Reviews

Empire Antarctica: Eis, Totenstille und Kaiserpinguine by Gavin Francis

bluesleepy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

cubanpete's review against another edition

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Francis goes to Antarctica hoping to escape the 'radiowave chatter of the mind' and I have always wanted to do the same. Reading this book was my opportunity to stop sadly scouring BAS vacancies every few months and find another way to the continent. It sort of worked. Luckily to me, Francis is curious, eloquent, adventurous and completely disinterested in his actual job. Instead, he talks about his solitary walks, the changing seasons and the penguins. There are some tales of early explorers but Francis is more preoccupied with their state of mind than their achievements. Which suits me just fine. I really enjoyed this, might read again sometime.

ecclemon's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

mimster's review against another edition

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4.0

Good, v well written as everything by him. Nice to see Tam and Duncan thanked in acknowledgments!

ohnoflora's review against another edition

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4.0

I spent a lovely sunny Spring afternoon finishing Gavin Francis' lyrical account of Antarctic darkness and light. That bleak but beautiful place seems a world apart from the bustling city but Francis' prose - lucid, engaging, enthusiastic - brought it nearer.

mazza57's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a brilliant portrait of a life lived in Antarctica. Gavin Francis takes a job as Doctor at an Antarctic station, although doctoring is the least of his activities. He writes well and his experiences portray the awe, delight and excitement of a young child as the interact with the world. I thought there was a little too much of the history of past antarctic travellers and not enough of his experiences otherwise this would have been a 5 star for sure

liralen's review against another edition

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4.0

In late 2002, Francis arrived in Antarctica to take on a job like no other: physician at Halley Research Station. In these remote wilds—with only fourteen winter-over residents and, fortunately for everyone, very little doctoring to do—he sank into the isolation with something like relief.

Lindsay and I picked up medical supplies as they arrived on the depot line and prepared field medical boxes for the staff who would spend the six-week summer out on the ice, ‘deep field’, doing research. She showed me the emergency supplies secreted around base, contingencies in case the main platform burned down. We pulled out and assembled every type of stretcher, splint and machine hidden in the medical-room cupboards. There was a guide to penguin taxidermy and a neurosurgical drill pack. (72)

Like [b:Jerri Nielsen|569972|Ice Bound A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole|Jerri Nielsen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348618084l/569972._SY75_.jpg|2154295], Francis had to be prepared for just about any medical emergency; unlike Nielsen, he had very little official doctoring work to do (see: fourteen winter-over residents), and so he spent much of his time reading, helping out around the base wherever an extra set of hands was useful, and studying penguins.

Almost nothing is known about the rise and fall of different emperor colonies. Only fifty years ago just four emperor rookeries were known. That number has edged up slowly as ever more comprehensive surveys, mostly by air, have cross-hatched the continent. For rookeries to be visible they must be counted in late winter or spring, a time when most of the continental fringe is inaccessible. Groups of penguins are invisible from sea level more than a few kilometers away. By 1993 it was thought that there were perhaps thirty-two emperor colonies worldwide, but this estimate was said to have a significant ‘location bias’ – biased towards locations that could actually be reached. (214)

It's with some ambivalence that Francis describes leaving Antarctica at the end of his tenure there; it seems to have been just about all he ever wanted but also a profoundly isolating (there's that word again) experience.

At times I felt keenly the lack of human history in the Antarctic. There were days when the absence seemed Antarctica’s greatest gift, and days when it rendered the continent wasted and sterile. (219)

I expect Nielsen's book is more widely appealing—certainly it's livelier—but in the right mood, this deep meditation may last with you longer.

austra_pro's review against another edition

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5.0

Patiešām lieliska grāmata par gadu Antarktīdā no cilvēka, kas tur nonācis aiz mīlestības pret šo kontinentu un pingvīniem, nevis piedzīvojuma pēc vai vajadzības spiests. Tā cieņa, apbrīna un mīlestība staro cauri visam. Šķiet, ka Gevins ir izlasījis visu iespējamo literatūru par Antarktīdu, un skatās uz paša piedzīvoto arī caur priekšgājēju prizmu, vērtējot, sijājot un pārdomājot. Un tad pilnīgi dzejiski apbrīnojot ikkatru Antarktīdas aspektu.

Ja interesē šis kontinents, šī ir grāmata, ko ir vērts izlasīt.

ines91's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

thenaw's review against another edition

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5.0

I went to see Gavin Francis speak at the lovely West Port Book Festival last month. Not only was it an engaging talk, but he handed around an emperor penguin egg (he didn't steal it from its penguin parent, he found it frozen on the ice). I can honestly say that holding a penguin egg is one of my most exciting moments of 2012.

(But then I've always had a soft spot for penguins.)

Anyway, I very much enjoyed Francis's account of his time as a base doctor in Antarctica. It's fascinating to read the details of everyday life, its difficulties and joys, in one of the most remote spots on the planet. Plus: plenty of penguins.