Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica

 Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       November 24, 2024

 

Author  Alison Lester and Coral Tulloch

Distributor:      Allen and Unwin
ISBN:                 9781760526061
Publisher:         A&U Children's
Release Date:   November 2024  

Website:    https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Alison-Lester-and-Coral-Tulloch-Into-the-Ice:-Reflections-on-Antarctica-9781760526061 

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Antarctica is a continent that remains shrouded in mystery for most people. We seem to read and hear snippets of information about its icy terrain. Alison Lester and Coral Tullock decided to discover more of the complete experience, having made the journey several times before. Into The Ice is a brilliant record of not only their trip but also contains excerpts from diaries of other explorers. The photographs, paintings, sketches and diary entries make this a truly remarkable book to delve into.

The first few pages document the women’s travel on the ship. They hit a storm of great severity and the “six engines of this massive icebreaker strain against the battering.” The following pages have photographs of ships and diary entries from sailors in similar conditions, sure that they wouldn’t survive the trip.

Some of the photographs are truly spectacular, such as ice crystals forming on the ocean’s surface. An encounter with a thirty metre Antarctic blue whale while in a six-meter boat is another image Alison has captured. There are also sketches of the many remarkable fish found in these icy waters.

 A quote from Captain Robert F. Scott in 1905, reinforces the theme of immense beauty, “the placid glassy waters of the bay ..it seemed an atmosphere in which all nature should rejoice.”

Contrasting the clothing and equipment used now to that of Shackleton in 1908, the women could hardly believe that those pioneers survived. There are pages dealing with animals taken to the Antarctic including dogs, a cat and ponies. Also the race between Scott and Amundsen is mentioned.

Into The Ice contains a massive amount of information presented in a variety of formats. It is a joy to browse and a pleasure to read. The fascinating snippets including Amundsen’s hut vanishing, give the reader a chance to become totally absorbed in the snowy wonderland.

Childrens, Non Fiction, Non-fiction, Young Adult