3 Review(s)

A modern classic of Antarctic exploration, beautifully rejacketed to join The Magnetic North After writing two highly praised travel books, Sara Wheeler was accepted by the American government to be the first foreigner on their National Science Foundation's Antarctic Artists' and Writers Program. She spent six weeks at the pole and on the edge of the infamous Ross Ice Shelf, as well as another month with the British Antarctic Survey. Terra Incognita is a meditation on the landscape, myths and history of one of the remotest parts of the globe, as well as an encounter with the people who inhabit this region - living in close confinement despite the surrounding acres of white space - and the mechanics of day-to-day life in extraordinary conditions. Through Sara Wheeler, the Antarctic is revealed, in all its seductive mystery.