Antartica

American Geographical Society
Exploring Antarctica Vicariously: A Survey of Recent Literature Author(s): John H. Roscoe Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 48, No. 3 (Jul., 1958), pp. 406-427 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/212260 . Accessed: 14/06/2013 10:35
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EXPLORING ANTARCTICA VICARIOUSLY

A SURVEY OF RECENT LITERATURE
JOHN H. ROSCOE
A
geograof professional the number computer is not neededto tabulate DIGITAL
phers who have done field researchin the Antarctic; one's fingers are still sufficient. Yet all geographersrequire some knowledge of the South Polar region, most face problems that are indirectly concerned with the area, and an increasingly large number are becoming directly involved in its affairs.The preparationof geographersfor these tasks varies widely. Regardless of their ability, without benefit of field work their knowledge of the Antarctic can be gained only by examination of specimens, statistics, maps, and photographs, by personal contact with explorers, or by acquiring a working knowledge of the literature. With only this vicarious exploration, such well-known geographers as Kenneth J. Bertrand, William A. Briesemeister, Meredith F. Burrill, William H. Hobbs, W. L. G. Joerg, and Lawrence Martin have made substantial contributions to the geography of Antarctica. Together these men have contributed more to our knowledge and understanding of Antarcticproblems (except, perhaps,some operationalones) than the majority of the field explorers of all disciplines.Consequently, although everyone agrees that there is no substitute for field work, it is equally apparent that outstanding contributions to knowledge can be, and frequently are, based on vicarious exploration. Contact with explorers, their manuscriptrecords, statistics,and compilation data and their maps, sketches, and photographs, is best accomplished through the national organizations interested in the Antarctic and through the various geographical societies. Contact with Antarctic literature,however, can be made directly.
ANTARCTIC BIBLIOGRAPHIES
There are three major comprehensive bibliographies of Antarctic literature. Jean Denuce publishedthe first in 1913I for a meeting of the InternationalPolar Commission in Rome. His work contains 3225 numbered, unannotated references, arranged by subject but with an author index. However, his bibliography is now of only historical interest, since his referencesappearin later works. The second bibliography was compiled by an outstanding Antarctic historian,the late Bjarne Aagaard, as part of a four-volume work that appearedover a period of 20 years.2 The volumes contain an enormous store of accurate, historical information, but in nearchaotic disorganizationand in Norwegian, a language in which few geographersare fluent. However, bibliographical information in most languages is readily translatable, and Aagaard's is no exception. His bibliography, most of which appears in Volume 4, lists alphabeticallymore than 4000 unannotatedreferencesto Antarctic and whaling literature,
IJ. Denuce: Bibliographie antarctique,Procs-lVerbal Commissiou Polaire Iuternatle. Sess. de 1913, Rome, Brussels, 1913, pp. 25-293. Also published separately. 2 Bjarne Aagaard:Fangstog forskningi Sydishavet(4 vols. in 5 [Vol. 3 in 2 partsl,Oslo, 1930-1950). > DR. RosCOE, Staff Scientist with Lockheed Aircraft Missile Systems Division, Palo Alto, directs satellite research. Formerly he had wide Antarctic experience as a geographer in government service.
EXPLORING
ANTARCTICA
407
organized in a combined author-subjectarrangement.More than a third deal with whaling, a subject in which this bibliography remains unsurpassed.The publication date of 1950 is somewhat misleading, since few of the referencesare dated later than 1944. The third, and most recent, bibliography was compiled for the United States government. "Antarctic Bibliography"3 contains some 5500 numbered, unannotated references, arranged chronologically within subject groupings and with an author index. Special features include lists of Antarctic photography and index maps to charts and air photographs of the Antarctic. Unfortunately, one must consult the individual issues of the Polar Recordand such other periodicals as the Joturtial of Glaciology and Cuirrent for Geographical Publications comprehensive bibliographical references to works published after 1950. The need for a continuing, well-organized, comprehensive, and fully annotated Antarctic bibliography similar to the "Arctic Bibliography"4is evident. The "Arctic Bibliography" and two other current bibliographies that are primarily concerned with Arctic and cold-weather phenomena are also excellent sources for Antarctic literature the "Bibliography on Snow, Ice and Permafrost"5and "The Polar Bibliography."'6 All these are continuing publications, well arranged and well annotated. A similar-style bibliography contains a comprehensive, annotated list of government security-classified and commercial proprietary references. Many of these references are concerned with cold-weather operations, equipment, and testing.
CURRENT PERIODICAL LITERATURE
Critical examination of the hundreds of articles published on Antarctic affairssince 1950 is obviously not feasible here. Suffice it to say that scientists and others associated with the Expeditions Polaires Fransaises and the Antarctic Division of the Australian Department of External Affairs have been by far the most prolific. Other organizations, such as the Falkland Islands Dependencies Scientific Bureau and the Instituto Antartico Argentino, and many individuals have also been active. References to such articles appear in recent issues of the Polar Recordand in the bibliographies cited above. Books on Antarctica published since 1950 have appeared at the rate of six or seven a year; more than fifty of them are considered here.
COMPREHENSIVE WORKS
Aside from "Antarctica in the International Geophysical Year,"7 to be discussed

3 [John H. Roscoe:] Antarctic Bibliography. vi and 147 pp.; maps, index (of authors). U. S. Dept. Of the Navy NAVAER 10-35-591, 1951. $1.25 (for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.). 4 Vols. 1-3 reviewed, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 44, 1954, pp. 322-323, by Trevor Lloyd. [To date (May, 1958), 7 volumes have been received by the American Geographical Society.] on Snow, Ice and Permafrost." Prepared by the SIPRE Bibliography Project, 5"Bibliography Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. Sipre Report 12. Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, Wilmette, Ill. Vol. 1, 1951-. About 15o0 abstracts per volume; author and subject indexes. 6 "The Polar Bibliography." Produced for the Department of Defense by the Technical Information Division of the Library of Congress. Vol. 1, 1956-. About 1o00 abstracts per volume; author and subject indexes. 7 See footnote 65 below.
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THE GEOGRAPHICALREVIEW
farther on, only two comprehensive geographical treatises on Antarctica have appeared in recent years-the New Zealand Antarctic Society's "The Antarctic Today,"8 edited by Frank A. Simpson, and Hans-Peter Kosack's "Die Antarktis."9The first contains 18 chapters by 17 authors, most of whom are New Zealanders or Australians.Glaciology, geology, oceanography, biology, zoology, ornithology, meteorology, the auroraaustralis, the ionosphere, sea ice, navigation, and recent expeditions are treated in separatechapters, with individual bibliographiesand illustrations.Since the book has already been reviewed in this journal, it is sufficient to say that this handsome, well-illustrated publication is a valuable reference work for geographers.Its most serious flaws are its incompleteness and the unevenness in style, quality, and detail, the naturalresult of a multiauthor effort. "Die Antarktis," on the other hand, is of uniform style and quality of content and more nearly uniform in its detail, which is considerable.Both volumes contain excellent folded maps. Although Kosack'sbook is smaller and has fewer pages than the New Zealand volume, it contains much more and better-organizedinformation. "Die Antarktis"begins with a discussion of boundaries,divisions, and names, which, though detailed, fails to mention or portray on maps all the significantphysical boundaries proposed for the Antarctic.Twenty-one pages are devoted to a capsulehistory of Antarctic exploration, with a paragraph for each major expedition; for more ready reference, a detailed expedition list is included among the appendices, which cites 172 expeditions, with dates, ships, major accomplishments, leaders, and some staff members. Sections are devoted to geology, morphology, climate, geomagnetism and aurora, the Antarctic seas, glaciology, flora and fauna, economics, and sovereignty. The last includes, in addition to the usual map of the areasclaimed, a chronological list of the 32 most significant political events and a country-by-country discussion of pclitical history and sovereignty status. A third of "Die Antarktis"is devoted to individual descriptionsof regions, islands,and places. A paragraphin small type, giving a concise history of local exploration, is followed by a brief treatiseon what is known of the geology, glaciology, climate, position, orientation, altitude, and political status. No modern treatment of this sort has appearedin the English language except the British Admiralty's Antarctic Pilot and the United States Navy's Sailing Directions for Antarctica, both inadequate for the geographer. Kosack's selected bibliography of 236 references,arrangedin sections similarto the subjectmatter of the book, contains about three dozen referencesto publications since 1950 but shows less knowledge of American researchthan one would expect. Other useful appendices are a list of occupied or abandoned stations and refuge huts and a list of navigational aids and beacons. An expert has no difficulty in finding such defects in the book as misspellings, omissions (in the expedition and station lists), errors (the Norvegia expedition is stated to have been the only one to land successfully on Peter I Island'0),and a lack of familiarity with American literature (of the basic bibliographies discussed above, only Denuce and Aagaard are mentioned). Nevertheless, for geographers,Kosack's book is by far the most comprehensive geographical work published in the last decade.
8
Reviewed, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 44, 1954, PP. 461-463, by Paul A. Siple.
9 Hans-Peter Kosack: Die Antarktis: Eine Landerkunde. 310 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr.,
index. Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Heidelberg [1955]. DM 27.80. IO On February 15, 1948, I went ashore from the U.S.S. Burton Island, and in the same month personnel from the M.S. Brategg banded penguins there. Recently, the Chilean Navy made two landings.
EXPLORING
ANTARCTICA
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HISTORY OF EXPLORATION
Unlike Kosack, who has amassed geographical facts, Charles Lee has singled out geographical adventure at its best. His "Snow, Ice and Penguins"" is an anthology culled from 28 books on Antarctic exploration. The selections were carefully chosen to give the reader exciting, well-written tales that flow with a literate as well as a chronological smoothness. The book provides a feeling of the color and the characterof the Antarctic that somehow the more learned tomes seldom seem to convey. It contains the heart of the most exciting experiences of such men as Cook, Palmer, Wilkes, Ross, Bull, Charcot, Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott, Cherry-Garrard,Mawson, Byrd, Gould, and Ronne. A preface to each selection introduces its author and sets the stage. Because of the criteria used for selection, some important expeditions and adventures--for example, those of Dumont d'Urville, Drygalski, Wilkins, Ellsworth, and Ritscher--are lacking. History suffers,but the spirit of the Antarctic is there. The French have recently published a handsomely printed, copiously illustrated geographical trilogy entitled "Histoire universelle des explorations: Epoque contemporaine," in which Jules Rouch describesthe exploration of the oceans, Haroun Tazieff tells of explorations into the earth's crust, its seas, and its skies, and Paul-Emile Victor deals with "Les explorations polaires."'2Victor, the energetic polar explorer upon whom they say the mantle of Charcot has descended, discussesthe exploration of both poles since 1818 in an interwoven treatment that seems at the same time to lend a better perspective and to result in a greater confusion in continuity. His organization, which considers in turn the British Period, the Polar Routes, the Race to the Poles, Dog Sleds, and the Mechanical Age, is unusual, but the sections are certainly not mutually exclusive. He writes in an interesting style, helped by printed marginal notes. The brevity with which most expeditions are treatedis disappointingto those who wish more details, but the book is a valuable contribution to the field. The late Admiral Lord Mountevans, as Edward Evans, sailed on the relief ship of Scott's first expedition and was the second-in-command of Scott's last expedition. He was last to see Scott and his party alive when Evans' support party turned back. In the years before his death, Baron Mountevans was persuadedto write several books, among them "The Desolate Antarctic," "The Antarctic Challenged," and a second autobiography, "Happy Adventurer."3 The books were rapidly, but lucidly, written; they are interesting enough but contain little that had not been better expressed previously. Moreover, they
I, Charles Lee, edit.: Snow, Ice and Penguins: A Cavalcadeof AntarcticAdventures.xiv and 417 pp.; map. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1950. $4.00.
12 Paul-Emile Victor: Les explorations polaires. Pp. 211-382; maps, ills., bibliogr. (Histoire universelle des explorations: Epoque contemporaine, Vol. 2.) Nouvelle Librairie de France, F. Sant' Andrea,
Paris, 1956.
I3 Admiral Lord Mountevans: The Desolate Antarctic. xvi and 172 pp.; maps, ills., bibliogr., index. Lutterworth Press, London, 1950. 12s. 6d. (American edition: Man against the Desolate Antarctic. Wilfred Funk, Inc., New York, 1951. $3.00.) Idem: The Antarctic Challenged. vi and 247 pp.; map, ills., bibliogr., index. John de Graff, Inc., New York, 1956. $4.50. (English edition: Staples Press, Ltd., London, 1955. 191 pp. 16S.) Idem:Happy Adventurer: An Autobiography. 131 pp.; ills. Wilfred Funk, Inc., New York, 1951. $2.50. (English edition: Lutterworth Press, London. 7s. 6d.) His earlier autobiography, "Adventurous Life," appeared in 1946 (London, 1946; New York, 1948).
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THE GEOGRAPHICAL
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are highly repetitious of one another and of his previous works, all of which have had an appeal for the young. In stark contrast with these volumes stands the work of another of Scott's companions. When Professor FrankDebenham wrote "In the Antarctic,"'4he took pains not to repeat the oft-told tale of Scott's last expedition. Insteadhe produced a series of charming essayson the explorer'slife in Antarctica,interspersedwith poems and sketches. Many of the drawings were made by Dr. Edward Wilson, who died with Scott. Debenham Polar Timles,a journal he borrowed these and other materials from issues of the Sotuth helped produce while encamped on Ross Island. Reproductions of it are scarce indeed, and these tidbits on the adaptation of the explorer to his inhospitable environment are most welcome.
BIOGRAPHIES
Four biographies in addition to that of Mountevans have recently been published. "Hitch Your Wagon'9" is the biography of Bernt Balchen, sometimes described as the first man to fly over the South Pole, since as Byrd's pilot he sat in front of him. Balchen's pioneering experiencesin aviation are legendary, but only a hundred pages of the book are devoted to his Antarcticwork as Byrd's pilot and his two voyages with Sir Hubert Wilkins on the Ellsworth expeditions. Captain Charles Thomas' "Ice Is Where You Find It"'i6 is the autobiography of a Coast Guard icebreakerskipper'smany voyages into frozen seas. Some 50 pages describe Captain Thomas' cruise on the U.S.C.G. ship Northtvind,breaking ice for the Navy's Operation Highjump in the Antarctic. Despite his intense interestin science, Thomas' style of writing leaves no doubt in the reader'smind that the book was written by a military man. Unfortunately, no mention could be made of the author's later experiences in the Antarctic with Operation Deepfreeze I and II, during which his most valuable contributions to Antarctic exploration were made. The third biography, "The Hidden Coasts,"'7is the long-overdue story of Admiral Charles Wilkes, who in 1839-1840 led the frail, unseaworthy ships of the United States Exploring Expedition for 1500 miles along the stormy, icebound coast of Antarctica and became the first man to provide substantialproof of the existence of a continent. Wilkes was a highly controversial officer whose entire career makes interesting reading, but most of the book is devoted to his Antarctic work, from which were later derived many costly scientific volumes. Henderson's researchseems to have borne fruit, but errors do occur; for example, his "promotion" of the late W. L. G. Joerg to Chief Archivist of the United States and his description of Wilkes's initial assaultas the "FirstSouth Polar Sortie." Also, Hendersonreveals a scanty knowledge of Antarcticaffairsin his speculationon the problem of Antarctic sovereignty.
'4 Frank Debenham: In the Antarctic: Stories of Scott's Last Expedition. vii and 146 pp.; maps, ills. John Murray, London, 1952. 7s. 6d. The Story of Bernt Balchen. xi I5 Clayton Knight and Robert C. Durham: Hitch Your Wagon: and 332 pp.; maps, ills. Bell Publishing Company, Drexel Hill, Pa., 1950. $3.50. pp.; maps, ills. The BobbsI6 Charles W. Thomas: Ice Is Where You Find It. xxvi and 27-378 Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis and New York, 1951. $4.50. I7 Daniel Henderson: The Hidden Coasts: A Biography of Admiral Charles Wilkes. ix and 306 pp.; map, ill., bibliogr., index. William Sloane Associates, New York, 1953. $5.00.
EXPLORING
ANTARCTICA
411
For their recent biography of Shackleton,"8Margery and James Fisher made taperecorded interviews with the remaining survivors of the expeditions and obtained the explorer's previously unpublished papers, correspondence, and diaries. Just which of these survivorsand paperswere not availableto Hugh Robert Mill, who knew Shackleton, was connected with his polar expeditions, and wrote his biography a quarterof a century earlier,'9 is never quite clear. Nevertheless, the Fishers have produced a thorough and scholarly work that is a worthy successor to Mill's. The new book is longer and more copiously illustrated, though many of the photographs have appeared elsewhere. Aside from the standardappendices, the biography contains a Shackleton chronology and lists of his writings and his expedition personnel.
ANTARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY
In a book called "The Antarctic Problem"20E. W. Hunter Christie handles sovereignty matters most aptly. His book contains 15 chapters on the history of Antarctic exploration, preparedwith some degree of originality and not a mere rehash, as is all too frequently the case. The remaining four chaptersand three appendicesdiscussthe political position of Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom relative to the sectors of the Antarctic south of the Americas. Christie illustrates the complexities of the problem, which involves foreign trade, internal politics, and national pride. Though obviously biased, he has attempted to provide fair treatment. On the other hand, Oscar Pinochet de la Barra's"Chilean Sovereignty in Antarctica"21 makes no attempt to give the Argentine or British side of the question. Pinochet presents the official viewpoint of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairsin a small book based on the third edition of his "La Antartica chilena" as modified by a conference held at the Ministry's Academy of Diplomatic Studies. It describes the pertinent papal bulls, the Treaty of Tordesillas, royal decrees, Anglo-Spanish colonial treaties, the polar-sector theory, and Chile's Antarctic concessions, activities, and decrees and concludes with a discussion of current Chilean work in the Antarctic and international negotiations on the status of Antarctica. The reader is hardly surprised to find sections devoted to Chilean rights against the claims of Argentina and Great Britain, but he begins to appreciatethe intensity of Chilean nationalismwhen he readsthe paragraphs on Chilean rights againstthe claims of the United States, which were presumably written in the event that the United Statesshould ever desireto make a formal claim. The chief value of the book is its presentation for the first time in well-written English of the complete, official Chilean view. Although the United States has repeatedly reserved its rights in the Antarctic, it has yet to announce formally any of the claims made by its citizens. In recent years, Americans have seen and photographed much more of Antarcticathan all other nationalsof all times. Now, research has revealed that the first persons known to have landed on Antarctica, and the first ones to describe and record the area as a continent, were American sealers.
i8 Margery and James Fisher. Shackleton. xvi and 559 pp.; maps, ills., bibliogr., index. James Barrie Books Ltd., London, 1957. 30s. (American edition: Shackleton and the Antarctic. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1958. $7.50.) I9 H. R. Mill: The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton (Boston, 1923). 20 Reviewed, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 43, 1953, pp. 285-286, by KennethJ. Bertrand. 21 Oscar Pinochet de la Barra: Chilean Sovereignty in Antarctica. 62 pp.; maps. Editorial Del Pacifico S. A., Santiago de Chile, 1955.
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THE GEOGRAPHICAL
REVIEW
A recently discovered ship's log forms the basisfor E. A. Stackpole's "The Voyage of the
Huron and the Huntress,"22 which tells of this previously little-known historical event.
Stackpole's well-documented work is the most important historical publication of recent years bearingon Antarcticsovereignty. (This statementwould have been heartily endorsed by Martin or Hobbs but greeted with far less enthusiasmby Hayes or Hinks!)
WHALERS AND WHALES
One of the most readablerecent Antarctic books is "Of Whales and Men"23by R. B. Robertson, a venturesome surgeon-psychiatrist and senior medical officer in a British whaling fleet. Robertson writes of the activities of the 65o whalers, of their whales, and of their adventures through 48,ooo miles of Antarctic sea. His scientific training and his movement throughout the fleet gave him an excellent opportunity to observe and record -an opportunity of which he made maximum use. Robertson's concern for the welfare of the whalers is expressedthrough his composite whaling characterswho sail the "Zuther Notion." If geography is defined as human ecology or as relating thereto, Robertson's book, though written for popular consumption, is as much needed for the study of the economic geography of the Antarctic as the statisticsof the InternationalWhaling Commission or the Discovery Reports. The photographs are good but insufficient,and a map of the voyages is lacking. is something of a sequel to "Of Whales and Ross Cockrill's "Antarctic Hazard"24 Men." Both authors are Scotsmen with scientific training, serving with the same type of whaling fleet at about the same time and with the same freedom of accessand observation. Cockrill is a veterinarianand acted also as whale-fishery inspector. Both books are written with humor and with much the same subject content, yet there is little duplication. Robertson's style and organization are superior; Cockrill gives more detail about whales and whaling. Cockrill's volume contains a map of Antarcticabut would have been better without it; the map is at least 25 years out of date, and these were critical years so far as Antarctic cartography is concerned. A third whaling ship's doctor, Dr. Harry R. Lillie, has published his experiences in "The Path through Penguin City.'925 Lillie reveals his abhorrence for the cruelty shown the whales even more than Cockrill, the veterinarian; Lillie's pet abomination is the explosive harpoon. His provocative book includes intimate conversations with the "penguin people." Although primarily for boys, Frank Crisp's "The Adventure of Whaling"26 should be mentioned. The historical treatment follows whaling from its simple beginnings in northern waters to the activities of the modern whaling fleets, with all their electronic facilities, now operating in the southern oceans.
22 Edouard A. Stackpole: The Voyage of the Huironand the Huntress: The American Sealers and the Discovery of the Continent of Anltarctica. 86 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills. Aqarine Hist. Assn. [Putbl.] No. 29, Mystic, Conn., 1955. $2.00. (Noted, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 47, 1957, pp. 134-136, by KennethJ. Bertrand.) 23 R. B. Robertson: Of Whales and Men. xii and 300 pp.; ills. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1954. $4.50. (English edition: xiv and 247 pp. Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London, 1956. 21s.) 24 [W.] Ross Cockrill: Antarctic Hazard. 230 pp.; map, ills. Frederick Muller Ltd., London, 1955- 15S. 25 Harry R. Lillie: The Path through Penguin City. xv, xvi, and 17-302 pp.; maps, ills., index. Ernest Benn Limited, London, 1955. 25s. 26 Frank Crisp: The Adventure of Whaling. vii and 143 pp.; ills. Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London; St. Martin's Press, New York, 1954. 6s. 6d.; $2.00.
EXPLORING ANTARCTICA SOUTH GEORGIA
413
South Georgiais a true Antarctic island,lying south of the Antarctic Convergence the inhabited the world'ssouthernmost and containing permanently place, "city" called Grytviken. "Antarctic Isle"27 by Niall Rankin tellsthe storyof a naturalist andtwo crewmen who aboarda 42-foot cruiser while examiningthe coasts, spenta summerliving dangerously The author describes in thesurroundandwildlifeof SouthGeorgia. the whales mountains, extinctfursealto the reindeer fromthe nearly andall formsof life on the island, ing waters in 1911; he goes into much detailaboutthe king and gentoo penguins,the introduced are excellentand well and the elephantseal. His 137 photographs wanderingalbatross, massesto rookeries,are and his five maps,rangingfrom continental-size reproduced, of SouthGeorgiaare preA briefhistoryand generalgeography refreshingly adequate. andsouthwestern of its northwestern extremities. descriptions sented,with moredetailed andvaluable in thatit provides All in all, the book is a handsome production considerable abouta relativelysmallarea. information summerof 1954-1955, GeorgeSuttonled a five-manmountainDuringthe southern It washisintention to SouthGeorgia. to conquer Mt. Paget,the island's eeringexpedition glacier-covered, highestpeak (9200 feet from baseto top). The two attempts failed(one ice morphology,the otherfrom lack of time), and Sutton'smain confrom impassable of the local landscape woven into his story of the expedition, tributionis his description
which he calls "Glacier Island. "28
L. HarrisonMatthews,directorof the Zoological Society of London,spent three of SouthGeorgia. andsealers His "SeaElephant"29 years amongthe whalers is a companion Albatross." One might expect that Matthews,who volume to his earlier"Wandering spent a longer periodon South Georgiathan Rankinand is writingundermore finite a more scholarly but this is not the case."SeaEletitles, would have produced treatise, phant"is a muchshorter book, it is writtenin strictlypopularvein, andit is not limited Muchof the book is dialoguebetweenthe authorandthe sealers to seaelephants. during the hunting,killing,and flensing.Huntingsea lions and fur sealsin the Falklands is inon crabeater, cluded,and also material Weddell,and leopardseals.The chapteron the andsealingon the island,whichfor no apparent historyof discovery reason appears in the middleof the book, is the only one writtenwithoutdialogue. The photographs aregood, but the mapof SouthGeorgiacouldbe lessdecorative andmoreuseful. of SouthGeorgia Someof the bestphotographs in AlfredSaunders' appear "A Camera in Antarctica."30 Not only are the 72 photographs of startlingcontentand excellently bled on largepagesmakesthem morereadable; but theirappearance reproduced, the size
27 Niall Rankin: AntarcticIsle: Wild Life in South Georgia. 383 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. William Collins Sons & Co., Ltd., London, 1951. 25S. (Americanedition: British Book Centre,
Inc., New York, 1952. $5.50.)
George Sutton: Glacier Island:The Official Account of the British South Georgia Expedition, 224 pp.; maps, ills., index. Chatto & Windus, London, 1957. 21S. 29 L. HarrisonMatthews: Sea Elephant:The Life and Death of the ElephantSeal. 185 pp.; map, ills. MacGibbon & Kee, London, 1952. 15s. (See also his "Wandering Albatross:Adventures among the Albatrossesand Petrels in the Southern Ocean" [London, 1951].) 30 Alfred Saunders:A Camera in Antarctica. 160 pp.; map, ills., index. Winchester Publications
28 1954-1955.
Limited, London, 1950.
21S.
(American edition: Macdonald & Co., New York. $4.50.)
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THE GEOGRAPHICAL
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averages6o squareinches, in contrastwith 40 in "AntarcticIsle" and 20 in "Sea Elephant." However, the reader who assumesfrom the title that he has obtained a picture book finds that it also contains a deceptively full volume of closely set text. Saundersspent the greater part of 15 years in the Antarctic. For eight years he served as photographer and member of the scientific staff on the R.R.S. DiscoveryII and for the remainder of the time at the shore station at Grytviken. His book tells of life on South Georgia in summer and in winter; it describesand illustrateswhaling, sealing, and the penguins and other birds. The latter half is devoted to the oceanographicalcruisesof the DiscoveryII, including two circumpolar cruises and the rescue of Lincoln Ellsworth and Herbert Hollick-Kenyon from flight. Little America after their transantarctic
ANTARcrTc PHOTOGRAPHY
Regardlessof the order of magnitude, words cannot replace the visual record. Several recent books on the Antarctic contain good photographs, but only four devoted primarily to photographs can be said to be of outstanding quality and worthy successorsto the early works of Wilson and Ponting3"of the Scott expeditions: "A Camera in Antarctica,"just described;the United States government publication "Antarctica";"ANARE: Australia's Antarctic Outposts"; and "TerreAdelie," the picture story of the French expeditions to the Adelie Coast in 1950-1951, 1951-1952, and 1952-1953. one of the manuals used by the military services for regional photo "Antarctica,"32 interpretation,provides severalhundred three-dimensionalcaptioned and annotated aerial photographsof the Antarctic.These photographic interpretation"keys," as they are called, are organized into logical categoriesand cover all known expressionsof the landscape.The photographs are reproduced by a screen of 300 lines per millimeter, which reduces the printed dots to a size too small to be seen by normal vision. In "Terre Adelie,"33Paul-Emile Victor's preface and Andre-Frank Liotard's short histories of the Antarctic in general, the Adelie Coast in particular,and the three French expeditions in detail are all of good quality, but it is Robert Pommier's assemblage of striking photographs (mostly his own) that is the high light of the book and ensures it a permanent and prominent place in the librariesof those so fortunate as to obtain a copy. The subjects and composition of the photographs are well chosen, but it is their huge size (two are 150 squareinches) and the method of printing (fine-grain halftone screen, of about 300 1/mm. quality) that make the pictures truly outstanding. Severalare in splendid natural color and reveal for the first time the soft, delicate pastel pinks and blues that are the true colors of "the white continent." "ANARE: Australia'sAntarctic Outposts"34is the contribution of Phillip Law and John Bechervaiseto published Antarcticphotography. It, too, opens with a short history of
3'
and Sketches,National AntarcticExpediE. A. Wilson and R. W. Skelton:Album of Photographs
tion, 1901-1904 (London, 1908).

32
H. G. Ponting: The GreatWhite South (New York, 1922). Series:Antarctica.vi and 171 pp.; maps,diagrs.. [JohnH. Roscoe:I Regional Photo Interpretation
200-30,
ills., bibliogrs. Air Force Manual No.
1953.
48 pp. and 95 photographs; plan and 2 maps on folded leaf laid in. Arthaud,Parisand Grenoble, 1952. 1640 fr. (bound, 2250 fr.). 34 Phillip Law and John Bechervaise:ANARE: Australia'sAntarctic Outposts. xxiv and 152 pp.; maps, ills., index. Oxford University Press,Melbourne, etc., 1957. 6os. (Australia;$7.80, New York).
33 Andre-Frank Liotardand Robert Pommier: Terre Adelie, 1949-1952.
EXPLORING
ANTARCTICA
415
Antarctic exploration, in this instance concentrated on the area claimed by Australia.The history is describedby the less-biasedNew Zealand Antarctic Society as one which "rather cavalierly dismissesthe explorations of Wilkes, the Thorshavn expedition, Ellsworth and others."35Nevertheless, the fully captioned, excellent photographs of terrain, life, and exploration in the "AustralianAntarctic"are unusually good and deserve both recognition and commendation.
FRENCH EXPEDITIONS
Under the aegis and persuasionof Victor, the Frenchhave been prolific in the publication of articlesand books on their Antarctic expeditions and research;eight of their books are discussedhere. "Le 'Charcot' et la Terre Adelie"36 presentsthe account of the expedition ship Comimnandanit Charcot on its first three voyages to Antarctica.The first voyage got off to a late (February4, 1949) startfrom Hobart and was unsuccessfulin forcing the final 40 miles of pack ice to the Adelie Coast. The expedition was not a complete loss, however; it occupied oceanographic stations, made hydrographic and meteorological surveys, landed on SabrinaIslet in the Ballenys, and returned to Francevia the Australianbase on MacquarieIsland.In the following year, Andre Liotard'sparty was landed, and a base was constructed at Port Martin; in 1951 Michel Barre's party relieved Liotard. Repetitive description is avoided, with the result that the narrativeof each voyage is rendered in half the number of pages allotted its predecessor.An interesting appendix contains gratuitous notes on the famous Wilkes-Dumont d'Urville controversy concerning who discovered the Adelie Coast. Dumont d'Urville's account published in the Tasmanianpress and contemporary observations by M. Vincendon-Dumoulin and M. Daussy are presented, and also extracts from the Admiralty's Antarctic Pilot and the Navy's Sailing Directions for Antarctica. Not only is the treatment obviously one-sided, but the motive in reviving this long-dead controversy is obscure. The junior author of the book, a lieutenant on the Commiilanidanit Charcot, has produced a charming satire on the first two voyages, entitled "Le voyage de la Nouvelle Incomprise. "7 It is the largest and handsomest of the recent French books on Antarctica, and one of the very few to be bound and printed on quality paper. The text reproduces the longhand in which it was written and is interspersedwith some 300 caricaturesof expedition people, places, and events, many in color. It is delightful raillery in which Richard E. Byrd is described as Amiral Oyseau and the pie-shaped Adelie Coast as "fromage conserve pendant tout le temps-la au Frigidaire Antarctique." The book is amusing and informative of expedition life to anyone, but those who know the Antarctic and especially those who know the French explorers must be preparedto hang onto their chairs. Michel Barre, who led the relief party for Andre Liotard, has produced a two-volume work entitled "Blizzard.''38 The volumes are in diary form and are well illustrated. The
Antarctic, Vol. 1, No. 8, December, 1957, p. 211. Pierre Dubard and Luc-Marie Bayle: Le "Charcot" et la Terre Ad6lie. 301 pp.; maps, ills. Editions France-Empire, Paris, 1951. 37 Luc-Marie Bayle: Le voyage de la Nouvelle Incomprise. 271 pp.; maps, ills. Editions Ozanne, Paris, 1953. 38Michel Barre: Blizzard: Terre Ad6lie 1951. Vol. 1, Initiation a la solitude, 253 pp.; Vol. 2, Le retour du soleil. 289 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills. ReneJulliard, Paris, 1953. 600 fr. each.
35 36
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as well ashis own, andthe authortakespainsto mentionthe dailywork of his colleagues points.Among the to cover pertinent diarystyle does not preventhim from digressing description of the sled and weaseljourneysto Point more interesting partsare Barre's of the Antarcticexplorers'greatest Geologie and into the interiorand his discussion dread-fire. completely.On the An experience to redesign theirbuildings with fireled the French the basein a last day at Port Martin,fire,fannedby gale winds,destroyed Barreparty's of Port Martinleft the few minutes.The returnship was on hand,but the destruction no placeto live. However,sevenof his men,underMario reliefpartyunderReneGarcia themselves in a smalloutlyingbaseon the GeologieArchiMarret, wereableto establish emperorpenguin occupation was the studyof the adjacent pelago,wheretheirprincipal of which the locationis known. Three of the seven rookery,one of the few rookeries "SevenMenamong wrotebooks,allof whichhaveappeared in English. TheyareMarret's the Penguins," Penguins," and RobertDovers'"My Friends, JeanRivolier's"Emperor The Huskies,"39 andall describe the year'sadAll threebooksaremorethanacceptable, have so flavored venturewith some humor. Fortunately, each author's specialinterests book is the mostevenlybalduplication. Marret's his accountthatthereis no undesirable All to an official narrative. detail,andis the closestapproach anced,containsthe greatest the authors' in partreflecting interthreebooksareadequately the illustrations illustrated, but Rivolier's ests. Marrethas the best collectionof maps;Dovers'mapsare adequate,
complete lack of maps is inexcusable in an otherwise excellent book. From the many amusing passagesin Rivolier's book, one must assume that the author (and/or his tran,lator) possesses an unusual wit. As expedition physician, Rivolier was also, ex officio, its biologist. Hence, although he describes all the major events, his descriptions are written in terms of people and penguins. A portion of his book is devoted to the life cycle of the emperor penguin, about which little has appearedin book form. In less serious vein he describeshis experiences with ArthursI and II, emperor chicks which he tried to raise inside the tiny four-man hut already crowded with six fellow explorers. After reading this, one forgives Rivolier for his minor errors in whaling and sea-ice terminology and Antarctic nomenclature in general. But his statement that three-fourths of Antarctica's coast has never been seen cannot be excused. United States expeditions have photographed most of the coastalareas,and it was this photography that Victor used to prepare the maps for the expeditions. Rivolier noted everything that happened even though he may not have understood it. His description of camp life as a mental syndrome is excellent. As an Australian, Dovers was a guest in the French camp, but one who pulled his own load. He, too, describesall the major events, but it is his interest and understanding of the huskies that make his book meritorious. Indeed, his readers suddenly realize that
39 Mario Marret: Seven Men among the Penguins: An Antarctic Venture. Translated from the French by Edward Fitzgerald. xii and 269 pp.; maps, ills. Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1955. $4.50. (English edition: Antarctic Venture. 218 pp. William Kimber & Co., Ltd., London. 18s.) Jean Rivolier: Emperor Penguins. Translated from the French by Peter Wiles. 131 pp.; ills. Robert Speller & Sons, New York, 1958. $3.75. (English edition: Elek Books Ltd., London, 1956. 15s.) Robert Dovers: My Friends, The Huskies. 236 pp.; maps, ills. Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, Inc., New York, 1957. $3.95. (English edition: Huskies. 219 pp. G. Bell & Sons, Ltd., London. 21S.)
EXPLORING ANTARCTICA
417
and personalitytraits of these the individualphysicalcharacteristics they understand workingdogs muchbetterthanthoseof theirmasters. describes life and environment at PortAndreMigot's"ThinEdge of the World"40 in the the French the well-established outpost Kerguelen Islands, only aux-Frangais, andanequally full-timebartender. Antarctic campsaidto havebotha full-timeclergyman thaton the of Kerguelen The principal contribution is the description wildlife,particularly to join the KistaDan as a surDr. Migot also seizedthe opportunity CourbetPeninsula. on its firsttripto Antarctica geon andobserver His accountof with Lawandhisveterans. the establishment of Mawson Station,left underDovers' command,is of considerable
interest.
or theiraccomplishTo obtaina realistic of any of the French evaluation expeditions Victor mentsfrom one or moreof the bookscitedis impossible. Paul-Emile Fortunately, hassolvedthis problemfor us. A large,handsome underhis direction volume published of not only all in summary contains the plans,calendars, and scientific accomplishments but all those to Greenland the Adelie Coastexpeditions and Icelandas well. A similar accountof the Kerguelen Islands activities is lacking,sincethey do not fall underVictor's administration. "TerreAdelie, Groenland,1947-19554'' undoubtedly was published as promotional literature to gain governmental andpopular support for additional work by the Expeditions Polaires Fran?aises group,particularly duringthe IGY.Butit alsoprovides the geographer with a reliable perspective and guideto recentFrench Antarctic exploraand its complexlogisticsupport.The book is packedwith official tion, its organization, photographs, maps, and plansof excellentquality. Of unusualinterestis the cutaway of thehomeof the Expeditions diagram Polaires a building three-fourths below Frangaises, groundin the Bois de Boulogne.Fromit the readergainsa new impression of the complexitiesof the technicaland logisticsupportrequired for modernpolarexpeditions.
AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITIONS
Dovers is not the only Australian who has producedAntarctic literature recently. Under the directionor guidanceof PhillipLaw, hundreds of articlesand a few books have appeared in the last few years.Most of the authorshave concentrated solely on '42 an technicalmatters.Arthur Scholes, however, has written "Seventh Continent,' accountof all the Antarctic in which Australasians explorations haveparticipated. Forhis purpose an "Australasian" is apparently almostanyonewho hashadany connection with Australia, Tasmania, or New Zealand.But he also records the activitiesof men of other nationalities on these same expeditionsand frequentlydoes not clearly separatethe or definetheir relationship "Australasians" to Australasia. His fluid style permitsthose without detailedknowledgeof the Antarcticor without well-orderedmindsto enjoy
40 Andre Migot: Thin Edge of the World. 242 pp.; ills. Little, Brown and Company, Boston and Toronto, 1956. $4.50. (English edition: The Lonely South. Translated from the French by Richard Graves. 206 pp. Rupert Hart-Davis, Ltd., London.) 4I "Expe'ditions Polaires Franqaises, Missions Paul-Emile Victor: Terre Adelie, Groenland, 1947-195 5, Rapport d'activites." 152 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills. B. Arthaud [Paris], 1956. 42 Arthur Scholes: Seventh Continent: Saga of Australasian Exploration in Antarctica, 1895-1950. 226 pp.; maps, ills., bibliogr., index. George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1953. 21S. (American edition: British Book Centre, Inc., New York, 1952. $4.50.)
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THE GEOGRAPHICAL
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in numberbut lacklegend,clarity,and His mapsaresufficient accounts. his secondhand have frequently are excellent,but they arepoorly captioned, purpose.The photographs of havingbeenborrowed(many with the text, andhavethe appearance little connection to fill in at the lastmoment. Navy) by the publisher from the United States It is is of much greatersignificance. Men,'"43 Anotherbook by Scholes,"Fourteen as one of the bandthat first experiences an originalaccountderivedfrom his personal base on HeardIsland.Scholes,a journalistand marineradio established the Australian fromthe mainbase,nordoeshisaccount in thejourneys didnot oftenparticipate operator, but it does presentan interesting go into the detailsof the work done by the scientists, arenot only excellentbut pertinent, of the firstyearon Heard.The illustrations narrative andthe mapsareadequate. to expedition P. L. Brownreportson the fifth successive In "TwelveCameBack"44 groupon HeardIsland.Althoughby 1952the originalcampof 20 huts relieveScholes's two of the fourteenmen and improved,dangerhad not diminished; had been enlarged than matters with scientific is more concerned met violent death.Brown, a naturalist, aregood. wildlifeis of value,andhisphotographs of the HeardIsland Scholes. His account
BRITISH EXPEDITIONS
DavidJamesis perhapsbest known for his work as technicaladviserfor that rebook best-selling andfor his fascinating factualfilm "Scottof the Antarctic," markably in diaryform the Jamesdescribes by the same name (1948). In "ThatFrozenLand"45 Islands Dependenthe Falkland rechristened Tabarin, eventsof the 1945 partof Operation hasto do ciesSurveywhentakenover by the ColonialOfficeafterthe war.His narrative which his group mainlywith the baseat Hope Bay, at the tip of the PalmerPeninsula, James'smo3tvaluable accountof the expedition, Aside from an acceptable established. of the local sledging journeys.He writesin a breezy,incontribution is his description he was hiredas an assistant because aregood, and,perhaps formalstyle.The illustrations andexcellent. the two foldedmapsareboth official surveyor, partyat Hope Bay broughtE. W. Kevin Waltoninto The shipsthatrelievedJames's (thesametitleusedby Lieutenant the Antarctic. His book "Two Yearsin the Antarctic""6 of Scott'sfirstexpedition,S?yearsbefore)tellsthe storyof the 1946AlbertB. Armitage Like coastof the PalmerPeninsula. 1948 episodeon Stonington Island,off the southwest job, in from serviceas an officer duringthe warto a menial James,Walton camestraight
43 Arthur Scholes: Fourteen Men: Story of the Australian Antarctic Expedition to Heard Island. xi and 273 pp.; map, ills. F. W. Cheshire, Melbourne and London, 1949. 15s. (American edition: Fourteen Men: The Story of the Antarctic Expedition to Heard Island. 314 pp.; maps, ills. E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York, 1952. $4.50.) 44 Peter Lancaster Brown: Twelve Came Back. 223 pp.; maps, ills. Robert Hale, Ltd., London,
1957. i8s. 45 David James: That Frozen Land: The Story of a Year in the Antarctic. 204 pp.; maps, ills. The Falcon Press, London, 1949 [i.e. 19501. 12S. 6d. (French edition: Terre de froid. 264 pp. Rene Julliard, Paris, 1952. The total lack of photographs in this edition and the reduced-scale maps might be attributed to cost, but why the editor, Victor, omitted one ofJames's three interesting short appendices on sledging is a mystery.) 46 E. W. Kevin Walton: Two Years in the Antarctic. 194 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., index. Philosophical Library, New York, 195 5. $4.75.
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this casethat of dog driver.But his intelligence, intenseinterest,and perseverance have an unusually in a book that givesthe reader accurate resulted of feelingfor the problems His book shouldbe read by all those who contemplate sledgingin Antarctica. surface wastes. travelover the Antarctic The Britishbuilttheirbasenearan unoccupied stationof the UnitedStatesAntarctic the American Service,which for a time they occupied.When FinnRonne reoccupied andaircraft andweakin dogs,cooperative station with a crewstrongin science exploration becameinevitable.Somewherealong the with the British,who had lost their aircraft, line (perhaps of Ronne'sannoyance or because because of with the Britishfor trespassing theirdifferences over sledging,in which both areconsidered expert),WaltonandRonne of opinion.This situationis reflected developeddistinctdifferences in Walton'swriting on the American and colorshis observations camp,thoughit is obviousthathe hasmade to be conservative.47 attempts Walton makesfew mistakes otherthanthose of omission, and his photographs are excellentand to the point, but the maps,though adequate, are of the text. not up to the standard A numberof the Britishparty,includingWalton,and the entireRonneexpedition departedin February, 1948, throughthe courtesyof the U.S.S. Bulrton Islandand the of Operation U.S.S. Edisto. Thesenavalicebreakers Windmillbrokethesolid,four-footice in Neny Fjord, Ronne's enabling Portof Beatnmontt to leaveandthejohni Biscoe to enterand relievethe Britishbase.VivianFuchsbecamethe new Britishcommander. Thereis no published recordin book form of his two yearson Stonington but DouglasLiverIsland, hastold in "WhiteHorizon""8 sidge, a Reutercorrespondent, the story of the dramatic rescue fromthe base,whichwasfrozenin againin 1949and1950. Liversidge alsoincludes accountsof regularrelief visits to other Britishbases,an amusingepisode between a Britishleaderand an Argentineship'scaptainin the Gilbertand Sullivanstrugglefor Antarctic politicalmastery,Fuchs's sledgejourney to Alexander I Island,and the fatal fireat the Hope Bay base.Liversidge writeswell, but his organization is hardlyadequate. The book is copiouslyillustrated, though the reproduction of the photographs is poor; thereareno maps. AfterFuchswas rescued from Stonington he returned to Englandand began Island, organization of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition.This expeditionproducedthe firstsuccessful surface crossing of Antarctica earlyin 1958,for whichFuchs has been knighted.Sir EdmundHillaryof New Zealand(previously knightedfor climbing Mt. Everest)led Fuchs's supportpartyand becamethe firstto reachthe South Pole by motor transport. Norman Kemp, a young New Zealander, wrote "an interimreport" on the expeditionbefore it happened.His book, "The Conquestof the Antarctic,"49 describes Fuchs's plansandincludes a considerable amountof othermaterial, but with an
47 In 1948, I visited both camps and learned firsthand about the intense feelings. Such high feelings are qusite normal under the isolation and frustration of polar life, in which mental attitudes are intensified. They merely reflect honest differences of opinion of two or more persons intent on doing the same job by different methods. 48 Douglas Liversidge: White Horizon. 256 pp.; ills., index. Odhams Press Limited, London, 1951. 13S. 6d. 49 Norman Kemp: The Conquest of the Antarctic. viii and 152 pp.; map, ills. Philosophical Library, Inc., New York, 1957. $4.75. (English edition: Allan Wingate, London, 1956. 16s.)
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incomplete and superficial treatment and continual error. For example, within a few successive paragraphshe speaks of "the meridian of the 'Antarctic Circle,' " states that there is no land between 550 and 650 S., calls the Drake Passage the home of the trade Year as 1882, omits Belgium from the list winds, dates the first International Geophysical of countries participating in the Antarctic IGY program, and states that barely one-fifth of Antarcticahas been seen. His map is poor, in error, and incomplete. The photographs are good, but many are not credited to original sources. Major W. Ellery Anderson has recently added his contribution to the books on the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey. His "Expedition South"50is an account of the activities at F.I.D.S. Base D, a 12-man station at Hope Bay (the one establishedbyJames's group and burned during Liversidge's voyage). The work of the station was devoted mainly to meteorological observations, surveying, and study of dog physiology and geology. The accomplishment that makes the most interesting reading is the 890-mile, 21 2-month dog-sled traverseduring which Anderson's party surveyed much of the interface between the east coast of the Palmer Peninsula and the LarsenIce Shelf from Hope Bay south to the Antarctic Circle. Although one may infer that Anderson operated his station somewhat differently from leaders of other small field parties, his ability as an author is evident. But, as is true of many other qualified polar writers, his work is defective in that it lacks comparable quality and completeness in the supporting data necessary to complement and illustrate the text. From 1949 to 1952 a most successfulinternationalexpedition took place. The events of the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition are reported by John Giaever in "The White Desert."'' The book ranks among the classic expedition narrativesdespite its varied treatment in different editions and its substandardmaps. The major discovery of the expedition was the immense depth of the "inland" ice, estimates of which have been confirmed during the International Geophysical Year from bases in many parts of the continent. These discoveries can only result in the recomputation of the earth's water economy and a new and different comprehension of the effect of continental glaciation on isostasy and morphology everywhere.
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONS
By 1946 private expeditions to the Antarctic had long been a thing of the past. Not But traditionsince the days of Lincoln Ellsworth had any man attempted such a project.52 minded Finn Ronne, despite the huge operationalcosts of a modern, scientificallyequipped expedition, persuadedseveralpowerful sponsorsto come to his aid and launched the Ronne
5?W. Ellery Anderson: Expedition South. 208 pp.; maps, ills. Evans Brothers Limited, London,
1957. 18s.
French, British [and Canadian], and American editions), Geogr. Rev., 5' Reviewed (Norwegian, Vol. 46, 1956, pp. 142-143, byJohn H. Roscoe. 52 More than 6o government (and a few commercial) expeditions have taken place since Ellsworth's. But, except for small private expeditions to South Georgia, there have been no truly private expeditions. Although it is somewhat like lumping Hobbs and Hinks together, both Ronne and Fuchs are traditionminded junior members of the "heroic era" Antarctic explorers. Fuchs's "private" Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which is supported mostly by the Commonwealth governments, would not have been possible without his organization and the donations obtained by him. Ronne received no government grant but obtained sponsorship, research contracts, some equipment, personnel, and facilities from the American Geographical Society, the Air Force, the Navy, commercial sources, and private donors.
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Antarctic Research Expedition, 1946-1948. The expedition story is told in Ronne's "Antarctic Conquest"53and in "My Antarctic Honeymoon" byJennie Darlington, who, like Edith Ronne, was a member of the wintering party. Ronne's account is a straightforward expedition narrative. It is written in chronological sequence but not in the more restrictive diary fashion. The work in the field is described in four consecutive chapters, which are followed by a summary of the scientific accomplishments. A bibliography of the expedition's scientific publications is appended. Finn Ronne, explorer, and Edith Ronne, recorder, seldom make a slip, but minor errors do occur. "Palmer Land" is added to the four official names for the Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica's size is overestimated by nearly a million square miles, and penguins growl rather than squawk on some of the pages. One obtains a very different view of the British-Americanrelationship and some of the expedition events54from this volume than from Walton's. Ronne, however, backs up his views by the inclusion of official correspondence, whereas Walton prefaces his book with the statement that he has not verified his conclusions with official diaries and does not vouch for accuracy. As with Walton, Ronne's feelings color his narrative.But this may have been of some benefit, since Ronne's book could well have been one of the motivating forces that impelled Walton to make his
contribution.
In the isolation of the Antarctic night, personal differencesare often magnified beyond all reasonable proportions. Unless there is a compelling reason, they are best left unreported. However, Ronne and Antarctic veteran Harry Darlington had a serious difference of opinion said to concern flying safety, and subsequently Darlington was relieved of his responsibilities as third-in-command and chief pilot. Unable to depart from Antarctica, the Darlingtons were in a most unusual position. Ronne scrupulously avoids the situation in his book, and Darlington has never publicized it. Darlington's reluctance, however, is not sharedby his wife; forJennie Darlington was not a bona fide explorer or bound by the explorer's traditions. When she forsook civilization for the rigors of the far south, it was for love and marriage. Details of her husband's disagreement with the expedition leader are presented in her book,55 but her witty, readableprose is more significant for other reasons. She describesin detail the petty aspects of a typical expedition that most men would think unimportant. Yet Mrs. Darlington's work is not without errors; in one place she contrives to make five errors in less than half a sentence. For factual accounts of the accomplishments of the Americans and British that fateful year, one must look to Ronne and Walton. But to learn about the Stonington Island Chowder and Marching Society, its stills, and Ronne's Revenooers, about the party in the captain's cabin while the Governor of the Falkland Islands directed fire fighting aboard a British supply ship, and about the near-internationalincidents caused by both camps' using the same Privy Council, one must consultJennie Darlington.
53 Reviewed,
Geogr. Rev., Vol. 40, 1950, pp. 154-155. 54Walton's and Ronne's descriptionsof the arrival of the United States icebreakersdiffer in the
thicknessof the ice, the method of navigation, and the speed of the ships. Yet from my on-the-spot observationsboth authorsare correct.Ice thicknessand ship speed varied, covering both statements,and chartsandflags were used for navigation. If there is an unresolvabledifferenceof opinion, the fact that Ronne was on the bridge whereas Walton (and I) returnedby dog sled must be taken into account. 55JennieDarlington, as told to Jane Mcllvaine: My AntarcticHoneymoon: A Year at the Bottom
of the World. 284 pp.; map, ills. Doubleday & Co., Inc., Garden City, N. Y., 1956. $3.95.
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In "The Silent Continent"6 William Kearns, a pilot from the Eastern Group of Operation Highjump, and Beverley Britton, a former newspaperman,have rehashed the history of Antarctic exploration in eight chapters, with bibliographies. In addition, chaptersare devoted to Admiral Byrd's exploits, Operation Highjump (in which several errors are made; for example, in the description of Bunger Hills), and Kearns's plane crash, in which several men were killed. The book ends with a discussion of names and claims and an interesting chronological list that summarizes in a few lines each of one hundred expeditions. This kind of appendix, which can be presented in 1o to 15 pages of small type, is valuable for perspective and should appear oftener in books on exploration. In this book it is more useful than the historical information presented in the first eight chapters, which has been written elsewhere in more detail and with greater accuracy. Kearns's most significant contribution is the chapter that describes the crash of the huge Navy flying boat of which he was copilot and the lonely vigil until rescue. Between the lines the explorer can see the danger of sending aircrewmen unfamiliarwith Antarctic phenomena on flights unaccompanied by experienced personnel. Kearns's chapter is called "Cloud Full of Rocks," and from it one can only infer that the flying boat crashed on a high ridge in a mountainous areaduring an "ice blink." What must have happened, however, is that during a whiteout the aircraftflew directly into the constant, gentle rise of the flat-domed ice slope that is characteristicof the continental glacier almost everywhere at a distance of ten miles from the coast. This is borne out by the excellent aerial photographs taken by the rescue aircraft,three of which were published in "Antarctica";" Kearns himself omitted photographs. There were three immediate fatalities. Whether the feet of the fourth man could have been saved by more experienced care is purely conjecture. The book is readable and contains an object lesson for planners and explorers. Two American correspondents who have visited Antarctica have written vastly differentbooks about it. Tom Henry's "The White Continent"8 is so interestingly written that it was selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club for distribution. Most critics treated Henry's work kindly because of their meager knowledge of the Antarctic and because his book makes such fascinating reading. His potpourri of amazing Antarcticana, sketchy and disjointed though it is, could nevertheless be of use to geographers if it were only accurate.But of all the books in this survey, it is the one with the most errors.It is incredible that the science editor for one of the news services and for one of the nation's leading newspapers for more than 30 years could have written such a book. A fair example of inaccuraciesis the author's description of the sun at the South Pole: ". . . they reached 'the spot where the sun standsstill.' This physical observation entrancedAmundsen: The solar Amundsen, but I was disk was continuously directly overhead." It should have astotinded entranced and continued reading for my own amazement. "Quest for a Continent"59is the title of a book by Walter Sullivan of the New York
56 William H. Kearns, Jr., and Beverley Britton: The Silent Continent. x and 237 pp.; map. ills., bibliogrs. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1955. $3.50. 57 See footnote 32 above. 58 Thomas R. Henry: The White Continent: The Story of Anitarctica. xii and 257 pp.; map. William Sloane Associates, New York, 1950. $3.75. 59 Walter Sullivan: Quest for a Continent. xiv and 372 pp.; maps, ills., bibliogr., index. McGrawHill Book Company, Inc., New York, Toronto, London, 1957. $5.50. (English edition: Martin Secker & Warburg, London. 3 os.)
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Timties. It is the product of his news coverage of Antarctica for ten years and of several visits to the continent. Errorsare not difficult to find but are seldom of consequence; they are frequently in technical terminology (for example, "crevasse"for "crack"). In addition to the geographical description of Antarctica and the usual history of its exploration, Sullivan gives excellent coverage to Operation Highjump, which, although the largest of all Antarctic expeditions, has produced only one book, and that totally inadequatefor the geographer.6o Similar authentic coverage is given to the voyage of the Atka, which has produced no books at all. Sullivan accompanied both expeditions. Although his work is at no time unclear, his organization of the contents is unorthodox, possibly because of the severe trimming imposed on his manuscript by the publisher. Sullivan's style is sufficiently journalistic to arouse reader interest but is never so much so as to suggest a compilation of sensationalnews items. The powerful, but variable, influence of the explorer's wife on his published works is seldom taken into account. Except for the dedication line, it is seldom mentioned by the author, regardlessof whether his wife had little to do with the manuscriptor whether she, in fact, wrote or edited most of it; both extremes and most intermediatesare included in this selection of books. Walter Sullivan, however, in his "White Land of Adventure"i frankly admits the part played by Mary Sullivan. This is an abridgment of "Quest for a Continent" on the high-school level.The text has been reduced to less than half the number of words in the original, but the condensation is done through much recastingratherthan through the wholesale omission of blocks. The type is larger and easier to read. Three place-name maps of the principal areas discussed have been added, but nearly half the photographs have been omitted, presumably in the name of economy. Despite the careful abridgment, it is not the edition for geographers. 62 the story of Rear Admiral George Dufek is the author of "Operation Deepfreeze," the Navy's IGY expedition from the Atka reconnaissancecruise to Dufek's landing at the South Pole on the third phase of the expedition, Operation Deepfreeze II. Although not the largest expedition to go to the Antarctic, Operation Deepfreeze is probably the most important. Literallyevery American has a stakein it; for it is costing the taxpayershundreds of millions of dollars for temporary basesand scientific results. Consequently, the description of the expedition by its commanding officer is a serious affair and subject to a more critical analysisthan an account of a private expedition or the personal recollections of an expedition member. As Task Force Commander, Commander Naval Support Force Antarctica, and Antarctic Projects Officer, Dufek has three large, well-trained staffs and is the man with access to all the facts. He is also the man who makes the decisions, and his work must be evaluated in this light. "Operation Deepfreeze" is a handsome book, well organized and with an excellent map showing the locations of all the IGY bases (1956), special maps of the United States IGY areas, and plans of the United States IGY stations. Although it is not so indicated in
6o William J. Menster: Strong Men South (Milwaukee, 1949). Chaplain Menster's book relates his own experiences, largely aboard ship among the men of Operation Highjump. It was not intended for geographical use. 6I Walter Sullivan: White Land of Adventure: The Story of the Antarctic. 224 pp.; maps, ills., index. Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1957. $3.50. 62 George J. Dufek: Operation Deepfreeze. x and 243 pp.; maps, ills., bibliogr., index. Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York, 1957. $5.00.
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Subsewere established. beforethe stations the book, the mapsand planswere prepared thishappened and,although orrelocated, hadto berearranged someof thestations quently, mapserr first-rate werenot made.Hencethe otherwise the corrections beforepublication, areexcellent,andthereis an index.The useful The photographs in theirprimary purpose. subtitle. exceptfor its misleading is not opento criticism Bibliography" "Selected of In one placehe citesthe Russians Dufekis no mathematician. Obviously,Admiral someof the profitsfor a takeaveraging a percentage the Slavawhalingfleetas receiving from2800 whales).A morelikely of oil perwhale(26,000 barrels whatlessthanten barrels Again,he citesthe value of two squaremiles of ice rewardwould be a tour in Siberia. sold by the icebreaker) of one day'schopping fromthreeto fifteenfeet thick(theproduct more of considerably as ice cubesfor 25 centsa bucketas $1,250,000, an underestimate poetryhascome out of the Antarctic, times.Dufekalsosaysno beautiful thana hundred but thereare many examplesof such verse,not the leastof which is a book aboutthe activitiesof the FlyingFish of Wilkes'sUnited StatesExploringExpedition Antarctic It was writtenentirelyin poetryand by a fellow Navy man 115 yearsago.63 published Fishwerelostbeforetheexpedition because thejournals of theFlying songandis important returned. The full storyof the cruiseof Moresignificant thanDufek'serrors arehis omissions. of unfulfilled objectives. Dufek omits descriptions the Atkashouldhave beenpresented. of inexperienced men can go into the Antarcticwithout No expeditionof thousands Dufek citesdeath,damage,and ill fortunebut lays them to the rigors makingmistakes. or the men that might have minimizedor ratherthanto the decisions of the Antarctic would Frankcommentson how to avoid such situations avoidedsome of the dangers. contribution. have madea significant Dufek'sclimaxis the storyof the firstlandingat the SouthPole. Herehe takespains for thejourneythatwould makea few men famous. to defendhis choiceof companions and hereis ill conceived on the partof any commander is unnecessary Suchexplanation criterion to mindmenwho apparently betterfit Dufek'sown announced because it brings at the Pole). Afterthe landingand49 for selection(thatis, a needto know the conditions in takingoff, even by the planebarelysucceeded and photography, minutesof frostbite however, and no crisisresulted using all 15JATO bottles.The take-offwas successful, in living on the unprotected from the lack of anyoneon boardwho was experienced and althoughDufek's work does not polar plateau.Despite the foregoing criticisms, standards requiredof an official major-expedition always reach the high professional is more volume that measured by normalstandards classic,he has produceda readable In purposes. It will be much in demandfor both generaland technical than acceptable. not met by explorers. frequently this,he hasfulfilledan obligation on three expeditions. his adventures Night"64 Jack Burseydescribes In "Antarctic
Like Dovers and Walton, Bursey was a dog driver, but with experience in Newfoundland since childhood. Aside from flag-marking trails by airdrop, few details are given on the theory, maintenance, and operation of dog teams, nor are any but the major events
C. Palmer: Thulia: A Tale of the Antarctic (Samuel Colman, New York, 1843). 64Jack Bursey: Anitarctic Night: One Man's Story of 28,224 Hours at the Bottom of the World. 256 pp.; map, ills. Rand McNally & Company, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, 1957. $4.95.
6.3J.
EXPLORING
ANTARCTICA
425
on Bursey'sdog-sledand tractor chronicled. What was discovered journeysand on the expeditionsof which they were a partseemsto be little but undifferentiated landscape, never beforeseen by man. For the authorthis is sufficient; the resultsof the traverses in only a few tersephrases, for whichhe riskedhis life arementioned if at all. The climax of eachdivisionof the book is the principal sortieBurseymadeon the specific expedition areasof MarieByrd Landin 1940, the interior (RossIce Shelfin 1929, the mountainous plateau of MarieByrdLandin 1956).The rapidevolutionin Antarctic surface transportaFromthe 83 daysit took the dogs to travel tion becomesevidentfrom his descriptions. 1220miles in 1940 as compared with only 27 daysfor 920 miles by tractorin 1956the of mechanization. authoris reluctantly convincedof the advantages Tractors, however, do not traverse crevasses as easilyas dogs,nor do they cheerilywag upraised tails,andthe latteris as important as the formerfor morale. Bursey'swinter-nighthigh lights of camp life are amusingand informative.His photographs, One of them purportsto show "The however, are poorly reproduced. Trap," a heavily crevassed is area150 miles south of LittleAmerica.If the photograph correctlycaptioned, it would seem from the natureof the crevassing that the ice at this pointis floatingon water.The presence of ice afloatat thislocationis not consistent with available technical evidence.The mapis well done but fartoo smallin scale.
MAJOR GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
in the International "Antarctica Geophysical Year"65 is a seriesof papersfrom a on the Antarctic held in Washington Sixteen symposium beforethe field investigations. on geography, articles glaciology,geology, oceanography, zoology, botany,geomagnetand cosmicraysarepresented ism, ionosphere, aurora, by a groupof Antarctic veterans andscientists. As in mostothersymposiums, the papers areof unequal lengthandunevenly but most have a bibliography, illustrated, andall areup to date.The single-sheet stereographicmap by William Briesemeister and DouglasWaugh, 1:6,ooo,ooo(at 710 S.), a reductionof a four-sheetmap prepared by the American Geographical Societyfor the Antarctic Committeeof the United StatesNationalCommitteefor the IGY, is excellent in design,detail,and accuracy. It is unfortunate that cost considerations preventedthe printingof the mapon a thin paperthatwould fold properly. Althoughit is a quasi-governmental publication, this work is more comparable to "The AntarcticToday" and "Die Antarktis" than to the other books in this section. When considered together,thesethreevolumesare, surprisingly enough,more complementarythan duplicative. Togetherwith "Antarctic Bibliography," "Antarctica," two glossaries, and a gazetteer,66 they are the most usefulof the generalreference works to have appeared since 1950. In a realsensethe Hydrographic Office's "Sailing Directions for Antarctica" is a lim65 [A. P. Crary and others, edits.:] Antarctica in the International Geophysical Year: Based on a Symposium on the Antarctic. v and 133 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogrs. Amer. Geophys. Union Geophys. Monograph No. 1. American Geophysical Union of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, Washington, D. C., 1956. Papers by Dr. Laurence M. Gould and CaptainJ. B. Cochran, given at the symposium, do not appear, nor do the special addresses by Admirals Byrd and Dufek. 66 See respectively footnotes 8, 9, 3, and 32 above and 68, 69, and 71 below.
426
Published in 1943, it was ited regional geography of the Antarctic coasts and islands.67 much out of date before corrections and additions through June, 1955, were published in a special mimeographed supplement, "Operation Deepfreeze." Unfortunately, the new supplement shows every evidence of having been produced to meet a prematuredeadline. Additions to the expedition list are few and sketchy. The glossaryof ice terms has not been revised, though the Hydrographic Office has been a leader in the effort to standardizeice terminology. There are no changes in the sections on bibliography, general remarks, meteorology, beacons, and health and living conditions, though there have been significant developments in all of these. A seriesof descriptionsand sketchesof whales has been added, but similar seriesfor other Antarctic animals are lacking. Most of the corrections relate to place names and navigation. Hydrographic Office Chart No. 2562, the accompanying map of Antarctica, is now in its third edition and in a far better state of revision. "A Functional Glossaryof Ice Terminology"68published by the Hydrographic Office also includes terms relating to morphological processes (for example, "ablation") and conditions that exist in ice areas (for example, "iceblink"). The 386 terms are coded and interconnected through a key that illustrates the relationships of the various ice components. Most of the ice terms are appropriatelyillustrated, but the reproduction of the photographs is of poor quality. Although the raison dYtre of the glossary is its use in ice observationsfrom Navy ships and aircraft,it is useful in other endeavors and is exercising a standardizinginfluence. Sea ice terminology is emphasized. The Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center's publication "Glossaryof Arctic and SubarcticTerms"69 is of far greater scope. More than 40,000 "usage slips" were reduced by ADTIC, its contractors, and 75 consultants to 3150 definitions. But noting such terms as "asexual" and "greens," neither of which has any special polar meaning, one wonders if the boiling down was complete. The Introduction states that the inclusion of words pertinent to the Antarctic was beyond the authorized scope of the project. Many of the Arctic terms are pertinent, nonetheless, authorizedor not. Hence much of this glossary may be applied to the Antarctic "except in its coverage of terms on endemic flora and fauna." There are no illustrations, and no keys to show the relationships of families of terms. The volume "Antarctica" discussed above in the section on photographic works should be mentioned here also, since it is a government publication. In addition to the photographs, it contains concise sections devoted to the exploration of Antarcticaand to geographical description. Material is likewise presented on accessibility, surface trafficability, photo reconnaissance,and air-photo coverage. The book is an extract from a twoReviewed, Geogr. Rev., Vol. 34, 1944, pp. 172-174, by R. C. Murphy. "Operation Deepfreeze." 87 pp.; ills. Special 1955 St4pplemetitto H. 0. Puibl. No. 138. U. S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Washington, D. C., 1955. EDIT. NOTE. Since Dr. Roscoe's article was written, the Society has received a new supplement, with corrections and additions from date of publication to September 21, 1957. Of special interest is a list of Antarctic stations during the International Geophysical Year. 68 "A Functional Glossary of Ice Terminology." xv and 88 pp.; ills., bibliogr. H. 0. Piubl. No. 609. U. S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Washington, D. C., 1952. 8o cents. 69 [Deric O'Bryan, edit.:] Glossary of Arctic and Subarctic Terms. viii and go pp. ADTIC Publ. A-105. Arctic, Desert, Tropic Information Center, Research Studies Institute, Air University, Maxwell
67
Air Force Base, Alabama, 1955.
427
volumeworkon theanalysis of the Antarctic alsopublished landscape by photogeography, by the government.7" In it the results of the systemareapplied to a 400-milestretch of the IngridChristensen Coast,partof which was discovered by photogeography. The United States Boardon Geographic Nameshaspublished a new, enlarged gazetteerof "Geographic Namesof Antarctica."7' A discussion of the problemof geographical namesasit relates to the Antarctic is followedby one of the bestandmostdetailed expedition listsin print.The gazetteer properdefinesanddescribes morethan3000placenames in theAntarctic, mostof thosewhichhavebeenproposed andfor whichsufficient information exists. Becauseof excellent coordination with the British AntarcticPlace-names Committee,very few namesnow remainon which the two countries are not in virtual agreement.However, since the United Statesrecognizesno sovereigntyin Antarctica, our treatment of placenamesfirstrendered in a foreignlanguage retains the specific term and translates the generic(for example,Rund Bay, not Rundvika).The volume is the culminationof ten years of effort, the thoroughness of which is evident. The second editionhasan errata sheet,whichholdersof the firsteditionwill finduseful. We have assumed thatit is obviouslynot feasible to surveyannually the hundreds of articles on various aspects of the Antarctic published by a hostof disciplines. But we should not assumethat the books discussed here are representative of the variety,detail,and qualityof Antarctic knowledge recently published throughmoretechnical andprofessional channels. It is to thesesources that the geographer mustturn to obtainthe authoritative detailsto fill in the framework providedby the books.The principal problemis to locate the articles, which, for some reason,tend to appear in journalsnot usuallyconsulted by geographers. Regular reference to the polarperiodicals andtheirbibliographies is perhaps the bestmethodfor keepingreasonably current in thisareaof rapiddevelopments.
7?John H. Roscoe: Contributions to the Study of Antarctic Surface Features by Photogeographical Methods. Vol. 1, xiv and 253 pp.; Vol. 2, vi and 254-442 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogrs. (Thesis, Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1952.) Directorate of Intelligence, Headquarters, U. S. Air Force [Washingtots, D. C.], 1952. 7I "Geographic Names of Antarctica." With a Foreword by Meredith F. Burrill and a List of Expeditions by KennethJ. Bertrand and Fred G. Alberts. Revised edition. v and 332 pp. U. S. Boardon Geographic Names Gazetteer No. 14. Office of Geography, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., 1956. $2.25 (for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.).

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American Geographical Society

EXPLORING ANTARCTICA VICARIOUSLY

geograof professional the number computer is not neededto tabulate DIGITAL

Aside from "Antarctica in the International Geophysical Year,"7 to be discussed

EXPLORING ANTARCTICA SOUTH GEORGIA

Inc., New York, 1952. $5.50.)

Limited, London, 1950.

(American edition: Macdonald & Co., New York. $4.50.)

and Sketches,National AntarcticExpediE. A. Wilson and R. W. Skelton:Album of Photographs

tion, 1901-1904 (London, 1908).

ills., bibliogrs. Air Force Manual No.

Air Force Base, Alabama, 1955.

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