End of the EarthEnd of the Earth
Voyages to Antarctica
Title rated 3.85 out of 5 stars, based on 4 ratings(4 ratings)
Book, 2003
Current format, Book, 2003, , Available .Book, 2003
Current format, Book, 2003, , Available . Offered in 0 more formatsThe author of The Snow Leopard recounts his voyage through the islands surrounding Antarctica, describing in lavish detail the wildlife he encountered as well as the region itself while sharing additional historical information about the pioneers and adventurers who preceded him.
The author recounts his voyage through the islands around Antarctica, describing the region's wildlife as well as the region itself while sharing historical information about the pioneers and adventurers who preceded him.
End of the Earth brings to life the waters of the richest whale feeding grounds in the world, the wandering albatross with its 11-foot wingspan arching through the sky, and the habits of every variety of seal, walrus, petrel, and penguin in the area, all with boundless and contagious inquisitiveness. Magnificently written, the book evokes an appreciation and sympathy for a region as harsh as it is beautiful.
“Luminous and haunting . . . the contemporary Thoreau.”—The Wall Street Journal
“[Matthiessen] doesn’t waste words, and in End of the Earth: Voyages to Antarctica, his homage to the austere splendor of that frozen continent, he hasn’t deployed a single one whose choice I would care to take issue with. . . . Matthiessen writes crusty, chiseled sentences that demand to be read slowly—the perfect prose equivalent of the landscapes he’s describing.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Matthiessen and polar landscapes seem perfectly suited. . . . I found myself constantly re-reading sentences or paragraphs to savour all of their rich resonances. . . . Few if any authors on the region have so successfully compressed . . . Antarctic life . . . and I suspect it will become standard reading.”—The Guardian
The author recounts his voyage through the islands around Antarctica, describing the region's wildlife as well as the region itself while sharing historical information about the pioneers and adventurers who preceded him.
End of the Earth brings to life the waters of the richest whale feeding grounds in the world, the wandering albatross with its 11-foot wingspan arching through the sky, and the habits of every variety of seal, walrus, petrel, and penguin in the area, all with boundless and contagious inquisitiveness. Magnificently written, the book evokes an appreciation and sympathy for a region as harsh as it is beautiful.
“Luminous and haunting . . . the contemporary Thoreau.”—The Wall Street Journal
“[Matthiessen] doesn’t waste words, and in End of the Earth: Voyages to Antarctica, his homage to the austere splendor of that frozen continent, he hasn’t deployed a single one whose choice I would care to take issue with. . . . Matthiessen writes crusty, chiseled sentences that demand to be read slowly—the perfect prose equivalent of the landscapes he’s describing.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Matthiessen and polar landscapes seem perfectly suited. . . . I found myself constantly re-reading sentences or paragraphs to savour all of their rich resonances. . . . Few if any authors on the region have so successfully compressed . . . Antarctic life . . . and I suspect it will become standard reading.”—The Guardian
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- Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, c2003.
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