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Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica
Listen to a short interview with Tom Griffiths
Chris Gondek | Heron & Crane From Scott and Shackleton to sled dogs and penguins, stories of Antarctica seize our imagination. In December 2002, environmental historian Tom Griffiths set sail with the Australian Antarctic Division to deliver the new team of winterers. In this beautifully written book, Griffiths reflects on the history of human experiences in Antarctica, taking the reader on a journey of discovery, exploration, and adventure in an unforgettable land. He weaves together meditations on shipboard life during his three-week voyage with fascinating forays into the history and nature of Antarctica. He brings alive the great age of sail in the initiation of travelers to the great winds of the "roaring forties." No continent is more ruled by wind, and Griffiths explains why Antarctica is a barometer of global climatic health. He charts the race to the South Pole, from its inception as part of the drive to map Earth's magnetism, to the reasons for Robert Scott's tragic death. He also offers vivid descriptions of life in Antarctica, such as the experience of a polar night, the importance of food for morale, and coping with solitude. A charming narrative and an informative history, Slicing the Silence is an intimate portrait of the last true wilderness.
Chris Gondek | Heron & Crane From Scott and Shackleton to sled dogs and penguins, stories of Antarctica seize our imagination. In December 2002, environmental historian Tom Griffiths set sail with the Australian Antarctic Division to deliver the new team of winterers. In this beautifully written book, Griffiths reflects on the history of human experiences in Antarctica, taking the reader on a journey of discovery, exploration, and adventure in an unforgettable land. He weaves together meditations on shipboard life during his three-week voyage with fascinating forays into the history and nature of Antarctica. He brings alive the great age of sail in the initiation of travelers to the great winds of the "roaring forties." No continent is more ruled by wind, and Griffiths explains why Antarctica is a barometer of global climatic health. He charts the race to the South Pole, from its inception as part of the drive to map Earth's magnetism, to the reasons for Robert Scott's tragic death. He also offers vivid descriptions of life in Antarctica, such as the experience of a polar night, the importance of food for morale, and coping with solitude. A charming narrative and an informative history, Slicing the Silence is an intimate portrait of the last true wilderness.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
408 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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76 people want to read
About the author
Tom Griffiths
19 books2 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Tom Griffiths is a professor of history in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University–Canberra. He is the author of Forests of Ash: An Environmental History, Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia, and Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica.
Tom Griffiths is a professor of history in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University–Canberra. He is the author of Forests of Ash: An Environmental History, Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia, and Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 8, 2023
Took me a while to get into this. The format is an account of the author's personal journey to Antarctica as a "round tripper" (someone who is on the ship for the return trip, rather than someone who is going to stay, or coming back from over-wintering) interspersed with historical accounts, usually arranged thematically.
There is a strong Australian perspective in these tales. Having taken one continent just by arriving and saying "This is ours!" Australia decided that the Antarctic was also up for grabs. Of course many nations were also believing the same thing — mostly those located far away in the northern hemisphere.
Overall this volume include many fascinating essays on the history and culture of one of the last frontiers on this planet, including historical sledge journeys and modern day tourism. And as a bonus, Griffiths can write. The prose is often beautiful and evocative.
There is a strong Australian perspective in these tales. Having taken one continent just by arriving and saying "This is ours!" Australia decided that the Antarctic was also up for grabs. Of course many nations were also believing the same thing — mostly those located far away in the northern hemisphere.
Overall this volume include many fascinating essays on the history and culture of one of the last frontiers on this planet, including historical sledge journeys and modern day tourism. And as a bonus, Griffiths can write. The prose is often beautiful and evocative.
July 21, 2018
Tom is probably the most talented author I have ever known. I loved working on this book. The writing is clear, well paced, funny, the author is well-read, and well-traveled, and humble. Winner of multiple awards including the Prime Minister's prize, and various Premier's awards, this is a book for every shelf.
September 23, 2019
I almost gave it four stars. Almost. I learned a bunch about Antarctic exploration and territorial claims, but I found the diary excerpts distracting. I enjoyed the back half of the book much more than the front half. All in all, a classic adventure in picking something out of your local tiny free library.
December 17, 2014
Since The Son and The Daughter came I have become an armchair adventurer rather than an outdoor adventurer. The tale of Shackleton’s adventure to Antarctica has always fascinated me; Trapped in ice for months and sailing to rescue in a small boat to an island hundreds of miles of away. I am always stunned that his entire crew survived in a situation where none should have.
I came across a blurb about Tom Griffiths’ Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica in National Geographic’s Adventure magazine.
The author traveled to Antarctica and kept a diary. This book mixes entries from his diary with the history exploration of Antarctica and settlement on the icy continent. The book is about the enduring power of the “heroic era” stories of exploring Antarctica, as Edwardian figures sledged across the inhabited expanse of snow and ice.
[Antarctica] is a place where nature is lethal, humans are always just visitors and the land is covered by ice kilometers deep. This is a landscape in which the laws of chemistry and physics - and indeed the power of metaphysics - predominate, and terrestrial biology looks very marginal indeed. The ocean is where life is: the largest land animal is a mite. The ice is massive, deadly and - in spite of its own variety - reductionist. It simplifies and universalises
Griffiths does a great job of summarizing the history of exploration, living on Antarctica and the implication of Antarctic research on human behavior. He puts in contrast the easy death of humans on the continent with the abundant life in the ocean just offshore. He moves onto the current technology and climate research at the Antarctic bases. In this place where humans can barely exist, we are learning more about our world.
In the end, people go South to Antarctica “for purity, solitude, otherworldliness; they go there for the silence.”
I came across a blurb about Tom Griffiths’ Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica in National Geographic’s Adventure magazine.
The author traveled to Antarctica and kept a diary. This book mixes entries from his diary with the history exploration of Antarctica and settlement on the icy continent. The book is about the enduring power of the “heroic era” stories of exploring Antarctica, as Edwardian figures sledged across the inhabited expanse of snow and ice.
[Antarctica] is a place where nature is lethal, humans are always just visitors and the land is covered by ice kilometers deep. This is a landscape in which the laws of chemistry and physics - and indeed the power of metaphysics - predominate, and terrestrial biology looks very marginal indeed. The ocean is where life is: the largest land animal is a mite. The ice is massive, deadly and - in spite of its own variety - reductionist. It simplifies and universalises
Griffiths does a great job of summarizing the history of exploration, living on Antarctica and the implication of Antarctic research on human behavior. He puts in contrast the easy death of humans on the continent with the abundant life in the ocean just offshore. He moves onto the current technology and climate research at the Antarctic bases. In this place where humans can barely exist, we are learning more about our world.
In the end, people go South to Antarctica “for purity, solitude, otherworldliness; they go there for the silence.”
June 1, 2016
I tried hard. I really wanted to read and enjoy the book. I love the concept and the reviews were great. But I just could not take the authors style. Too jumpy. Just all over the place. Got about 1/3 way through.
Read
November 6, 2010Couldn't finish it, even though it had a promising start. I have an Antarctica obsession but polar literature puts me into a state of mind that ruins me for days.
March 28, 2013
Stuffed full of history alongside a narrative of the author's voyage to Antarctica, this book is dense but very readable
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews