Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent

This book is a must read for anyone interested in Antarctica or traveling to the 7th continent. The facts and figures presented are startling and eye opening. The details about the different research bases and all the scientific work that is being done there is very interesting. The human stories are intriguing. I was fascinated and am excited to be able to travel to this mysterious place.

This book reads like a story. I have always been intrigued with the planet's coldest places and if youare likewise intrigued you will enjoy this book.

Gabrielle Walker is a scientist who writes like a novelist and the result is a fascinating book about a place that is highly relevant to today's world and what is happening ecologically. Honestly I thought I'd only read the last third which is about the part I'll be visiting. However, as usual I started with the introduction and found I was into the first chapter and didn't want to put it down! I'm reading slowly, taking notes and bookmarking pages: and still haven't gotten to the part I thought would be the only one of interest! I knew Antarctica was an interesting place to go but Walker is enticing me with ideas of how awe inspiring it is. From the theoretical history of how it became frozen and separated into its own land mass to the ecological warning signs for our future and the variety of work being done there it is a book you want to binge read but will force yourself to take it slowly to really internalize every bit.Whether you're going to Antarctica or are just interested in why this spot at the bottom of the world captivates the attention and draws so many people who are not scientists, you will be engrossed in this book. Get it, read it, you'll be so very glad you did.

I chose this book because I thought it would be an overview of Antarctica, a place I've wanted to know more about for a long time. It was that and so much more. It's the perfect place to start learning about the continent."Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the Word's Most Mysterious Continent" is a profound narrative of the author's stay on the continent. She spent quite a bit of time there, and shares it all - the scientific studies she visited and took part in, the history she found, the people she met, and the feelings she had along the way. I appreciate that the author didn't get too technical, but the material isn't "dumbed down" either. It's exactly the right narrative for us non-scientists and history nerds. I really couldn't ask more from a book like this. It was a more than satisfying read.Thanks to the fantastic notes the author has left us, including a list of "further reading," it will be easy to find out more about this lonely, dynamic continent.I'll be searching out more of Gabrielle Walker's writings. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Not an intimate portrait, it is more like the view of a well informed passing by tourist, a valid view, but not an intimate one. For an intimate portrait, read Endurance by Lansing, written by someone that wasn't even there when the story happened but achieved intimacy.Three pages explaining in third person how is it like to be a tourist in a rough ocean, is a waste of paper, ink and my time. Maybe I was expecting too much out of it. An appropriate name for the book should have been " A complete tourist guide to Antartica" but the word intimate is a word too big for this one.There is plenty of nice data and curious stories, but it is hard to separate what is important from the things that are superficial and cheesy. You end up swallowing the cheesy in order to get to the good stuff, and I do not have the endurance for that :)If you like in depth tourist guide books, yes i recommend it. If you like reads with power, with character and with gravitas, stay away.

If you have even a mild interest in Antarctica buy this book. The author has weaved so many animals, knowledge, science, characters and history of the Seventh Continent into this book for your reading. It gives you a greater perspective of what is being researched on Antarctica along with wonderful anecdotes of Scott, Amundsen, and members of the collective explores that saw a purpose to endure and perish. Along with insights into what is being performed by dedicated men and women on Antarctica today.

Back in my freshman year of college, I had a survey course in Antarctica with a geologist who worked there. Hearing first-hand accounts of living there and the science that goes on had me really enjoying this book. It’s nicely balanced, with history and science applied as needed throughout the narrative.

It was just ok. Although it gave a pretty good picture of life on various parts of Antarctica and the stations, it seemed to me the author went off on too many tangents and a some stories that weren’t relevant to the actual picture of Antarctica. It was longer than it needed to be and some of the meandering could have been left out. I found myself skimming through much of it

Walker is a rare talent, having a scientifically rigourous approach to understanding the world around her, but understanding the value of beautiful and poetic writing. Her knack for telling gripping and well paced stories, her moving reflections on the visceral human experience in an extremely hostile environment, and her tender characterisations of the quirky and whimsical people that she interviews made this such a pleasure to read. My only criticism is I wish this was longer.

What a well written book and I am sure that I'll read it more than once. Gabrielle Walker describes this mysterious continent in such amazing detail, you can almost imagine being there as part of the team.

This is a remarkable book that changed my understanding, and instilled awe, of the Antarctic. We are indeed fortunate to have an author/ researcher/ scientist who enlightens us on the Antarctica mystery and urgency.

This was an excellent account of both the science and the experience of modern Antarctica. I have read several other books on the subject and would definitely recommend.

Very interesting, eye opener book, dealing with global warming.