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A review by halfmanhalfbook
Forgotten Footprints: Lost Stories in the Discovery of Antarctica by John Harrison
4.0
The Antarctic is a place that was discovered in stages, As the sailors and explorers of the 18th century ventured further from the safe waters of the Atlantic in into the southern ocean, they stared to think that there was an undiscovered land beyond the tip of Africa and South America. Little by little they came across the islands and the marine inhabitants.
Starting in 1728 with Cook, Harrison describes the journeys and the discoveries that these early adventures make. Traveling in those days was bad enough but by the time they encountered the harsh and brutal environment that makes this place so unique these guys were really suffering.
In-between each trip is a short interlude on a specific subject, whale hunting or scurvy and it breaks the book up nicely. As the title indicates these are the small and often forgotten trips that make up the history off this amazing place. Scott and Amundsen do get a mention, but he has deliberately avoided making another book about them, and they do not take over the book.
Harrison writes some fine travel books and whilst this is not just about his own journeys to and from the continent, it is not strictly travel. That said, it is a fine book, well written, and he does illuminate these often forgotten Antarctic stories.
Starting in 1728 with Cook, Harrison describes the journeys and the discoveries that these early adventures make. Traveling in those days was bad enough but by the time they encountered the harsh and brutal environment that makes this place so unique these guys were really suffering.
In-between each trip is a short interlude on a specific subject, whale hunting or scurvy and it breaks the book up nicely. As the title indicates these are the small and often forgotten trips that make up the history off this amazing place. Scott and Amundsen do get a mention, but he has deliberately avoided making another book about them, and they do not take over the book.
Harrison writes some fine travel books and whilst this is not just about his own journeys to and from the continent, it is not strictly travel. That said, it is a fine book, well written, and he does illuminate these often forgotten Antarctic stories.