Below the Convergence

Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully written summary of early Antarctic exploration
Review: Gurney's book summarizes efforts to explore the cold Southern Ocean to about 1840, by both government-sponsored expeditions (such as James Cook) and sealers and whalers. The prose is terrific, the amount of detail just right (no long repetitive accounts of battles with ice), there are many fascinating details, and there is great background. He starts with the ancients and the development of the belief that there must be a southern continent. Then on to scurvy. [The English navy, true to national character, refused to adopt the known prevention measures until 200 years after they were discovered by the Dutch. The French had gourmet meals on their ships -- including the warship with 2 cannon, only 1 cannon ball, and it couldn't be fired because it was used to crush mustard seed for meals.] There is extensive coverage of Cook's voyages, and on to later explorers. There is excellent coverage of the later explorers, maps to show the routes, and substantial descriptions of the sealing massacres of the early 1800s. The story flows and the writing is never dull. Read this if you're interested in the early Antarctic voyages!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent stories of never reaching the the goal....
Review: It is amazing that these voyages EVER made it back to tell the tale. Unknown dangers, ICE ICE ICE, and boats that today you wouldn't cross a pond in. The quest for the mysterious continent at the bottom of the world is hundreds of years old. Well worth the read if you enjoy the history of Antarctic exploration.