An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science

Great information about the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Digs into the culture and politics as well as the science that was behind the race to the south pole. However, the way it is organized led to some confusion and redundancy. Very hard to keep the expeditions, and their order, straight.

An amazing story, made even more so by the talent of the author. I had the pleasure of meeting him on a recent cruise to Antarctica, and that was what persuaded me to download the book ( while on the ship). I am so glad that I did.

I have always been fascinated by Antarctica, and was lucky enough to be able to visit there for three weeks some years ago, so I was looking forward to reading this book.When I first read the reviews and blurbs, I thought the book was going to be an exploration of the leadership skills and styles of men like Scott and Shackleton. There was some of that, but mostly the book is an account of the scientific discoveries, told in excruciating detail.Overall, their discoveries were interesting, but for me, reading 300 pages worth of the composition of icebergs vs. glaciers vs. ice caps vs. ice sheets, plus the difference between sandstone, basalt and other rocks, is a bit too much. My eyes started to glaze over.The other problem, and this is not really Larson's fault, is that all the expeditions started to run together in my mind. They all had a hard time sledging, faced horrible weather conditions and ran out of food. It was difficult to tell them apart. I did not get a good sense of what the leaders did or did not do to impact the success or failure of each trip.My recommendation is to read a book on Shackleton's Endurance mission, or his own book "South". Those will provide fascinating details about how the men survived, Shackleton's leadership style, etc., and are so much better than this book in invoking what these men endured from a personal standpoint. Unless you are a glaciologist or geologist, you will find this book very slow going, and in some cases, deadly dull.

If you are looking for a work which depicts the great, tragic journeys of Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen to find the South Pole -- look somewhere else. If you want a work which depicts, in minute detail, every single expedition made to the Antarctic by Scott, Shackleton, and others -- you will find it here. The problem is that the book contains exceptionally poor maps, and disturbingly few of those. Images, took, are almost lacking. Readers not intimately familiar with the Antarctic will find themselves quickly lost.While the writing is passable and the level of factual detail extremely good, Larson's primary failing is in his ability to craft an interesting narrative. The prose is so dry that even someone very excited about the subject matter will find him or her self struggling to get through it. It makes it difficult to tell tragedy from success, and tedium from excitement.

MY wife's father was Bill Shackleton;and her name is Frances Shackleton Brissman.So we were interested in the many detailsof Sir Ernest Shackleton and his historic searchto reach the south pole. He got nearly to 80or so miles of it. The book is very detailedand scientific and we skipped much of it.

The Larson book is good, and I am enjoyed reading it. It provides interesting insights into the way European science and explorers interacted. In particular the contrast between the Geographical Society and the Philosophical Society. Having some experience with granting agencies and current state of science funding, this book provides nice historical background. The point of this book seems to be to present a slightly different point of view on the balance between finding the pole and science than that presented by Roland Huntsford in his books. The interested reader should compare this book to those, and go from there. The book isn't as compelling a read as the 'straight' explorer stories, but it is still good.

Excellent discussions of broad ranging topics. Puts a fresh perspective on just about every chapter, placing the expeditions in the modern context of what was learned.

Too much ice and empire and not enough interest. The growth of the British empire in cold climates - not the most thrilling tome I have ever read but interesting.

Well crafted, and very well written, this book makes for a most interesting read and certainly offers an original line of thought that should appeal to the most jaded consumer of "heroic age" literature. Taking each broad area of scientific interest and endeavour in turn, Professor Larson provides, chapter by chapter, an easily digestible summary of the successive activities and achievements of the Discovery, Nimrod and Terra Nova expeditions, which didn't prove too dry or challenging for this 'non-scientific' reviewer. At the same time, the author introduces an appropriate level of the 'human interest' and conveys something of the personalities of the main protagonists without overburdening the reader with familiar details and storylines.Just as the narrative is finding its feet, however, there is a strange and rather superfluous interlude, involving a ten-page examination of the activities of David Livingstone in Africa. This appears to have been included to help establish the credentials of the Royal Geographical Society, as the sponsor of Scott's first expedition, but it seems rather out of place and unnecessarily lengthy. An editorial blue pencil might have improved this part of the book. Moreover, having embarked on this diversion, Professor Larson has displayed a startling lack of appreciation of African geography, in describing (on page 68) how the Victorian explorer travelled 'east' across the Dark Continent to Angola, before 'retracing his steps' and following the Zambesi 'west' to Mozambique... It is to be hoped that a future reprint will also correct the description of Apsley Cherry-Garrard's trek to Cape Crozier as his "Western (sic, as opposed to 'Winter') Journey" (page 209).The publishers might also have shown a little more imagination in the selection of the cover image, which is the 'six covered in soot and blubber' photo of Priestley, Campbell et al at the conclusion of the Northern Party's ordeal following a winter spent in an ice cave. It's not really representative of the contents, especially given that Priestley's own scientific ambitions were largely frustrated by events, a point emphasised by just how little Professor Larson can find to say about this arm of the Terra Nova expedition. No doubt the publisher didn't have the confidence to use one of Ponting's photos of a boffin busy in a laboratory, but perhaps, given that both of the 'iconic' Britons involved in Antarctic exploration are leading characters in this book, the November 1902 shot of Shackleton and Scott together (with Wilson alongside) might have been considered as an alternative.These minor criticisms apart, however, the book can be thoroughly recommended as another very worthy addition to the body of Terra Nova 'centenary' literature.

I knew beforehand that I would be reading about "technical" accounts regarding Antarctica "Heroic" exploration period. It's not that the author is not knowledgable, but extensive history about embryos or Darwinism wasn't what I was looking for.Every student of Antarctica's exploration knows that all British attemps at the South Pole was surrounded or pursued with extensive science programs. In fact, the gathering of data would save face if the true goal of the effort, standing at the South Pole, would fail. In that regard, Larson's account is a little too dry for my taste.However, I did learn a thing or two that wasn't covered in other Antarctica books, such as Uncle Bill Wilson first attemps at Cape Crozier in the Discovery days.I would definetly not recommend this book if it's the first one you pick up about Antarctica's Heroic Period. Read first "The worst journey in the world" by Cherry-Garrard, "The last place on earth" by Roland Hunford, "Race to the end" by Ross MacPhee or "The Coldest March" by Susan Solomon BEFORE picking up "An empire of ice" and ONLY if the how and why of science projects in Antarctica is highly valuable to you.

Bought this for my husband and he enjoyed all the interesting facts contained in the book. Good price well packaged.

This was a good quality nicely illustrated present for a friend overseas and he was over the moon with this book.

A book that integrates the scientific with the political and psychological imperatives behind polar exploration. The style is fluent and the narrative compelling