End of the Earth: Voyaging to Antarctica

by Peter Matthiessen

Book Overview

End of the Earth brings to life the waters of the richest whale feeding grounds in the world, the wandering albatross with its 11-foot wingspan arching through the sky, and the habits of every variety... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0792250591
• ISBN13: 9780792250593
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: National Geographic Society
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Marvelous

I am a Matthiessen fan, of his fiction and of his reporting about nature. This book is excellent in both categories; some of the prose describing his ship sailing in the lonesome, gray south lattitudes with a solitary bird circling, hundreds of miles from land, relating these and other images to our own uncertain destiny, compels re-reading and reflection. The descriptions of the wildlife he encounters, the penguins especially, are supremely interesting.

Matthiessen does it again!

I've always enjoyed Peter's books, especially the Snow Leopard. I've travelled to many spots all over the world (unfortunately, not to Antarctica yet - although my husband is a pilot on "the Ice"). His prose is a little drier and more austere, but then again, from what I hear from my husband and various travelers to Antarctica (including Shackleton and Scott), that is what Antarctica is like. I do enjoy Peter's environmentalist views, and I don't think there is any irony in the fact he wishes people wouldn't travel to the Ice - at least, not in large, damaging numbers. I think we need people like him to describe these things for us and WHY it is so important to protect these fragile environments. I have heard about many stories of many people - wealthy and otherwise - coming to the South Pole Station and other spots around the continent, stealing the geographic South Pole markers, leaving their trash behind, disrespecting the National Science Foundation rules and the Antarctic Treaty stipulations. There are all kinds of people in the world, and no one can stop them from making jerks of themselves - but we can read this book, be educated, and have a little healthier respect for such places, and in turn educate other people. This is an interesting travel book, and a good addition to anyone's collection who is interested in travel to far-flung places and especially to anyone who is interested in the south polar regions. As for Anne Olsen's comments - while I normally do not comment on other people's reviews (and I've done so twice! Yikes!) , I have to say, she is the one completely, totally, absolutely and embarrassingly in the wrong. Mattthiessen describes the first sentence that he "fetched up in Punta Arenas, Chile...." and she claims he made a gross error and states Punta Arenas is in Argentina. I'm sure he's made some mistakes in his book - I have over 1,000 books in my library and it's safe to say every one of them probably has a mistake or two. We are not perfect, we human beings. HOWEVER......... Peter Matthiessen didn't say anything wrong. Punta Arenas is, in fact, in Chile - not Argentina. There are actually a few Punta Arenas (Guatemala, Venezuela, Peru), but it is NOT in Argentina. Can't argue with the map!

What a tour guide!

After reading Shackleton's "South" I thought I knew a lot about Antarctica, but this book revealed how much I didn't know - the forces at work behind the obstacles Shackleton and other adventurers faced in the quest for the pole, and a greater understanding of the wildlife they encountered. I learned that we cannot understand how the Earth works without understanding how the Antarctic region works - and Matthiessen explains its global reach. The touring format is a wonderful way to learn about the history and science of this region and Matthiessen is a wonderful guide (his poetic prose is Melville-esque). This is my first book by Matthiessen, and I will be sure to read many more.