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Land of Wondrous Cold: The Race to Discover Antarctica and Unlock the Secrets of Its Ice
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 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.
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 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.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2020
18 people are currently reading
408 people want to read
About the author
Gillen D'Arcy Wood
12 books6 followersAssociate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 27, 2020
A historical account of Antarctic exploration during the mid- to late 1800s. I love polar exploration tales and this did not disappoint. The book is an exciting narrative (easily readable) of James Ross, Dumont D’Urville, and Charles Wilkes―race to Antarctica. Felt like I was onboard their ships!
dnf
February 12, 2024DNF po 27%. Temat wydawał się ciekawy, ale łapię się na tym, że nie wiem kto jest kim i w sumie niewiele mnie to obchodzi.
July 29, 2022
More 3.5.
Gallen D'Arcy Wood writes here about three different attempts, on the part of the french, british, and americans, to discover more about antarctica during the years 1838-1840, and he also parallels those 19th century explorers and what they found with certain 20th century inquiries into climate change, ice loss, sea level, and so on.
Not as arresting a book as his Tambora, but perhaps this is because I had read some history in this area before. Still, worth picking up. There are maps and illustrations. The maps are especially helpful. The concerns about antarctica are relevant to this very day's weather, and yesterday's, and tomorrow's.
Gallen D'Arcy Wood writes here about three different attempts, on the part of the french, british, and americans, to discover more about antarctica during the years 1838-1840, and he also parallels those 19th century explorers and what they found with certain 20th century inquiries into climate change, ice loss, sea level, and so on.
Not as arresting a book as his Tambora, but perhaps this is because I had read some history in this area before. Still, worth picking up. There are maps and illustrations. The maps are especially helpful. The concerns about antarctica are relevant to this very day's weather, and yesterday's, and tomorrow's.
July 2, 2020
An engrossing mix of science and adventure in this account of three nations sending expeditions to the Antarctic in the late 1830s and early 1840s.
August 19, 2020
The climate history sort of went over my head. And the timeline of this wasn't much of a race, since the brits left like 2 years after the americans. But it was still cool learning about Antarctica; I've never read about this subject. Author does a good job of making a narrative history without sounding too forced. He explains what characters were thinking and seeing but without making it sound forced.
June 9, 2020
This book tells such a clear and exciting story of the race to discover the South Pole. It is told in such a vivid way that you feel like you are there. It also gives a lot of interesting hostory, geography, and facts. There is also some subtle humor in even the darkest of stories that you can appreciate from the clear background told. I highly suggest this book!
April 17, 2022
While the early exploration of Antarctica is not as exciting as the better known turn-of-the-century heroic age of Antarctic exploration, Wood does tell the story very well. I especially liked how he fit between chapters stories of modern scientific research about Antarctica and the global climate.
March 28, 2022
Hmm, didn't bring anything new except a bit of French voyages' history I was unaware of, and some depressing climate commentary.
April 10, 2022
I've been trying to avoid giving books five stars, unless there's something that truly makes them stand out. Reflecting on this one, I think it might deserve the extra star.
When I thought about it for a bit, I realized that this book might be a kind of incredible achievement. Wood is actually writing three histories here: a history of 19th century discovery, 20th/21st century exploration and research, and a deep geologic history of the continent. And he weaves them all together. And does so to a satisfying level of depth in just a few hundred pages, with a flair for narrative style and elegant prose.
Kind of amazing, all taken together. I need to re-read it to make sure.
When I thought about it for a bit, I realized that this book might be a kind of incredible achievement. Wood is actually writing three histories here: a history of 19th century discovery, 20th/21st century exploration and research, and a deep geologic history of the continent. And he weaves them all together. And does so to a satisfying level of depth in just a few hundred pages, with a flair for narrative style and elegant prose.
Kind of amazing, all taken together. I need to re-read it to make sure.
October 26, 2020
The primary focus is on early exploration of the mysteries of the far south, with interludes delving into modern science. At times it felt like an uncomfortable combination, yet it pulled me through. It probably helps to have a minor obsession with Antarctica!
Some of the detailed science bits I skimmed, but that is just me. It did raise the topic of “penguin palaeontology” — which is another rabbit hole down which one can disappear.
There are references in this text to Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick, and Edgar Allen Poe. History, science, and literature, all circling this extraordinary continent of ice and wind, krill and whales, penguins and leopard seals.
Some of the detailed science bits I skimmed, but that is just me. It did raise the topic of “penguin palaeontology” — which is another rabbit hole down which one can disappear.
There are references in this text to Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick, and Edgar Allen Poe. History, science, and literature, all circling this extraordinary continent of ice and wind, krill and whales, penguins and leopard seals.
July 21, 2024
fajna garść informacji dla freaków (mnie) ale narracja zbyt chaotyczna
February 24, 2025
Land of Wondrous Cold consists of alternating chapters of historical narratives, describing three early-Victorian (1838-1842) Antarctic expeditions (Ross, Wilkes, and D’Urville) interspersed with “interlude” chapters covering tangents on Antarctic science. The author explains in the introduction: “Any structural resemblance to Moby-Dick is strictly intentional” (pg. 11). The narrative chapters perfectly capture the drama of each expedition, and the historical figures and their personalities are brought to life. The “interludes” sometimes drag on a little bit, perhaps because the narrative chapters are so compelling, and I was usually impatient to get back to them.
It's a pet peeve of mine when an author inserts themselves into a historical narrative unnecessarily. I don’t know who Gillen D'Arcy Wood is (there’s no self-introduction in the text), but for some reason, the book ends with his recollection of “hotdogging” through ice cracks in a helicopter while on a trip to Antarctica (the subject of the final sentence of the book). A book of this caliber deserves a stronger ending.
Memorable Moments:
It's a pet peeve of mine when an author inserts themselves into a historical narrative unnecessarily. I don’t know who Gillen D'Arcy Wood is (there’s no self-introduction in the text), but for some reason, the book ends with his recollection of “hotdogging” through ice cracks in a helicopter while on a trip to Antarctica (the subject of the final sentence of the book). A book of this caliber deserves a stronger ending.
Memorable Moments:
“By personalizing the new ice continent, D’Urville rejected both explorer tradition and professional common sense. He named Adélie Land and its signature animal neither after the intrepid men who first described it for science nor for the king, but instead for a woman back in Europe who hated Antarctica with all her heart.” (pg. 166)
“The prehistoric secrets yielded up by the islands collectively known as the James Ross Island Basin have earned it a reputation as the Rosetta Stone of Antarctic paleontology.” (pg. 168)
“In their extremity, they composed a letter to Lieutenant Pinkney (sitting a few feet away), expressing their refusal to continue on a course that ‘must soon terminate in DEATH.’ A very reasonable threat of mutiny. The next day, February 5, Pinkney turned back north.” (pg. 187-188)
“The landscape was almost too glorious. And the human eye was an inadequate lens. Seeing it was like spoiling it.” (pg. 226)
“Millions of people from low-lying coastal cities—from New York to Alexandria, Shanghai to Mumbai—will be forced to pack up and leave, joining a global exodus of up to two hundred million climate refugees worldwide. The humanitarian disaster set in train by the collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet will dwarf all forced mass migrations of the past, including the epic trauma of the Middle Passage. As coastlines are redrawn, the human social contract will be hastily rewritten, under emergency conditions not friendly to democratic process or human rights.” (pg. 258)
August 18, 2024
"Survival not fame, meanwhile, was the principal concern aboard the long-suffering Flying Fish. The last-minute recruits from the Sydney docks proved useless, forcing the officers to join the crew to work the ship. As early as New Year's Day, they lost their jib in rough weather. Wilkes, observing this calamity from the deck of the Vincennes, signalled "make sail" and cruised away, which the incredulous crew of the Flying Fish could only interpret as a sick joke."
God, no one delivers unhinged boat drama like polar expeditions. I've read a lot more books about Arctic expeditions so far, so it was nice to go South for a change. If you're familiar with Erebus & Terror lore, you will meet some old friends (most importantly that sexiest man alive portrait of James Clark Ross), but I don't care how many times I've heard the story of JCR and Crozier's adventures in Antarctica, I eat it up every time.
But the book also offered some very well-written and highly entertaining insight into the French and American Antarctic expeditions that were happening around the same time, and I immediately went and bought a book about the US Exploring Expedition because that was some wild shit and I need to know more about it.
I also liked how the book tied the history of Antarctic exploration to climate change today and offered some insight into the geographical history of the Antarctic as well as its animal inhabitants (though I found some of the interludes that delved into geology/tectonic plates etc. not that engaging because I'm just not well-versed enough in the topic to fully understand what I was reading and was more interested in the main topic of the 19th century expeditions).
October 12, 2024
It's hard to believe with our state-of-the-art global mapping technology today that the confirmed existence of Antarctica has been known for fewer than 200 years. People had long thought that there must be a large continent located in the southernmost reaches of the globe in order to provide a balance to the sheer amount of land in the north. And it turns out they were right, but not for those reasons. This book documents the endeavors of three countries — France, United Kingdom, United States — each of which sent a fleet of ships south in the early 1840s, competing to be the first nation to land on Antarctica and claim the territory for itself.
I delight in accounts of exploration, so I found this book fascinating. A word of advice to the next reader: have your map/phone/Google at the ready, because you'll want to look up all the islands, passages, seas, land features, etc. mentioned. In addition to the central narrative, Wood inserts lots of interesting asides about Antarctic history, fauna, weather and more. I was especially amazed by the account of peoples native to Tierra del Fuego, who are sadly no longer with us but somehow managed to live in "-40°C temperatures without firewood in animal skin tents." The last chapter is chilling (no pun intended). It's kind of amusing how three countries raced to be the first to lay eyes on Antarctica, only, once they had positively verified it was there, went home and twiddled their thumbs for the next half century or so.
I delight in accounts of exploration, so I found this book fascinating. A word of advice to the next reader: have your map/phone/Google at the ready, because you'll want to look up all the islands, passages, seas, land features, etc. mentioned. In addition to the central narrative, Wood inserts lots of interesting asides about Antarctic history, fauna, weather and more. I was especially amazed by the account of peoples native to Tierra del Fuego, who are sadly no longer with us but somehow managed to live in "-40°C temperatures without firewood in animal skin tents." The last chapter is chilling (no pun intended). It's kind of amusing how three countries raced to be the first to lay eyes on Antarctica, only, once they had positively verified it was there, went home and twiddled their thumbs for the next half century or so.
April 8, 2025
This book about exploration of Antarctica took a different approach. It presented the explorations of British, American, and French sailors of the 1830's - 1840's mostly, and interspersed them with scientific explorations of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In the process, it took the findings of the early trips of mostly observations from wooden ships stuck in ice floes and compared them with modern findings from core samples drilled in the ocean floor dating back millions of years.
Due to global warming, Antarctica is slowly melting just like the Arctic and will eventually lead to ocean level rises of as much as 200 feet over current levels. But the real surprise to me was that millions of years ago, Antarctica was a relative hothouse - with temperatures of 70 degrees F and fully forested with trees. There was also a land bridge connecting Antarctica with Australia and New Zealand. At that point, there was relatively little difference in temperature across the whole earth. When Antarctica cooled down (as did the Arctic), we got the frozen poles / glaciation of modern times and the more moderate temperatures we know today on Planet Earth (and people).
Although the timing of ocean levels rising is hard to predict, the chief worry is that the planet is warming at an increasing pace - therefore pushing us toward that tipping point at an ever increasing speed.
Due to global warming, Antarctica is slowly melting just like the Arctic and will eventually lead to ocean level rises of as much as 200 feet over current levels. But the real surprise to me was that millions of years ago, Antarctica was a relative hothouse - with temperatures of 70 degrees F and fully forested with trees. There was also a land bridge connecting Antarctica with Australia and New Zealand. At that point, there was relatively little difference in temperature across the whole earth. When Antarctica cooled down (as did the Arctic), we got the frozen poles / glaciation of modern times and the more moderate temperatures we know today on Planet Earth (and people).
Although the timing of ocean levels rising is hard to predict, the chief worry is that the planet is warming at an increasing pace - therefore pushing us toward that tipping point at an ever increasing speed.
December 2, 2024
Fascinating premise, to juxtapose the 19th century exploration of Antarctica with its the climatic and geographical significance of the region in the development of earth itself. The book is a great blend of history and science, accessible to people who may not be familiar with one or the other, and D’Arcy-Wood is a captivating storyteller when it comes to relating voyages of discovery. The goal of the book is to situate humans as brief actors within a Deep Time history, but the scientists of the past come across less as actors within a larger picture, and more as bumbling Victorians who made were out of their depth and weren’t the men for the job. While Ross, D’Urville and Wilkes deserve a wealth of criticism (regarding such things as phrenology, racism, imperial arrogance and many others) any in-depth analysis of their work within the longer scope of scientific study tends to get overshadowed by a narrative that appears more focused on making fun of those silly Victorians.
July 4, 2022
I enjoyed reading about the exploration voyages of the 1800s. The stories are told in a very engaging and entertaining style. Interspersed throughout the book are "interludes" - chapters that provide detail as to the modern scientific and historic understanding of areas of Antarctica being explored in the "main" chapters.
While some of the science in the interlude chapters went a bit over my head (and I always found myself itching to get back to the topic of the Victorian exploration voyages), they did provide good context to the book.
While some of the science in the interlude chapters went a bit over my head (and I always found myself itching to get back to the topic of the Victorian exploration voyages), they did provide good context to the book.
February 9, 2022
I love to read about people who explore frigid places though I hate being cold myself. This book focuses on 19th-early 20th century ship captains and mates who traveled to Antarctica in flimsy sailing ships. And many actually made it home to Europe or America. This book not only tells of those adventures, it relates the discoveries made to the present climate change crisis, as well as our understanding of this ice-bound continent.
January 3, 2023
1840s race to the pole between D’Urville (first to sight Antarctica and land), Wilkes (charting a great stretch of coast) and Ross (traveled the furthest and saw the most). Wilkes just sounds like a really terrible person! Interspersed is some modern ice research. And the ending is, well, a climate change ice-melting nightmare. The cover is really beautiful and there are a few other lovely drawings in it too.
November 11, 2020
Just aw-ight for me; you have to be in the mood for nonfiction. Maybe I’m not in the mood.
A lot of history about all previous trips to Antarctica 🇦🇶 (interesting) , comparing what each person’s idea of the coastlines were, compared with today’s more accurate (?) and likely different measurements due to global catastrophes.
Good luck!
A lot of history about all previous trips to Antarctica 🇦🇶 (interesting) , comparing what each person’s idea of the coastlines were, compared with today’s more accurate (?) and likely different measurements due to global catastrophes.
Good luck!
October 6, 2021
Land of Wondrous Cold cleverly combines a twin narrative of polar exploration and deep-time history of Antarctica into an electrifying book that caught me by surprise. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2021...
January 16, 2024
I was looking for more of a book of the climatology and science of the antarctic region, and this book focused a lot more on the race to discover Antarctica between the British, French, and Americans, rather than unlocking the secrets of its ice.
The British narrator's American accent for written quotations was a little jarring.
The British narrator's American accent for written quotations was a little jarring.
October 4, 2020
A thoroughly enjoyable if sobering recounting of the adventures of the first explorers of Antarctica. Don’t expect to get away with a quick historical sojourn because the author has plenty of hard science to warn of of our plight during our own Anthropocene Epoch.
January 25, 2025
A somewhat more technical book than I was expecting, focusing on both the scientific and exploratory history of antarctica in a way that is perhaps not conducive to building a layman’s understanding of these subjects but one that I thoroughly enjoyed
June 3, 2021
Really interesting, and I liked the structure of the book too.
July 28, 2021
Wow
A very well researched book. Lots if different things attached to this place. A well researched easy reading look at something that should concern us
A very well researched book. Lots if different things attached to this place. A well researched easy reading look at something that should concern us
March 4, 2022
Perfect book to have read during a big freeze here in Boulder. Inside my warm home. Near the fire. I love a ocean going Polar explore read and this was a very good one.
December 31, 2022
Loved this book, but why did people DO this to themselves?? Why not wait for snowmobiles to be invented! Lol
But still, it's a riveting adventure to hear or read about!
But still, it's a riveting adventure to hear or read about!
May 10, 2024
My advice. Don’t buy coastal property.
June 17, 2025
as a narrative? v compelling, loved the characters. As a history work? solid but not what im used to
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews