Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica

Extraordinary. Made me laugh and cry at once. Deadpan British humour and intriguing detail coexists along soaringly touching, even mystical, reverie. There is nothing sentimental about Wheeler's love for the Antarctic. This is a real journey told with incredible candour. It's a privilege to have read it.One of Wheeler's cleverest adjectives to describe detailed, jewel-like writing that she admires is "lapidary." She uses it twice in the book to describe the Antarctic writing of other authors. But HER OWN writing is as jewel-like and detailed in the extreme. What an extraordinary book. It's not like a book at all - it's like a world.

There have been many, many travel books written, but so few actually remain with you, actually transform you. Terra Incognita is one of those books.No matter how Sara Wheeler got there, her 7-month trip through Antarctica unfolds beautifully between the eccentric and fun "beakers" she meets along the way and the intense splendor of the continent. Because of her mode of travel (spending a few days or weeks here or there, until her final 2-month stay in a shack during her last trip to see the coming of summer), Wheeler most likely got to see more of Antarctica--it's various bases, landscapes, and people--than just about anyone alive. Added to this is a great amount of Antarctic exploration history, which makes the book seem more than just a seven-month journey . . . more like 100 years of attempts to figure out this hypnotic and enigmatic continent; reading it encourages you to do your own further research on this subject. While I do agree that there could have been more maps included, just have a globe or atlas nearby if you want to follow her travels more closely!In my opinion, the downfall of most travel books is that the author focuses too much on him- or herself to the exclusion of everything else. Wheeler does include her thoughts, feelings--how she sees herself changing with each experience. These are never intrusive, however. The only other book that comes to mind with this sort of balance is Matthiesen's The Snow Leopard--another fantastic travel read. This book is quiet but never empty and never dull. Read it and be transported.

Sometimes I think I must have been an Eskimo in a prior life, because I love books about the frozen north. When I came upon this book, subtitled "Travels in Antarctica", by Sara Wheeler, my imagination was immediately captured as I realized this was a whole new territory for me to explore in my reading experience.Ms. Wheeler is a young British travel writer who spent 7 months in Antarctica in 1995 as a writer-in-residence with the U.S. National Science Foundation. What a great gig!A lot of research went into the writing of this book. And a lot of love. She mixes all the historical details of the early explorations of Shackleton, Amundson and Scott with her own modern and female perspective of the places she goes, the people she meets and the emotional effect all this has on her as she explores the coldest, windiest and driest continent in the world.As Antarctic explorations go, hers has a certain degree of comfort. She is helicoptered around to various bases, and even though there are periods of time that she spends in a tent or igloo or prefab shelter, she has radio contact with the base and always has a supply of food. But this, of course, is what it is like to travel to Antarctica these days, and she is fortunate indeed to have the experience of going there. This is not a tourist destination after all. And virtually everybody there is a scientist of some sort.She describes her experiences well and I loved he sense of humor, especially when describing the differences between the bases manned by different nationalities. The Italians have the best food. The Brits are completely male, bonded in their background of English private schools and given to bawdy toilet humor and practical jokes. And the American staff is approximately 25% female.The book was a slow read, especially the parts which go into detail about the fascinating history, but I didn't mind. Also, the pace of the book tended to remain the same throughout as she traveled from base to base making her observations. The bases might have been isolated, but even in 1995, she was able to get e-mail there.The concluding chapters were the most interesting. Perhaps it is because by then the reader has absorbed all the history and first impressions. During these last chapters, Ms. Wheeler spends several months with an American woman artist in a prefabricated cabin out on the ice. The artist paints. The writer writes. They develop a deep friendship as they prepare meals and grapple with the environment amidst the startling beauty of their surroundings, watching the long polar nights welcome the sun.I was sorry to see the book end because during the time I was reading it, I was transported to a very real part of the world that I will probably never have the opportunity to visit myself. So for all my fellow armchair travelers, I definitely recommend this book.

I think what drew me to this book was the idea that someone could actualy go to Antarctica. It had always been such a fantasy place in my mind. Sara Wheeler makes it real, but doesn't take away the magic. It is exciting to experience her sense of energy and adventure to explore the land. Also, her inclusions of history are made interesting by her personal connection and sympathy for the heroic, and often unfortunate, trials of those brave men.

This is a wonderfully woven tale of travel to Antarctica in the past and present. It's not just Scott and Shackleton, but Seismic Man (a scientist there today), told in an engaging style. Nor is it just about travel to a physical place (albeit the most extreme on earth). Wheeler also describes the inner journey that travelers to Antarctica inevitably make. Antarctica is now on my destination list. But regardless of whether I ever make it there, after reading Terra Incognita, I think I understand the lure of the ice. The maps are good as is the ending recipe for the Antarctic version of Bread-and-Butter Pudding. My only regret is that she didn't include an appendix with the chronology of early Antarctic explorations. Terra Incognita is even better than Travels in a Thin Country, Wheeler's earlier account of travel in Chile.