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Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction
Beneath the Shadow: Legacy and Longing in the Antarctic
In February 2010, with the help of a friend who works as a photographer with a National Geographic–sponsored cruise line, Justin Gardiner boarded a ship bound for Antarctica. A stowaway of sorts, Gardiner used his experiences on this voyage as the narrative backdrop for Beneath the Shadow, a compelling firsthand account that breathes new life into the nineteenth-century journals of Antarctic explorers such as Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, and Captain Roald Amundsen.
Beneath the Shadow is centered on journal excerpts by eight famous explorers, which Gardiner uses as touchstones for modern-day experiences of harsh seas, chance encounters, rugged terrain, and unspeakable beauty. With equal parts levity and lyricism, Gardiner navigates the distance between the historical and the contemporary, the artistic and the scientific, the heroic and the mundane. The bold and tragic tales of Antarctic explorers have long held our collective imagination—almost as much as the mythically remote land such explorers ventured to—and this book makes those voices come to life as few ever have.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 9, 2025
"Antarktikos means 'opposite the bear' and refers to the constellation Ursa Major, which hangs over the Northern Sky."
Gardiner evokes a sense of emptiness, of darkness, and indeed, longing for the unknown in his half personal account/half non-fiction tale of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. He jumps back and forth between his own trip to the southern continent and past exploits, both successful and deadly of explorers like Cook, Shackleton and Amundsen. It certainly breaks up the non-fiction text and gives a modern frame of reference to the more than 100 year old trips to the pole. This makes the content incredibly readable, but a little confusing at times.
The one thing I deeply regret about this work is there are no images to enrich the reading experience. There are no photographs (even though Gardiner will sometimes describe an image in detail, oddly) and there are no maps, either of Gardiner's cruise, or any of the trips of the explorers to the continent. This is a huge disservice to the reader. He writes like the reader is completely familiar with the images he is referencing, when in reality, this is the first that I am reading about Antarctica and the stories of the explorers. He does this again when describing Shackleton's journey, saying that the trip had already been adapted and told to death in films and novels. This is great, except all of this is new to me, Gardiner. I don't know what exploits you're referring to, and for you to assume that I already have this knowledge is an oversight on your part.
Other than this drawback, I really enjoyed reading the personal accounts of the explorers of over a century ago, and had no trouble imagining the environment and the awful conditions that the explorers had to deal with.
I'll absolutely be keeping this book as a reference. If only there were images to go with the text, I might have given this a full five stars.
Gardiner evokes a sense of emptiness, of darkness, and indeed, longing for the unknown in his half personal account/half non-fiction tale of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. He jumps back and forth between his own trip to the southern continent and past exploits, both successful and deadly of explorers like Cook, Shackleton and Amundsen. It certainly breaks up the non-fiction text and gives a modern frame of reference to the more than 100 year old trips to the pole. This makes the content incredibly readable, but a little confusing at times.
The one thing I deeply regret about this work is there are no images to enrich the reading experience. There are no photographs (even though Gardiner will sometimes describe an image in detail, oddly) and there are no maps, either of Gardiner's cruise, or any of the trips of the explorers to the continent. This is a huge disservice to the reader. He writes like the reader is completely familiar with the images he is referencing, when in reality, this is the first that I am reading about Antarctica and the stories of the explorers. He does this again when describing Shackleton's journey, saying that the trip had already been adapted and told to death in films and novels. This is great, except all of this is new to me, Gardiner. I don't know what exploits you're referring to, and for you to assume that I already have this knowledge is an oversight on your part.
Other than this drawback, I really enjoyed reading the personal accounts of the explorers of over a century ago, and had no trouble imagining the environment and the awful conditions that the explorers had to deal with.
I'll absolutely be keeping this book as a reference. If only there were images to go with the text, I might have given this a full five stars.
November 12, 2020
I enjoyed this book. Part travelogue, part biology lesson and part historical record, Gardiner does an admirable job discussing the history of travel in Antarctica - namely delving into the explorers from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Gardiner gives brief insights into the expeditions of Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen, amongst other early pioneers such as Thaddeus Bellingshausen and James Cook. All of these stories are interwoven with the author's own experiences traveling around Antarctica in 2010.
For those who aren't familiar with any of these explorers or their exploits, Gardiner does a good job telling their stories as well as doing his best to debunk myths that have surrounded them for decades, most notably between Scott and Amundsen. The author even attempts to right historical wrongs between the two men as told from author Roland Huntford decades before in his famed and controversial biography of Scott and Amundsen.
I give respect to the author for delving a little more into his sources and presenting a few unknown facts that I myself hadn't known until I finished reading this book. This was a very knowledgeable and detailed read.
Gardiner gives brief insights into the expeditions of Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen, amongst other early pioneers such as Thaddeus Bellingshausen and James Cook. All of these stories are interwoven with the author's own experiences traveling around Antarctica in 2010.
For those who aren't familiar with any of these explorers or their exploits, Gardiner does a good job telling their stories as well as doing his best to debunk myths that have surrounded them for decades, most notably between Scott and Amundsen. The author even attempts to right historical wrongs between the two men as told from author Roland Huntford decades before in his famed and controversial biography of Scott and Amundsen.
I give respect to the author for delving a little more into his sources and presenting a few unknown facts that I myself hadn't known until I finished reading this book. This was a very knowledgeable and detailed read.
July 27, 2019
3.5 Stars
At times captivating and at times a bit redundant, Justin Gardiner weaves his personal journey to Antarctica with the great explorers of Antarctica. His flawless transitions from his own experiences and thoughts, to the diaries of the explorers, to the historical tales are fascinating.
As someone that has always wanted to set their eyes on Antarctica, I enjoyed learning the history of the continent, much of which I never knew. Gardener’s book was an enjoyable history lesson.
The book slowed down for my at the end, and it started to feel like forced reading. The details of the groups’ misfortunes and mistakes felt a bit redundant and the reduction of Gardiner’s personal anecdotes pulled me away from the book a bit.
Still, Gardiner did an exceptional job at putting so much history into one book, while still adding a poetic (and cheeky) element, and confronting so many misconceptions and controversies. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is outdoorsy or into arctic exploration.
#BeneathTheShadow #NetGalley
At times captivating and at times a bit redundant, Justin Gardiner weaves his personal journey to Antarctica with the great explorers of Antarctica. His flawless transitions from his own experiences and thoughts, to the diaries of the explorers, to the historical tales are fascinating.
As someone that has always wanted to set their eyes on Antarctica, I enjoyed learning the history of the continent, much of which I never knew. Gardener’s book was an enjoyable history lesson.
The book slowed down for my at the end, and it started to feel like forced reading. The details of the groups’ misfortunes and mistakes felt a bit redundant and the reduction of Gardiner’s personal anecdotes pulled me away from the book a bit.
Still, Gardiner did an exceptional job at putting so much history into one book, while still adding a poetic (and cheeky) element, and confronting so many misconceptions and controversies. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is outdoorsy or into arctic exploration.
#BeneathTheShadow #NetGalley
June 23, 2019
Beautiful prose meets a captivating reflection and is finely bundled in a history of the Heroic Age of Antarctic adventure. Multiple passages stopped me in my tracks as Gardiner was able to pull deeply honest and personally relevant axioms about life from the sometimes banal but usually majestic experience upon his cruise. Similar stop-me-in-my-tracks moments were found when realizing the humanity of those old explorers and how their flaws motivated them toward and obscured them from their goals. While his adventure isn't nearly as globally heroic as those of the Antarctic explorers (and he admits that in the book), he finds the small personal heroism that many of us hope to find on a day to day basis. What a joy to understand myself and understand myself better through a different time and place (...but that's why we read!)
He does what makes for the best nonfiction: poetically finds the personal in a isolated moment in history. Bravo! Read this book!
He does what makes for the best nonfiction: poetically finds the personal in a isolated moment in history. Bravo! Read this book!
July 4, 2019
Beneath the Shadow is a compelling look at the history of Antarctic exploration as Gardiner ventures on his own modern day voyage of this fascinating land. This book is well written and well researched, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning so much more about the heroic characters who were drawn to the lure of the Antarctic. Highly recommend!
August 31, 2020
Lovely blend of history's explorers with the authors own Antarctic experience
This book was recommended to our own "uppity" NG\ Lindblad "Journey to the White Continent" crowd by Eric Guth (who features a small but important role there in) in 2018. As I'm sure many coming across this title may be considering taking similar such trips, please don't let the author's initial judgement of the passengers aboard turn you off from continuing to read. He beautifully weaves details from, and also corrects common beliefs about, the heroic period of Antarctic exploration, with his own experience as a stow away of sorts, aboard a modern day luxury tour to the area. This is a lovely written book, and one that also helped correct my own misunderstanding of history, as well as helping me reflect on my individual place in this world and time. The author's own life experiences, beyond just his Antarctic journey, add context and somehow blend effortlessly with the journal outcroppings and history of the last great global expedition pioneers. The book is very well researched, from both historical and scientific, points of view. In spite of tedious details, it was in no way a tedious read. I'm glad I kept on reading, when I was initially screaming "I am none of these gaudy characterizations*!" that the author initially believed of his fellow ship mates (and that he would later on, for some at least, realize his own misjudgment. I'm just saying don't let that initial attitude turn you off from continuing to read this book! *I am decidedly hard working middle class, and saved any and all extra funds for the sole purpose of this, and other, travels... a fact I'm endlessly grateful for during Life in the Time of Corona; as a health care hospital worker, who can go no where, and do nothing --> my own travel memories, and books like this -> that can effortlessly take me back to such voyages... sustain me.) Excellent read. Highly recommend!
This book was recommended to our own "uppity" NG\ Lindblad "Journey to the White Continent" crowd by Eric Guth (who features a small but important role there in) in 2018. As I'm sure many coming across this title may be considering taking similar such trips, please don't let the author's initial judgement of the passengers aboard turn you off from continuing to read. He beautifully weaves details from, and also corrects common beliefs about, the heroic period of Antarctic exploration, with his own experience as a stow away of sorts, aboard a modern day luxury tour to the area. This is a lovely written book, and one that also helped correct my own misunderstanding of history, as well as helping me reflect on my individual place in this world and time. The author's own life experiences, beyond just his Antarctic journey, add context and somehow blend effortlessly with the journal outcroppings and history of the last great global expedition pioneers. The book is very well researched, from both historical and scientific, points of view. In spite of tedious details, it was in no way a tedious read. I'm glad I kept on reading, when I was initially screaming "I am none of these gaudy characterizations*!" that the author initially believed of his fellow ship mates (and that he would later on, for some at least, realize his own misjudgment. I'm just saying don't let that initial attitude turn you off from continuing to read this book! *I am decidedly hard working middle class, and saved any and all extra funds for the sole purpose of this, and other, travels... a fact I'm endlessly grateful for during Life in the Time of Corona; as a health care hospital worker, who can go no where, and do nothing --> my own travel memories, and books like this -> that can effortlessly take me back to such voyages... sustain me.) Excellent read. Highly recommend!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews