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Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica
It is the coldest, windiest, driest place on earth, an icy desert of unearthly beauty and stubborn impenetrability. For centuries, Antarctica has captured the imagination of our greatest scientists and explorers, lingering in the spirit long after their return. Shackleton called it "the last great journey"; for Apsley Cherry-Garrard it was the worst journey in the world.
This is a book about the call of the wild and the response of the spirit to a country that exists perhaps most vividly in the mind. Sara Wheeler spent seven months in Antarctica, living with its scientists and dreamers. No book is more true to the spirit of that continent--beguiling, enchanted and vast beyond the furthest reaches of our imagination. Chosen by Beryl Bainbridge and John Major as one of the best books of the year, recommended by the editors of Entertainment Weekly and the Chicago Tribune, one of the Seattle Times's top ten travel books of the year, Terra Incognita is a classic of polar literature.
This is a book about the call of the wild and the response of the spirit to a country that exists perhaps most vividly in the mind. Sara Wheeler spent seven months in Antarctica, living with its scientists and dreamers. No book is more true to the spirit of that continent--beguiling, enchanted and vast beyond the furthest reaches of our imagination. Chosen by Beryl Bainbridge and John Major as one of the best books of the year, recommended by the editors of Entertainment Weekly and the Chicago Tribune, one of the Seattle Times's top ten travel books of the year, Terra Incognita is a classic of polar literature.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
101 people are currently reading
3066 people want to read
About the author
Sara Wheeler
39 books131 followersSara Wheeler was brought up in Bristol and studied Classics and Modern Languages at Brasenose College, University of Oxford. After writing about her travels on the Greek island of Euboea and in Chile, she was accepted by the US National Science Foundation as their first female writer-in-residence at the South Pole, and spent seven months in Antarctica.
In her resultant book Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica, she mentioned sleeping in the captain’s bunk in Scott's Hut. Whilst in Antarctica she read The Worst Journey in the World, an account of the Terra Nova Expedition, and she later wrote a biography of its author Apsley Cherry-Garrard.
In 1999 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. From 2005 to 2009 she served as Trustee of the London Library.
She was frequently abroad for two years, travelled to Russia, Alaska, Greenland, Canada and North Norway to write her book The Magnetic North: Travels in the Arctic. A journalist at the Daily Telegraph in the UK called it a "snowstorm of historical, geographical and anthropological facts".
In a 2012 BBC Radio 4 series: To Strive and Seek, she told the personal stories of five various members of the Terra Nova Expedition.
O My America!: Second Acts in a New World records the lives of women who travelled to America in the first half of the 19th Century: Fanny Trollope, Fanny Kemble, Harriet Martineau, Rebecca Burlend, Isabella Bird, and Catherine Hubback, and the author's travels in pursuit of them.
In her resultant book Terra Incognita: Travels in Antarctica, she mentioned sleeping in the captain’s bunk in Scott's Hut. Whilst in Antarctica she read The Worst Journey in the World, an account of the Terra Nova Expedition, and she later wrote a biography of its author Apsley Cherry-Garrard.
In 1999 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. From 2005 to 2009 she served as Trustee of the London Library.
She was frequently abroad for two years, travelled to Russia, Alaska, Greenland, Canada and North Norway to write her book The Magnetic North: Travels in the Arctic. A journalist at the Daily Telegraph in the UK called it a "snowstorm of historical, geographical and anthropological facts".
In a 2012 BBC Radio 4 series: To Strive and Seek, she told the personal stories of five various members of the Terra Nova Expedition.
O My America!: Second Acts in a New World records the lives of women who travelled to America in the first half of the 19th Century: Fanny Trollope, Fanny Kemble, Harriet Martineau, Rebecca Burlend, Isabella Bird, and Catherine Hubback, and the author's travels in pursuit of them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
June 8, 2009
Once in a while a person accidentally stumbles on an especially annoying book. One written particularly because a desperate publisher made a phone call, or mailed a letter with a check to an author with the words: "It's time to write another one, Shirley..." and the author hurled herself to write, without a plan, without ideas and the only thing that came out was a dull diary filled with self pity, anti-Americanism, sexism and generally criticism... Well, this is one of those books and I truly feel sorry for the trees that have to die annually to satisfy the erroneous marketing projections of underpaid book editors in the current cost-cutting environment (especially after the advent of Print-on-Demand) in order to deliver such hideous and mind numbing gems. Yet I am also grateful. I'm grateful for these sacrifices because they serve to carry a message to the reader, which he or she can carry to you the broader audience. That message is - DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS BOOK AND THIS AUTHOR.
In terms of content - well, there is no story here. This is simply a tedious account of a lonely woman who spent someone else's money to visit Antarctica and record her daily experiences. What kind of experiences, you wonder?
The kind that go like this"
"...we took off over the frozen sound toward the Transantarctics..."
"...we could see individual birds waddling about with stones in their beaks..."
"...Later that day we landed at the snout of the Mawson Glacier for a picnic..."
"...so we all had our own few feet of privacy. It was hot and dark inside..."
"...and later we saw all their small yellow tents pitched in the distance..."
and go on and on and on...
Occasionally the author makes references to Scott's, Shackleton's and other expeditions, but in no way enough to stir imagination or interest. I doubt you'd learn anything new from this book.
If you are truly interested about Antarctica, the history behind the conquests and a first person account of the harshness of the pole and its frozen lands, check out "Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest" by Ranulph Fiennes.
Yield to reason - ignore this one.
In terms of content - well, there is no story here. This is simply a tedious account of a lonely woman who spent someone else's money to visit Antarctica and record her daily experiences. What kind of experiences, you wonder?
The kind that go like this"
"...we took off over the frozen sound toward the Transantarctics..."
"...we could see individual birds waddling about with stones in their beaks..."
"...Later that day we landed at the snout of the Mawson Glacier for a picnic..."
"...so we all had our own few feet of privacy. It was hot and dark inside..."
"...and later we saw all their small yellow tents pitched in the distance..."
and go on and on and on...
Occasionally the author makes references to Scott's, Shackleton's and other expeditions, but in no way enough to stir imagination or interest. I doubt you'd learn anything new from this book.
If you are truly interested about Antarctica, the history behind the conquests and a first person account of the harshness of the pole and its frozen lands, check out "Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest" by Ranulph Fiennes.
Yield to reason - ignore this one.
May 22, 2021
This was so bad no one needs to read this. 30 years out of date but was probably bad back in the day too. Anyway I think I’m done with the Antarctica books for now I can’t read about Scott or Shackleton again cuz everyone who writes about Antarctica feels the need to chop in history from the exploration age and I’m over it. Also this was def supposed to have mass market appeal but the vocab is out of control. If you’re describing something unimaginable it doesn’t work to use a word that no ones ever heard of!
January 2, 2022
Writing a boring book about the most extreme environment on Earth is quite a feat, but this author achieved the seemingly impossible. I pushed through to the end, but it felt like wading through mud. The book is mostly about Wheeler's personal feelings and reflections about Antarctica during her seventh-month visit to the continent, and while she had read the literature of exploration, she was not able to supply anything profound or remotely interesting; her literary style is pedestrian, her insights superficial, and the narrative stays strictly at the level of the banal and the mundane.
January 29, 2014
In her writing, Wheeler has a knack for immersing herself in the places that she visits, and teasing out the stories of the location and the people.
She has been appointed writer in residence in Antarctica, and sets about visiting as many of the bases across the continent that she can. Her easy going manner makes it easy for her to fit in with the predominately male staff. She writes about the characters in each of the bases, and the antics that they get up to, and the way that they cope with the isolation and the climate. As people become aware of her presence she get more invitations to other bases. She is put with the artist in residence, and they are allowed to live a short way from the base to they can concentrate on their art and writing. The book covers the history of the polar exploration there too, and the narrative is woven with the places that Scott and Amundsen visited, lived at and sadly perished at.
Wheelers descriptions of the glaciers and landscape are very evocative, but do not hold back from the reality and brutality of the weather and the cold there. It is a beautifully written book, partly because it is one of the places that make her feel so alive and this glee comes across in the book, and also that her observational writing is accurate and measured.
She has been appointed writer in residence in Antarctica, and sets about visiting as many of the bases across the continent that she can. Her easy going manner makes it easy for her to fit in with the predominately male staff. She writes about the characters in each of the bases, and the antics that they get up to, and the way that they cope with the isolation and the climate. As people become aware of her presence she get more invitations to other bases. She is put with the artist in residence, and they are allowed to live a short way from the base to they can concentrate on their art and writing. The book covers the history of the polar exploration there too, and the narrative is woven with the places that Scott and Amundsen visited, lived at and sadly perished at.
Wheelers descriptions of the glaciers and landscape are very evocative, but do not hold back from the reality and brutality of the weather and the cold there. It is a beautifully written book, partly because it is one of the places that make her feel so alive and this glee comes across in the book, and also that her observational writing is accurate and measured.
March 8, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book. It took me a long time to get through it. Part memoir, part history, the author describes her visits to Antarctica as a writer-in-residence. Sometimes I enjoyed her history lessons (she is a scholar of South Polar expeditions), sometimes they got in the way of the narrative. Sometimes her descriptions of living in Antarctica made me feel like I was there, and sometimes they were tedious. The most interesting parts for me were when she compared her experiences to those of the early explorers, putting herself in their boots, visiting their huts, or looking out at a vista which had not changed much in the time that had passed.
On a personal note, my brother visited Antarctica briefly several times as a navigator on an LC-130 Hercules supply plane, and I enjoyed getting an insider's look at what his experiences might have been like.
On a personal note, my brother visited Antarctica briefly several times as a navigator on an LC-130 Hercules supply plane, and I enjoyed getting an insider's look at what his experiences might have been like.
July 4, 2012
I usually enjoy travel books written by women. Antarctica is on my bucket list. I ran hot and cold on this book. I more enjoyed the experiences she had with the interesting people and characters she met along the way than with the history lessons. I understand the need to put some of what she saw in historic perspective. It took me a long time to get through this book, I think because I felt it would come to a screaming halt each time she gave one of her history lessons. Don't get me wrong I find the history of the place interesting but it seemed to kill the flow of the story for me.
October 14, 2008
Sara Wheeler's best work. A well-written, soul-stirring book that stays with you long after you read it.
October 20, 2025
I honestly enjoyed this way more than I thought I would, it really surprised me in the best way possible. At a surface level you could say it's just a series of things the author goes to see in Antarctica but the way she makes every place seem so alive is fascinating. The landscapes are described as they should be, as a cold, unforgiving, but ultimately life changing place that is void of life. The fun quirks of all the different science stations and the people that live there were really fun to explore and I laughed much more than I expected to from this kind of a book. I also love how the author contextualizes her experience against a lot of the historic early explorers of the continent and how their perspectives have shaped global thought about the great white south. In the end this is a book about journeying to the barren end of the world and I think it perfectly captures the human spirit of exploration. Whether we are chasing something or running from something we eventually have to reconcile and face our inner selves. That is the heart of this book and I think it captures that in the most wonderful way possible. I think Antarctica will forever hold a piece of my imagination.
February 9, 2013
In one phrase: "Terra Incognita" is captivating from the first paragraph to the last. Wheeler is that rarest of authors: She has created a book that is part essay, part memoir and part history that alternates between musings on her experiences as a researcher at the South Pole, the scientific goings-on she is observing, and the century of explorations that precede them. Her use of language is superb: highly "literary" but always accessible, and the story with which she frames the book -- her year-plus in the Antarctic -- is fascinating. You don't need a taste for adventure to enjoy this book (though it will help) -- I certainly didn't have one when I picked it up (on the recommendation of a brief blurb in "The New Yorker"); you'll have one, as well as a sense of "I gotta read the rest of her work," when you finish.
December 27, 2015
Ambitious, clear-eyed, well researched, intelligently and perceptively written, humorous and the first book written about travel in Antarctica by a woman. Sara Wheeler spent time "on the Ice," and produced a great book about her travels through the South Polar regions. I loved this book because she was so passionate about it. That passion led her to read all that she could get her hands on about the discovery of, and many expeditions to, Antarctica. Her thirst for understanding, in-depth and at great breadth, what motivated and motivates all who choose to go to the highest, coldest, driest desert on the planet (the one place on this planet reputedly closest to being on another planet), is infectious. This is the second of a long list of titles I will be reading and reviewing. Stay tuned and stay warm!!
December 7, 2019
I expect some well researched descriptions of the “terra Incognita” mixed with first hand living experiences. Boy was I disappointed.
50% of the book is collection of insipid accounts of the author’s life spent in Antarctica (she cooked this for the people in this camp and bought that in the airport of that trip). Another 40% is some account of the people living there include diary excerpts from the like of Scott and Amundsen. Even this is decidedly uninformative and positively uninteresting.
The little crumb of interesting information about the fascinating things in Antarctica is just too diluted to be worth trudging through the rest. Stick with Gabrielle Walker’s “Antarctica”.
50% of the book is collection of insipid accounts of the author’s life spent in Antarctica (she cooked this for the people in this camp and bought that in the airport of that trip). Another 40% is some account of the people living there include diary excerpts from the like of Scott and Amundsen. Even this is decidedly uninformative and positively uninteresting.
The little crumb of interesting information about the fascinating things in Antarctica is just too diluted to be worth trudging through the rest. Stick with Gabrielle Walker’s “Antarctica”.
February 11, 2016
Fabulous
March 2, 2019
Very well written, feels like i was there on all these research stations and in good and bad weather on the ice.
December 29, 2016
Sara Wheeler has been on my to-read list for quite some time. And I slogged through this book, because I wanted to like Sara through this book, but I found her to be as cold as Antarctica. She hints at darkness in her soul that she somehow wants to come to peace with while in Antarctica, but as even she points out in the book, we take ourselves with us everywhere we go. The book is some grand compilation of her research on Antarctica explorers, and a slog through her travels around all the different base camps/scientific research centers--she certainly does know how to get what she wants. But she doesn't convey any connection to any of the folks that generously shared their time, knowledge, and space; nor does she really convey in any depth what she spent her year doing. A comment like I went to weather school... well, that's it, want to know more?? out of luck. There is one more Sara Wheeler title on my to-read list, and yes, I'll slog through it too as Chile is a topic even dearer to my heart that Antarctica. But this time, I won't have much expectation when I crack the cover.
August 14, 2008
This book is an odd mix of a description of everyday life on the Antarctic stations and a disjointed history of polar exploration. There are interesting parts, but I think that there are better books that cover the same subjects separately.
July 28, 2019
Great travelogue!
July 4, 2022
The epigram that Wheeler chose to open her opus with comes from V by Thomas Pynchon:
"You wait. Everyone has an Antarctica." Wheeler writes in her Introduction that Antarctica is "a space of the imagination" and this book, about her time spent traveling from base to base in Antarctica, even sleeping in Robert Scott's hut -- in his bed, in fact -- slowly bores into the reader's imagination as her writing brings her experiences to life in our mind.
Sara Wheeler is one of our best travel writers, and yet calling her that doesn't capture half of what she actually does in this and her other books. She writes with penetrating vision and a sometimes sardonic wit, the LA Times calling it "The first funny book about Antarctica."
Wheeler interweaves tales of the age of great exploration: Scott, Shackleton, Nansen, Ross and the others with vignettes of the "beards" and the many eccentric characters she spends time with among the various research bases she visits as she allows the scientists themselves to share the work they are doing.
An example of her wit is the recipe for Bread and Butter Pudding (Antarctica Version) she includes as an Appendix. Throughout her journey, she repays the hospitality she receives from the beards by preparing this desert with whatever is at hand, and her instructions hint at just what that was as well as perhaps some mishaps as she writes:
Essential ingredients
Bread (plenty)
Sweetener -- sugar is best, if not, use watered-down honey, treacle or syrup. At a pinch, jam (British) or jelly (American). In extremis, cocoa or drinking chocolate. Not powered orange drink, please.
Liquid-- preferably some form of milk.
"You wait. Everyone has an Antarctica." Wheeler writes in her Introduction that Antarctica is "a space of the imagination" and this book, about her time spent traveling from base to base in Antarctica, even sleeping in Robert Scott's hut -- in his bed, in fact -- slowly bores into the reader's imagination as her writing brings her experiences to life in our mind.
Sara Wheeler is one of our best travel writers, and yet calling her that doesn't capture half of what she actually does in this and her other books. She writes with penetrating vision and a sometimes sardonic wit, the LA Times calling it "The first funny book about Antarctica."
Wheeler interweaves tales of the age of great exploration: Scott, Shackleton, Nansen, Ross and the others with vignettes of the "beards" and the many eccentric characters she spends time with among the various research bases she visits as she allows the scientists themselves to share the work they are doing.
An example of her wit is the recipe for Bread and Butter Pudding (Antarctica Version) she includes as an Appendix. Throughout her journey, she repays the hospitality she receives from the beards by preparing this desert with whatever is at hand, and her instructions hint at just what that was as well as perhaps some mishaps as she writes:
Essential ingredients
Bread (plenty)
Sweetener -- sugar is best, if not, use watered-down honey, treacle or syrup. At a pinch, jam (British) or jelly (American). In extremis, cocoa or drinking chocolate. Not powered orange drink, please.
Liquid-- preferably some form of milk.
April 3, 2023
Listened to this one as a book on cd. It was a drag most of the time. I’d find I had zoned out and needed to rewind. She seems to use big words, tell irrelevant stories and it didn’t flow well. Had to look up multiple words because … they are not ones we use (not because they were scientific). Some parts were a bit more memorable and the last tenth of the book wasn’t as hard to get through. Definitely wouldn’t recommend it. We just went there recently so that added a bit, but this was just a rough one.
March 17, 2024
The travel writer Sara Wheeler visited Antarctica in the mid-90s as a writer-in-residence, staying first at the US base in McMurdo and then the much less friendly British Antarctic Survey at Rothera. She also returned to exprience the end of the Antarctic winter. She visits many of the scientific teams (Beakers) working on the continent, describing their daily lives and how they conduct their research. At the time she visited, Antarctica was still a very male-dominated and chauvinistic place. Everyone she meets seems to have a beard. I wonder how much things have changed in the last 30 years. She also writes about the history of Antarctic exploration - particularly Scott, Amundsen, and Shackleton.
The audiobook narration by Patricia Gallimore felt authentic and included some attempts to mimic the characters’ accents, which was not always entirely successful but gave the book some colour.
Reading this book helped to scratch my itch to learn more about Antarctica and what life there is like in the modern day.
The audiobook narration by Patricia Gallimore felt authentic and included some attempts to mimic the characters’ accents, which was not always entirely successful but gave the book some colour.
Reading this book helped to scratch my itch to learn more about Antarctica and what life there is like in the modern day.
February 7, 2025
I want to go to Antarctica and be a Woo. Please.
May 22, 2010
In a nutshell:
During her travels in Chile, British travel writer Sara Wheeler was introduced to the allure of Antarctica. Later she gets the opportunity to visit Antarctica, sponsored by the U.S. funded Writers and Artists program. The scientists and other Antarctic inhabitants take her along to their bases and camps spread out over the vast, extreme continent.
Review:
Last month I read White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean, a thriller set in the Antarctic. In that novel, the continent had a wild, threatening nature and brought out the worst in some of the characters. The Antarctica in Terra Incognita, while far from benign, is a place where a profound peace can be found, and where the rest of the world is put in perspective.
Sara Wheeler is an excellent writer, conveying the varied moods of her Antarctic travels: wonder, frustration, bonhemie, and a good deal of humor. Most of all, she shows the reader how and why she fell in love with Antarctica.
I like travel writing where the writer offers some self-revelation, because travel is so much about personal connection with place. However, Wheeler’s narrative is not self-centered. It is clear that she is genuinely interested in other people and their work and she describes them with warm detail. In particular, near the end of her travels, she bonds with an artist named Lucia who is also there on the Writers & Artists program. The two of them share a hut in a field camp for weeks. As most of the narrative has her switching her company constantly, it was nice to see her spend some extended time with this new friendship.
I really enjoyed learning about the varied communities of the Antarctic and the culture that is heavily shaped by the environment and the multinational demographic. While most places are welcome, Wheeler does encounter an off-putting boys-club atmosphere at one particular base. Historically, men have thought of Antarctica as their domain and some of that attitude still existed in pockets.
Wheeler does describe the travails of the famous Antarctic explorers in the book, and intersperses them with her own travels. Because she hops around a bit with the history, I kind of wish there had been an appendix with a chronology of Antarctic exploration. Also, I wish there were some photos to illustrate some of the landscapes that Wheeler describes.
Overall, this was a highly enjoyable book and I recommend it if you like travel writing, or are curious about Antarctica, or even just looking for a good non-fiction read. I think I will be seeking out more of Sara Wheeler’s writing in the future.
During her travels in Chile, British travel writer Sara Wheeler was introduced to the allure of Antarctica. Later she gets the opportunity to visit Antarctica, sponsored by the U.S. funded Writers and Artists program. The scientists and other Antarctic inhabitants take her along to their bases and camps spread out over the vast, extreme continent.
Review:
Last month I read White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean, a thriller set in the Antarctic. In that novel, the continent had a wild, threatening nature and brought out the worst in some of the characters. The Antarctica in Terra Incognita, while far from benign, is a place where a profound peace can be found, and where the rest of the world is put in perspective.
Sara Wheeler is an excellent writer, conveying the varied moods of her Antarctic travels: wonder, frustration, bonhemie, and a good deal of humor. Most of all, she shows the reader how and why she fell in love with Antarctica.
I like travel writing where the writer offers some self-revelation, because travel is so much about personal connection with place. However, Wheeler’s narrative is not self-centered. It is clear that she is genuinely interested in other people and their work and she describes them with warm detail. In particular, near the end of her travels, she bonds with an artist named Lucia who is also there on the Writers & Artists program. The two of them share a hut in a field camp for weeks. As most of the narrative has her switching her company constantly, it was nice to see her spend some extended time with this new friendship.
I really enjoyed learning about the varied communities of the Antarctic and the culture that is heavily shaped by the environment and the multinational demographic. While most places are welcome, Wheeler does encounter an off-putting boys-club atmosphere at one particular base. Historically, men have thought of Antarctica as their domain and some of that attitude still existed in pockets.
Wheeler does describe the travails of the famous Antarctic explorers in the book, and intersperses them with her own travels. Because she hops around a bit with the history, I kind of wish there had been an appendix with a chronology of Antarctic exploration. Also, I wish there were some photos to illustrate some of the landscapes that Wheeler describes.
Overall, this was a highly enjoyable book and I recommend it if you like travel writing, or are curious about Antarctica, or even just looking for a good non-fiction read. I think I will be seeking out more of Sara Wheeler’s writing in the future.
February 7, 2022
Journalist Sara Wheeler spent seven months living amongst scientists and researchers in Antarctica. Wheeler weaves her introspective experiences in one of the world's most inhospitable environments with the expeditions of famed explorers.
Back at it after a whirlwind month! Admittedly, this is a travelogue I skimmed for class but never properly read. But, as a chronic book-hoarder, I'm making an effort to comb through my collection and get to all the ones I've missed.
Anyhow, suffice to say, if I had to leave you with one sentence about Terra Incognita, it would be: I now desperately want to go to Antarctica. Wheeler presents the dualism of the Antarctican landscape — it is at once a void and a canvas. In response to the endless white, Wheeler finds herself on a journey beyond the physical, to emerge at the close of her journey, having healed of things she didn't realize were plaguing her.
Wheeler confronts her fear of mortality, religious reckoning and identity in the face of the sublime of the continent. The concept of the sublime was popularized in the Romantic era and boils down to something that inspires both terror and awe and stretches the limits of our comprehension.
Wheeler successfully imbued the book with a visceral experience of the sublime, and I feel as though the place has lodged itself into my imagination forever. Beyond Wheeler's own experiences, she casts readers back to famed explorers like Shackleton and Cherry-Garrard without ever losing momentum.
Back at it after a whirlwind month! Admittedly, this is a travelogue I skimmed for class but never properly read. But, as a chronic book-hoarder, I'm making an effort to comb through my collection and get to all the ones I've missed.
Anyhow, suffice to say, if I had to leave you with one sentence about Terra Incognita, it would be: I now desperately want to go to Antarctica. Wheeler presents the dualism of the Antarctican landscape — it is at once a void and a canvas. In response to the endless white, Wheeler finds herself on a journey beyond the physical, to emerge at the close of her journey, having healed of things she didn't realize were plaguing her.
Wheeler confronts her fear of mortality, religious reckoning and identity in the face of the sublime of the continent. The concept of the sublime was popularized in the Romantic era and boils down to something that inspires both terror and awe and stretches the limits of our comprehension.
Wheeler successfully imbued the book with a visceral experience of the sublime, and I feel as though the place has lodged itself into my imagination forever. Beyond Wheeler's own experiences, she casts readers back to famed explorers like Shackleton and Cherry-Garrard without ever losing momentum.
January 25, 2016
It dragged a bit in places, but Wheeler is such an engaging and vivacious writer that I didn't even mind. Those who know me know that I hate the outdoors and extreme cold, but this book made me think that going to Antarctica sounds like a boatload of fun! (I don't think I'll actually go, but it's fun to daydream.) Interesting history of Antarctic exploration woven into the narrative of her experience (7 months total living in different areas of the continent). Homegirl did her research, too! It's very evident, but the writing or details are never dry. (Respect from this librarian.) A surprisingly delightful summer read--perfect for when I'm melting in 100-degree heat. Wheeler does an admirable job of communicating the spell and the mystique that Antarctica holds--both over those who have never been there and over those who have.
November 3, 2010
Read this book for Southwest evening book group - interesting account by an English travel writer. Having seen a couple of films on PBS about English polar explorers Scott (who died on the ice) and Shackleton (who rescued his stranded "Endurance" crew in an unbelievable adventure), reading about actually living and working in the Antarctic was enjoyable. Some of her writing describing the people she encountered was annoying -- a little too "precious" for my taste. But her descriptions of the landscape and the weather were great. How anyone would want to spend any time down there is beyond me. But the world is made up of people with many different passions.
April 28, 2013
Incredibly pretentious. I was excited to read about Antarctica but I found it tough to get through this one.
The short bursts of history really disrupted the flow of the book. I'm very interested in Ross/Shackleton history but I have to admit, I found myself skipping to the end of some of these paragraphs. It was putting me to sleep. I want to hear about Antarctica and not the words you picked up in your closest thesaurus.
The short bursts of history really disrupted the flow of the book. I'm very interested in Ross/Shackleton history but I have to admit, I found myself skipping to the end of some of these paragraphs. It was putting me to sleep. I want to hear about Antarctica and not the words you picked up in your closest thesaurus.
July 26, 2021
The huge icy continent at the bottom of the world has long enchanted explorers and creative types since Captain Cook first came across the reality that is Antarctica in the late 18th century. Many works of fiction have been set there (including my personal favorite, John Carpenter's "The Thing"), but more than a conduit for dreams and nightmares aplenty, the southern hemisphere's most remote location has fueled the efforts of explorers to chart the wide expanses of ice and snow, leading almost to a proverbial love affair with the coldest of continents. It was with this in mind that Sara Wheeler traveled in 1994 and 1995 to spend a significant chunk of time in Antarctica.
"Terra Incognita" is, like the other book of hers that I've read ("Travels In a Thin Country") as much about the traveler as it is the travel and destination, and it's a fantastic book as a result. Wheeler, a journalist who has made a career out of traveling around the world, goes south in the spirit of men like Robert Falcon Scott (who perished there in 1912) and Ernest Shackleton (whose expedition during the First World War became a tale of bravery and survival against the harsh elements). Now Antarctica is more of a safe location relatively speaking, with an abundance of scientific bases where Wheeler can find a comfy enclosure from the weather. But danger can still be found, often in the form of psychological strain (living in an area that, at various times, can either be in perpetual darkness or daylight), and Wheeler is an adventurous sort who often goes along on expeditions away from the base camps. Her records of what she experiences are fantastic and make for an eye-opening account of a region that many of us will never have the chance to see firsthand.
I may never venture close to the South Pole in real life, but thanks to Sara Wheeler's book I have a notion of what it would be like. There's plenty of humor along with some pathos, and Wheeler experiences something of an affirmation of her Catholic faith while she's on the ice (she's not preachy about it, but she introduces it in such a way that feels heartfelt and authentic). "Terra Incognita" is a great book about a supposedly inhospitable place and the people who chose to call it home base for seasons at a time. You may never visit the real Antarctica, but Sara Wheeler's version is very appealing.
"Terra Incognita" is, like the other book of hers that I've read ("Travels In a Thin Country") as much about the traveler as it is the travel and destination, and it's a fantastic book as a result. Wheeler, a journalist who has made a career out of traveling around the world, goes south in the spirit of men like Robert Falcon Scott (who perished there in 1912) and Ernest Shackleton (whose expedition during the First World War became a tale of bravery and survival against the harsh elements). Now Antarctica is more of a safe location relatively speaking, with an abundance of scientific bases where Wheeler can find a comfy enclosure from the weather. But danger can still be found, often in the form of psychological strain (living in an area that, at various times, can either be in perpetual darkness or daylight), and Wheeler is an adventurous sort who often goes along on expeditions away from the base camps. Her records of what she experiences are fantastic and make for an eye-opening account of a region that many of us will never have the chance to see firsthand.
I may never venture close to the South Pole in real life, but thanks to Sara Wheeler's book I have a notion of what it would be like. There's plenty of humor along with some pathos, and Wheeler experiences something of an affirmation of her Catholic faith while she's on the ice (she's not preachy about it, but she introduces it in such a way that feels heartfelt and authentic). "Terra Incognita" is a great book about a supposedly inhospitable place and the people who chose to call it home base for seasons at a time. You may never visit the real Antarctica, but Sara Wheeler's version is very appealing.
May 5, 2023
I find myself fascinated by Antarctica and was pleased to have this book to read about it, but didn't expect the depth of the discussion here. The author's fascination with Antarctica far surpasses mine and her book is peppered with historical information about all the expeditions and explorations of Antarctica in the past and pretty much everything she could find that was written about Antarctica. She appears to have interviewed every living person connected to the prior expeditions and assignments in Antarctica and she went above and beyond to see every noon and cranny of the ice continent that she possibly could. She appears to have obtained a level of personal peace from her time in Antarctica which I confess to envying.
I appreciated very much the snippets of poetry and quotations of other writings that the author included. Her lens feels very much like the one that I would apply to a chance to visit Antarctica -- a trip I would never have the internal fortitude to undertake. The cold and the limited hygienic opportunities are off-putting, but the concept of being unable to leave and having limited access to books and my friends on top of too much time with the demons in my head are the strongest arguments against. I have to acknowledge that this was written in the late 1990s, so the improved connectivity of email and Zoom and such would decrease the sense of isolation -- and increase the access to reading materials. It would be interesting to see a discussion by the author of the changes brought by technology to some of the less pleasant aspects of time in Antarctica. I think that she would not be entirely positive about the changes, though, given her attachment to the stories of Scott and Shackleton and the way things were in the old days. But if there has been any decrease at all in the level of misogyny and general personal friction it would be an improvement.
I appreciated very much the snippets of poetry and quotations of other writings that the author included. Her lens feels very much like the one that I would apply to a chance to visit Antarctica -- a trip I would never have the internal fortitude to undertake. The cold and the limited hygienic opportunities are off-putting, but the concept of being unable to leave and having limited access to books and my friends on top of too much time with the demons in my head are the strongest arguments against. I have to acknowledge that this was written in the late 1990s, so the improved connectivity of email and Zoom and such would decrease the sense of isolation -- and increase the access to reading materials. It would be interesting to see a discussion by the author of the changes brought by technology to some of the less pleasant aspects of time in Antarctica. I think that she would not be entirely positive about the changes, though, given her attachment to the stories of Scott and Shackleton and the way things were in the old days. But if there has been any decrease at all in the level of misogyny and general personal friction it would be an improvement.
December 18, 2021
I have a lot of thoughts on this book but the most prominent is - why on earth does it not have pictures? She is describing places few people will ever see and she doesn't even include something visual to accompany the narrative.
My next thought is that the first half of the book was incredibly boring. She goes into great detail to discuss every single person, place, or thing she encounters. As a result, I forget everyone and everything she describes. There is no analysis, just a list of facts. There is a LOT of "man makes sexist comment - everyone laughs." The author also has an extreme superiority complex when it goes to Britain. Other countries are belittled or cast aside as odd. And of course no explorers were as brave or as determined as the British!
The second half redeemed the book up to 3 stars from 1-2. She starts to actually point out the rampant misogyny and sexism, and even explains why it exists (without justifying it, just explaining it). She also actually starts to describe the landscape rather than just day to day boring details. The ending where her and an artist share a cabin at winter's end is quite sweet.
I also was surprised at how climate change only had one very short mention in the entire book. That might be a result of the age of the book, but I'm certain some scientists down there must have taken some time to explain the phenomenon to her. It's a bit shocking that she didn't think it deserved more attention.
I do not recommend this book but if you do decide to pick it up, slog through the beginning because it does get better.
My next thought is that the first half of the book was incredibly boring. She goes into great detail to discuss every single person, place, or thing she encounters. As a result, I forget everyone and everything she describes. There is no analysis, just a list of facts. There is a LOT of "man makes sexist comment - everyone laughs." The author also has an extreme superiority complex when it goes to Britain. Other countries are belittled or cast aside as odd. And of course no explorers were as brave or as determined as the British!
The second half redeemed the book up to 3 stars from 1-2. She starts to actually point out the rampant misogyny and sexism, and even explains why it exists (without justifying it, just explaining it). She also actually starts to describe the landscape rather than just day to day boring details. The ending where her and an artist share a cabin at winter's end is quite sweet.
I also was surprised at how climate change only had one very short mention in the entire book. That might be a result of the age of the book, but I'm certain some scientists down there must have taken some time to explain the phenomenon to her. It's a bit shocking that she didn't think it deserved more attention.
I do not recommend this book but if you do decide to pick it up, slog through the beginning because it does get better.
September 27, 2024
My interest in Antarctica was first piqued at age 12 by my geography teacher telling us that the South Pole was encircled by oil drums and you could get a certificate saying you’d walked around the world if you walked around these. Sadly, the latest photos I can find show flags instead and there’s no mention of a certificate.
Also, since I was 13, I have lived about 4 miles away from Robert Scott’s son, when alive, and a claim to fame is that he and I used to have the same (NHS) doctor, so another interest in Antarctica came about.
As for the book itself:
What I didn’t like:
Maps! Once again, her book has been spoiled by the awful maps, with a lack of places mentioned being shown. My copy has black font on black seas so were impossible to read.
Photos! What photos? Well, it would have been good to have had some, especially for features that may now have disappeared.
Descriptions! How the author loved describing people’s hair in particular.
Boredom! Mine that is, at all the descriptions of the jollies she went on. Everyone seemed so accommodating of her wishes to go somewhere, and there was always an obliging pilot available to take her wherever. Might have been better with a map of places but I couldn’t be bothered towards the end to keep Googling them.
Sacrilege: Of her going to sleep on Scott’s bunk. Wouldn’t be allowed nowadays, I hope.
What I did like:
The Antarctica history, much of the Golden Age of Exploration I did know about though.
Her writing, which is good.
Also, since I was 13, I have lived about 4 miles away from Robert Scott’s son, when alive, and a claim to fame is that he and I used to have the same (NHS) doctor, so another interest in Antarctica came about.
As for the book itself:
What I didn’t like:
Maps! Once again, her book has been spoiled by the awful maps, with a lack of places mentioned being shown. My copy has black font on black seas so were impossible to read.
Photos! What photos? Well, it would have been good to have had some, especially for features that may now have disappeared.
Descriptions! How the author loved describing people’s hair in particular.
Boredom! Mine that is, at all the descriptions of the jollies she went on. Everyone seemed so accommodating of her wishes to go somewhere, and there was always an obliging pilot available to take her wherever. Might have been better with a map of places but I couldn’t be bothered towards the end to keep Googling them.
Sacrilege: Of her going to sleep on Scott’s bunk. Wouldn’t be allowed nowadays, I hope.
What I did like:
The Antarctica history, much of the Golden Age of Exploration I did know about though.
Her writing, which is good.
June 6, 2018
Sara Wheeler paints a picture of Antarctica but sadly, most of the book are images painted previously by historical figures that still haunt the icy landscape.
When I started reading Terra Incognita, I was keen on the promise and the premise of Antartica as the author's tabula rasa. I'm more interested in the author's thinking, experience, her emotional and spiritual landscape, not of the history of the place for there are far better resources on the latter.
She quotes Horace (being able to run as fast as one can anywhere but not from oneself) but I felt she kept running away, hiding more than revealing in this book, offering glimpses but never really revealing her depth. The promise of a tabula rasa has turned into a compendium of history notes, a tabula un-obscura, offering little insight on life in the Antarctica from the perspective of a woman and a writer who's been around the world in search of something (or running away from something).
If anything, maybe the cold desolation of the place only amplified the author's cynicism, her predilection for finding fault in most of anything, as well as her constant propensity for boredom and depression. I guess there's nothing more annoying as a writer who painstakingly get herself invited to go to Antartica then writes she's bored silly a lot of the times.
When I started reading Terra Incognita, I was keen on the promise and the premise of Antartica as the author's tabula rasa. I'm more interested in the author's thinking, experience, her emotional and spiritual landscape, not of the history of the place for there are far better resources on the latter.
She quotes Horace (being able to run as fast as one can anywhere but not from oneself) but I felt she kept running away, hiding more than revealing in this book, offering glimpses but never really revealing her depth. The promise of a tabula rasa has turned into a compendium of history notes, a tabula un-obscura, offering little insight on life in the Antarctica from the perspective of a woman and a writer who's been around the world in search of something (or running away from something).
If anything, maybe the cold desolation of the place only amplified the author's cynicism, her predilection for finding fault in most of anything, as well as her constant propensity for boredom and depression. I guess there's nothing more annoying as a writer who painstakingly get herself invited to go to Antartica then writes she's bored silly a lot of the times.
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