the century now ending and the power of the human spirit to navigate the new and the unknown.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #959827 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 798 pages

Review
'A vast and beautifully written book reads like a wonderful Victorian novel, weaving historical and contemporary dramas with rich sub-plots and vivid descriptions of the harsh landscape' Vogue 'In the dazzling landscape of the highest, driest, coldest place on earth, the detail and descriptions of the ice and the expedition she undertakes on the Scott trail are brilliant An excellent read' Choice 'A brilliant storyteller, Arthur spins this epic tale of adventure, passion, endurance and courage which has a grip that's impossible to resist' Woman & Home 'A classic heroic quest absolutely fresh and engrossing. Reading the book becomes a kind of quest itself, after which the world will never again look the same' San Francisco Chronicle

Choice Magazine
‘The detail and descriptions of the ice and the expedition she undertakes are brilliant ... An excellent read’

San Francisco Chronicle
‘A classic heroic quest ... absolutely fresh and engrossing’

Customer Reviews

An absolutely fabulous read
The story of Morgan Lamont and her obsession with and journey to Antarctica left me breathless. I read it almost non-stop.

The characters were well-developed, and I was enthralled with the mini-biography of Robert Scott.

I have a whole shelf of books about the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, thanks to Elizabeth Arthur's book.

You must read it.

Totally engrossing
Just browsing the bookstore shelves I picked up this book. I had no previous interest in antartica and had never heard of the author. After reading about 10 pages I knew I had to buy this book. Elizabeth Arthur is a wonderful writer. Morgan, is almost like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, making friends along the way, who will help her realize her lifelong dream. I throughly enjoyed this book and I am now going to read everything else by this wonderful author.

opened a new world of interest in "worst place on earth"
It has now been several years since I read this remarkable book. Every now and again a book reaches out to you from its place in the store. Each time you wander your favorite bookstore, your eyes and hands go to that certain book, and if you are lucky, you give in to an inexplicable urge to buy and read that magical volume. Antarctic Navigation was such a book for me. I could not put the book down from the moment I began to read it, and it has opened a new world to me. Arthur's compelling story, her wonderful characters, and her beautiful voice are unforgettable. I look forward to revisiting the book. But beyond that, I discovered a near mystical attraction to the Antarctic and have continued reading what I can about that mysterious place. Maybe its the busy, urban life that I lead that leaves me with a longing to experience, even vicariously, the grand solitude of the Antarctic, but whatever the explanation, I expect the interest to be lifelong.