Antarctica

Reading List

FIELD GUIDES

Antarctica, A Guide to the Wildlife

Tony Soper

Designed for the field, this compact handbook features all the species of birds, seals and whales the traveler is likely to encounter on an Antarctic voyage.

A Voyage to Antarctica, Wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula

Diego Punta Fernandez

A high quality, laminated fold-out card featuring the wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula as well as the Drake Passage, Cape Horn and Beagle Channel.

Antarctic Wildlife

James Lowen

Produced by a shipboard naturalist, this handy identification guide focuses on the Beagle Channel, Drake and Peninsula regions.

Penguins, The Ultimate Guide

Tui De Roy

Featuring more than 400 photographs, this is the traveler's ultimate guide to the world's 18 species of penguins. Includes scientific discussions on penguin conservation, profiles, facts and tips on where to see them in Antarctica.

MAPS

Antarctic Explorer Map

Ocean Explorer

A full-color map of the Antarctic Peninsula, including Tierra del Fuego, the Falklands and South Georgia, at a scale of 1:2,750,000. With a map of the Antarctic continent on the reverse.

Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea Map

British Antarctic Survey

One in a series that also includes the South Shetlands, the Gerlache and South Georgia, this excellent map shows the cruise from Ushuaia on one side, with a detail of the Peninsula on the other.

GUIDEBOOKS

The Oceanites Site Guide to the Antarctic Peninsula

Ron Naveen

The guide, which supports the Antarctic Site Inventory Project, covers 40 prime visitor sites in detail. It also includes some of the best photography we've seen.

Antarctica Cruising Guide

Peter Carey & Craig Franklin

This all-in-one parka-pocket guide includes concise introductory chapters on Antarctica, detailed information on popular visitor sites and a wildlife guide.

Lonely Planet Antarctica

Lonely Planet

Alexis Averbuck, author of the new edition of this compact and surprisingly handy guide, expands coverage of Ushuaia, the Falklands and South Georgia. With a wildlife guide and contributions from 26 Antarctic experts on the history, geology, wildlife and future of Antarctica.

NATURAL HISTORY

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

Lansing's gripping day-by-day story of Shackleton's legendary perseverance is essential reading for any Antarctic traveler.

Penguins of the World

Wayne Lynch

Lynch weaves delightful tales of penguins, their habitats and habits, with hundreds of glorious full-color photographs.

Antarctica, A Call to Action

Sebastian Copeland

Copeland's collection of striking photographs includes a three-page list of sensible suggestions to protect the planet.

Empire Antarctica: Ice, Silence and Emperor Penguins

Gavin Francis

Gavin Francis recounts his time as base doctor at Halley Research Station, the British Antarctic Survey base on the Caird Coast in the Weddell Sea.

Fraser's Penguins

Fen Montaigne

Montaigne turns a summer working with penguin biologist Bill Fraser at Palmer Station into a captivating tale of hard work, camaraderie and penguins, deftly capturing the allure and grandeur of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Penguin

Frans Lanting

Lanting loitered among the Magellanics, Rockhoppers and Gentoos of the Falklands, spent time with the King penguins of South Georgia and, famously, camped on the sea ice to follow the life cycle of the Emperor penguins and their young.

Southern Light, Images from Antarctica

David Neilson

Photographer David Neilson has turned his six journeys to the ice over the last 20 years, often with the Australian Antarctic Program (and sometimes lugging a 30-pound large format camera), into a coffee-table tribute to the continent and its wildlife. Includes 130 color and 100 rich black-and-white oversized photographs, gate-folds and double-page spreads that portray the drama and beauty of the Antarctic.

The Crystal Desert

David Campbell

A biologist with the heart of a poet, Campbell focuses on the fossils, glaciers and wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula in these vivid essays.

HISTORY & CULTURE

Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing

Lansing's gripping day-by-day story of Shackleton's legendary perseverance is essential reading for any Antarctic traveler. This 100th anniversary edition is outfitted with maps, an expanded selection of Frank Hurley's photographs and an introduction by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Melting Away, Images of the Arctic and Antarctic

Camille Seaman

In her masterful series of 75 portraits and essays, Camille Seaman shows how climate change has wreaked havoc on both the North and South Poles.

Penguins In The Wild

David Tipling

Renowned photographer David Tipling's celebration of the playful and sympathetic arctic bird features profiles of the world's 17 penguin species (you might recognize the King, Emperor and Rockhopper) plus 139 striking full-color photographs.

The Crossing of Antarctica

George Lowe

This collection of previously unpublished photographs captures everyday moments, sprawling landscapes and candid portraits from 1957 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, as well as the reflections of explorers and polar experts.

1912, The Year the World Discovered Antarctica

Chris Turney

Turney looks at the great leap forward in Antarctic science that was made 100 years ago with the expeditions of not just Scott and Amundsen but also those of Mawson, Filchner and Shirase. A brisk and engaging history of science and exploration in the Antarctic. An Australian scientist himself, Turney sees Mawson as the scientific hero of the age.

Chasing Shackleton

Tim Jarvis

In this unique memoir of adventure and discovery, based on the PBS documentary, veteran polar explorer Tim Jarvis retraces for the first time the epic 1914 expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton in his inspiring attempt to cross the Antarctic continent.

The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton and Antarctic Photography

David Hempleman-Adams, Emma Stuart, & Sophie Gordon

Here in one handsome book are hundreds of haunting photographs by Herbert George Ponting and Frank Hurley, drawn from the albums they created during the two most famous Antarctic explorations. The stunning images are accompanied by lively essays, maps, paintings and other ephemera from the Royal Collection.

The Last Place on Earth, Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole

Roland Huntford

Igniting huge controversy when it first appeared, Huntford's rousing dual biography contrasts Amundsen's well-planned campaign to achieve the Pole with Scott's ill-fated quest.

Alone in Antarctica, The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice

Felicity Aston

In this inspirational memoir, Felicity Aston describes her pioneering journey -- skiing across the whole of Antarctica -- while meditating on human vulnerability, struggle and the experience of solitude in the Information Age.

End of the Earth, Voyaging to Antarctica

Peter Matthiessen

In this fine book, the result of two voyages, Matthiessen captures the magic of polar landscapes and wildlife, along with the camaraderie of a ship-based polar expedition.

Lost Antarctica, Adventures in a Disappearing Land

James McClintock

A marine biologist who first traveled to the Kerguelen 30 years ago, James McClintock offers an intimate tour of the continent and his many voyages south, covering his field seasons at Palmer and McMurdo, his work on marine invertebrates and looming environmental challenges with equal, feet-on-the-ground aplomb. McClintock leads an annual expedition cruise to the Antarctic on climate change (some of you may have traveled with him).