Inhospitable! Lonely! Desolate! These are words that often come to mind when we think of the cold places of the world. These cold places however, have been an important part of human history and they have often tested those who lived in them. This list features titles that remind us that cold places have done more than make us shiver.
An intrepid biologist shares his personal experiences in some of the world's coldest places. Has a scientist's eye for human and natural history. A fascinating book arranged by calendar month.
This account of the HMS Endurance was written by the ship's commander on the expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. It describes a harrowing ordeal of two plus years when the ship was stuck in the sea ice and Worley and Shackleton had to sail over eight hundred miles to seek help.
To the Greeks and Romans Thule was the land beyond maps full of icebergs and strange magical creatures. This book details an odyssey of discovering these northern lands including descriptions of the Shetlands, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Greenland, and Svalbard.
This former American, current Aussie, describes the bureaucratic part of visiting Antarctica: blood tests and mountains of forms. Yet he found his trip to be incredible especially meeting the scientists there and witnessing the last run of the last sled dog team before they were retired.
Ursus maritimus or the sea bear has become the poster animal for climate change. This book provides a detailed history of man's interactions with this incredible creature and shows how vulnerable these animals are to our changing climate.
At age fifty, this gutsy woman completed a solo ski expedition to the North Pole with only her dog for company. She conquered thin ice, cold temperatures, and avoided polar bears all in pursuit of a dream, proving that tenacity, skill, knowledge, and sheer stubbornness can help you succeed anywhere.
In the tradition of Scott Russell Sanders and desert writer Terry Tempest Williams, Lord gives you a close and personal look at the natural world of our 49th state and what it's really like living in the Great Land.
Shackleton called it "the last great journey left to man" or in this case woman. The author spent seven months on the seventh continent and intersperses her personal experiences with interesting historical vignettes about earlier explorations.
This world-renowned essayist believes that winter can be both liberating and a spur to the imagination. Here she writes about polar places that have both touched and impressed her: Greenland, Spitsbergen, Tierra del Fuego, and Chile's Torres del Paine National Park.