“I seemed to vow to myself that someday I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came to one of the poles of the Earth.”
When curating a list of books about Antarctica, it would be easy to fill it up with the heroic and tragic tales of adventure and discovery across the southernmost continent that have captured imaginations for centuries. Yet, from the stunning natural landscapes to its animal residents, there is so much more to Antarctica worth discovering (and protecting) that books can be the tool to unlocking. So whether you’re planning your next expedition to the great white continent or just have a fascination with the least-trekked region in the world, join us at What We Reading for the best books about Antarctica. From jaw-dropping adventures and drastic environmental calls to action to heartwarming tales of nature’s brilliance even in the most inhospitable regions, these are the best stories where Antarctica is the main character.
Antarctica: A History In 100 Objects – Jean De Pomereu And Daniella McCahey
Kicking off our list of the best books about Antarctica are Jean de Pomereu and Daniella McCahey’s fascinating hardback, Antarctica: A History in 100 Objects. Published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the first crossing into the Antarctic Circle by James Cook, this 2022 work tells the history of the continent through a series of fascinating objects drawn from collections around the world.
Sourced from polar institutions and private collections, the objects explored in the book range from ice cores containing up to 800,000 years of climate history, snow goggles used by Amundsen adapted from Inuit technology to a bust of Lenin used by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition.
Terra Incognita: Travels In Antarctica – Sara Wheeler
Considered one of the most invaluable works for exploring and understanding Antarctica, Terra Incognita is a travel memoir by Sara Wheeler.
Having spent seven months living in Antarctica alongside scientists, researchers, and dreamers, few travel books about Antarctica come close to matching the authenticity of Wheeler’s work. Capturing both the challenges of surviving in the region as well as the enduring fascination and appeal of conquering its inhospitable climate, whether it’s the geography or logistics of living in Antarctica, Terra Incognita remains a must-read.
The Last Place On Earth: Scott And Amundsen’s Race To The South Pole – Roland Huntford
At the turn of the twentieth century, the South Pole was the most coveted prize in the age of exploration. Award-winning biographer Roland Huntford brings to life one of the most iconic races between Britain’s Robert Scott and Norway’s Roald Amundsen in his book, The Last Place on Earth.
A gripping and incredibly readable work of history, Huntford captures the ambitions of the time in reaching Earth’s most southernmost point, as well as the complex individuals who took on the challenges of making it there. The race between Scott and Amundsen is legendary in history, and there is no better book for learning all about them, their fates, and the legacies of the expeditions than The Last Place on Earth.
Alone In Antarctica: The First Woman To Ski Solo Across The Southern Ice – Felicity Aston
Felicity Aston is a physicist and meteorologist who took two months away from all human contact as she embarked on an adventure to become the first woman – and only the third person in history – to ski across the Antarctic continent solo. Faced with a bombardment of hallucinations, a lack of stimulation from this solitary confinement and the ever-present threat of hypothermia, it was a journey that pushed her mental and physical bravery to their very extremes.
Not only one of the best books about Antarctica, Aston’s book is an incredible journey of self-discovery and resilience against human vulnerabilities as well as against the hostile elements around her.
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage – Alfred Lansing
Endurance is the classic biography of British explorer Ernest Shackleton’s attempt in 1914 to reach the South Pole told expertly by Alfred Lansing.
This reissued 1959 classic book on Antarctica is the definitive tale of Shackleton’s fateful effort to become the first person to cross the uncharted continent on foot. Becoming one of the defining demonstrations of heroism for all explorers, Lansing tells of how the Endurance, Shackleton’s ship for the voyage, was locked in an island of ice, forcing the crew to trek over 850 miles of the South Atlantic’s heaviest seas and most hazardous conditions to reach the closest signs of civilization. Undoubtedly one of the most courageous undertakings in exploration history, Endurance brilliantly narrates this harrowing tale in all of its breathtaking detail.
The Ship Beneath The Ice: The Discovery Of Shackleton’s Endurance – Mensun Bound
Following on from one of the best books about Ernest Shackleton, Mensun Bound’s The Ship Beneath the Ice is an equally thrilling tale about the discovery of his fabled ship.
This 2022 book on Antarctica and its wild seas documents how ‘the world’s most unreachable shipwreck’ became one of the most prized wreckages in the world. It chronicles two dramatic expeditions to what Shackleton himself called the most hostile sea on Earth, and how Bound and an elite team of explorers were finally able to find the lost shipwreck, beautifully preserved with its name still planted. Complete with high-quality photos from the 1914 expedition and of the wreck as it was discovered, The Ship Beneath the Ice captures both the intrepid spirit of these two adventurers and the awesome, brutal, and unpredictable power of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea.
Race To The Pole – James Cracknell And Ben Fogle
In 2009, six teams of explorers and adventurers gathered to race each other to the South Pole, on foot. The first instance of a race like this in nearly a century, it saw double Olympic Gold-winning medallist James Cracknell and TV personality adventurer Ben Fogle facing down daunting crevasses, frostbite, and the team of Norwegians trained in Arctic warfare. The question is: can James and Ben rewrite the history of Scott and Amundsen and beat the Norwegians this time around?
In temperatures of minus 45 degrees, Race to the Pole is an exhilarating adventure memoir chronicling the pair’s efforts to ski across 800 kilometres of icy wilderness and the most unforgiving terrain in the world.
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Swimming To Antarctica: Tales Of A Long-Distance Swimmer – Lynne Cox
In Swimming to Antarctica, Lynne Cox looks back on her passion for long-distance swimming, the drive, and determination that inspire those who know her, and the incredible records she has broken along the way.
She begins by taking readers through her record-breaking swims of the English Channel and the Bering Strait. Her spirit and joy are infectious in the way she writes about her experiences, even when they might include being cheered on by dolphins across the Cook Strait in New Zealand or being attacked by sharks off the Cape of Good Hope. For those wondering how this entry made it onto a list of the best books on Antarctica, Cox also documents swimming a mile in the continent and becoming the first person to ever swim the Strait of Magellan.
Madhouse At The End Of The Earth – Julian Sancton
Drawing on first-hand accounts and exclusive access to the ship’s logbook, Madhouse at the End of the Earth is the harrowing true survival story of an early polar expedition that went wrong in the icy Antarctic winter.
Julian Sancton introduces readers to Adrien de Gerlache, his ship the Belgica, and the cursed series of events that led to him and his crew being stuck on the icy Antarctic continent. Trapped in the sunless Antarctic winter, the crew were subjected to months of quarantine in an endless night where the sound of rats and a mysterious illness slowly drove them to madness. Vivid and gripping in its storytelling, Sancton recounts the forces that led these men to the edge of their wits, highlighting just how extreme exploring Antarctica can be.
Last Man Off: A True Story Of Disaster And Survival On The Antarctic Seas – Matt Lewis
For those looking for another Antarctic-based shipwreck adventure, look no further than Matt Lewis’ Last Man Off.
In June 1998, twenty-three-year-old Matt Lewis had just begun working his dream job as a scientific observer aboard a deep-sea fishing vessel in the waters off Antarctica. However, as they haul in the line one day, the perfect storm begins brewing on the horizon. With the captain of the ship disappearing, the crew are forced to abandon the ship and retreat into three life rafts. That is where their desperate bid for survival truly begins. When it comes to books on Antarctica, the only thing more thrilling than a story of disaster and heroism is a story of disaster and heroism that truly happened.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
