Land of Wondrous Cold - by Wood (Hardcover)

About the Book

A gripping history of the polar continent, from the great discoveries of the nineteenth century to modern scientific breakthroughsAntarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen desert have long tempted explorers, but its brutal climate and glacial shores notoriously resist human intrusion. Land of Wondrous Cold tells a gripping story of the pioneering nineteenth-century voyages, when British, French, and American commanders raced to penetrate Antarctica's glacial rim for unknown lands beyond. These intrepid Victorian explorers--James Ross, Dumont D'Urville, and Charles Wilkes--laid the foundation for our current understanding of Terra Australis Incognita.Today, the white continent poses new challenges, as scientists race to uncover Earth's climate history, which is recorded in the south polar ice and ocean floor, and to monitor the increasing instability of the Antarctic ice cap, which threatens to inundate coastal cities worldwide. Interweaving the breakthrough research of the modern Ocean Drilling Program with the dramatic discovery tales of their Victorian forerunners, Gillen D'Arcy Wood describes Antarctica's role in a planetary drama of plate tectonics, climate change, and species evolution stretching back more than thirty million years. An original, multifaceted portrait of the polar continent emerges, illuminating our profound connection to Antarctica in its past, present, and future incarnations.A deep-time history of monumental scale, Land of Wondrous Cold brings the remotest of worlds within close reach--an Antarctica vital to both planetary history and human fortunes.

Book Synopsis

A gripping history of the polar continent, from the great discoveries of the nineteenth century to modern scientific breakthroughs

Antarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen desert have long tempted explorers, but its brutal climate and glacial shores notoriously resist human intrusion. Land of Wondrous Cold tells a gripping story of the pioneering nineteenth-century voyages, when British, French, and American commanders raced to penetrate Antarctica's glacial rim for unknown lands beyond. These intrepid Victorian explorers--James Ross, Dumont D'Urville, and Charles Wilkes--laid the foundation for our current understanding of Terra Australis Incognita.

Today, the white continent poses new challenges, as scientists race to uncover Earth's climate history, which is recorded in the south polar ice and ocean floor, and to monitor the increasing instability of the Antarctic ice cap, which threatens to inundate coastal cities worldwide. Interweaving the breakthrough research of the modern Ocean Drilling Program with the dramatic discovery tales of its Victorian forerunners, Gillen D'Arcy Wood describes Antarctica's role in a planetary drama of plate tectonics, climate change, and species evolution stretching back more than thirty million years. An original, multifaceted portrait of the polar continent emerges, illuminating our profound connection to Antarctica in its past, present, and future incarnations.

A deep-time history of monumental scale, Land of Wondrous Cold brings the remotest of worlds within close reach--an Antarctica vital to both planetary history and human fortunes.

Review Quotes

"Gripping and informative to the last page."---Dr Alyson Hitch, Bay Magazine

"This is a well written book that remains clear even whilst juggling three different expeditions. It could easily have been three times the length, but this would rather have spoilt the whole package, which is digestible and easy to read."---Dave Munday, Ocean Challenge

"[A] superb account."---Nick Smith, Engineering & Technology

"A masterful means of emplacing Antarctica - and the history of science - in deep time: an urgent concern in our moment of climate crisis."---Alexis Rider, Polar Journal

"Cold begone! Here be wonders. . . . [Wood] approaches Antarctica with refreshing breeziness."---Fergus Fleming, Literary Review

"Evocative and vivid."---Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald

"In a book that is both science and adventure story, Land of Wondrous Cold weaves together the human and natural history of the Antarctic by connecting early Victorian explorers and their discoveries with ancient and modern geological findings."---Midge Raymond, EcoLit Books

"Land of Wondrous Cold blew me away with its clever twin narrative. Readers interested in polar exploration, science history, earth sciences, or deep-time history should all take note. This book is far more interesting and satisfying than a casual glance might suggest."---Leon Vlieger, The Inquisitive Biologist

"Like Antarctica itself: dynamic and unexpected, but always fascinating."---Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine

"The book recounts the stories of . . . rival expeditions in relation to each other in vivid detail, bringing out the various personalities involved."-- "Paradigm Explorer"

"Three nations sent expeditions to the Antarctic in the late 1830s and early 1840s. This fascinating account describes their members' heroism and often disastrous experiences without ignoring the significant discoveries that followed. . . . Outstanding history accompanied by outstanding popular science."-- "Kirkus, starred review"

"Wood's approach links exploration and scientific study, showing how researchers have followed in the footsteps--sometimes literally--of trailblazing Antarctic adventurers. Moreover, the vulnerability of those early explorers, with their wooden ships and primitive equipment, reminds Wood of our collective vulnerability today to planetary systems shifting under the pressure of climate change."---Marissa Grunes, Boston Review

About the Author

Gillen D'Arcy Wood is professor of environmental humanities at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he serves as associate director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment. He is the author of Tambora: The Eruption That Changed the World (Princeton).