1912

September 24, 2012
Turney, an Australian paleoclimatologist (Ice, Mud and Blood), describes the early 20th-century exploratory expeditions to Antarctica. Using a variety of sources including previously unpublished documents, Turney reproduces the drama of the race to reach the South Pole as well as the subsequent efforts of the original pathfinders and new expeditions to unlock the secrets of the continent. The two best-known explorers, Roald Amundsen, the first to reach the pole, and Robert Scott the leader of the ill-fated British expedition, are covered in detail, with evidence-based speculation on why and how Scott’s expedition ended tragically. In addition, Turney describes in depth the 1911–1912 German expedition of Wilhem Filchner and the 1911–1913 Australian expedition of Douglas Mawson. Filchner’s expedition is rife with misadventure, feuds, dangers, and death. Nonetheless the expedition made a substantial contribution to scientific knowledge of the Antarctic Convergence and the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation system. Mawson’s expedition is another harrowing tale, visited by death, omnipresent in the ruthlessly frigid environment, and by madness as well. Yet Mawson’s team managed to map much of Antarctica’s geology, and to describe its otherworldly flora and fauna. Turney successfully conveys the heroism and flaws of the early explorers as they challenged the preternatural dangers of Antarctica. Illus., maps.

December 1, 2012

Robert Falcon Scott's fatal attempt to beat Roald Amundsen to the South Pole in 1912 is well known, but that's not the whole story. Geologist Turney (climate change, Univ. of New South Wales, Australia; Ice, Mud and Blood: Lessons from Climates Past) studies the Japanese, German, and Australian/New Zealand expeditions that also explored Antarctica in 1912, mapping parts of the continent and expanding scientific knowledge of it. Because of a late start and poor provisioning, the Japanese expedition explored King Edward VII Land instead of aiming for the South Pole and determined the eastern limit of the Great Ice Barrier, but the expedition's untranslated scientific findings remained unknown to many. The German expedition determined the southernmost extent of the Weddell Sea and Antarctica's northern limit and discovered a previously unknown ice shelf. Their ship was trapped in ice for eight months, after which the crew mutinied. The Australia/New Zealand expedition sailed into the unknown and established four land bases with sledging parties conducting scientific experiments. They set up a wireless station to communicate between their Antarctic base (a first) and Australia and discovered new Antarctic bays, mountains, and glaciers. VERDICT Every 1912 expedition, including Amundsen's and Scott's, helped define the unknown that was Antarctica. This fascinating and illuminating book is a must for Antarctic and exploration collections and for armchair explorers everywhere.--Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2012
An in-depth look at a year in which five different expeditions set out to explore Antarctica. As the last continent to be discovered and explored, the history of Antarctica is relatively short; the first recorded landfall on the continent wasn't until 1821. But in 1912, "at the height of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, the door to Antarctica was flung open." The continent would see no fewer than five different national exploration teams during that year, and geologist Turney (Earth Science/Univ. of New South Wales; Ice, Mud & Blood: Lessons from Climates Past, 2008, etc.) examines each expedition in turn, after outlining some of the earliest attempts at exploring Antarctica, including Ernest Shackleton's 1907-1909 expedition. Englishman Robert Scott and Norwegian Roald Amundsen are perhaps the best known of these explorers: Amundsen reached the South Pole first, in 1911, while Scott's party reached it five weeks later, then found themselves pinned down on their return by a blizzard, which ultimately killed the entire expedition. However, the most interesting parts of this book deal with the three less-famous expeditions, led by Nobu Shirase from Japan, Wilhelm Filchner of Germany and Douglas Mawson of Australia and New Zealand. Shirase's expedition and its findings faded into obscurity because official accounts went untranslated from their original Japanese for years. Filchner's ship spent eight months trapped in the sea ice, and although he returned with many oceanographic insights, his crew nearly mutinied, and Filchner returned to Germany as a failure. Mawson almost died when a lack of food forced him to eat his own sled dogs, leading to acute vitamin A poisoning from eating the dogs' livers. While each expedition could easily merit its own book, Turney adroitly manages to give a full portrait of each explorer and crew without giving any short shrift.

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