"A history of human experience in the [Antarctic] in the second half of the 19th century ... There was courage, of course, a good deal of romanticism, vanity, competition, spitefulness, and other entirely human qualities displayed by these early visitors... [The book] is very well written, as well as good history."--Choice. "A long overdue appreciation of ... pioneering ventures in the far south... A well-researched book that gives a fresh picture of the personalities and influences behind exploration in the late 19th century."--Science.
