I’ve compiled a list of my favourite books about Antarctica, including biographies, travelogues, and expedition tales.
I’ve long had a fascination with Antarctica, being captivated by stories of exploration and discovery in Readers Digest books at my grandparent’s house on long Scottish summer afternoons. Primary school trips to see the polar vessel RRS Discovery in Dundee, the three-masted barque that took Scott and Shackleton on their successful first voyage south, and to the penguin enclosure in Edinburgh Zoo, where I met Sir Nils Olav (then just RSM of the Norwegian King’s Guard), further fuelled that interest.
So I’ve been in an absolute whirlwind of excitement since finding out I’ve finally got the opportunity to go for myself; the realisation of a long-burning ambition. I’m part of the team from the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust that will be based at Port Lockroy, to run the famous Penguin Post Office, for the 19/20 season.
In preparation, I immersed myself in Antarctic-themed reading, and these are some of my favourite books. Until you get the chance for yourself, these books will transport you South. I’ve also rated each book by the amount of penguin content it contains, not as a comment on the quality of the writing. They’re all good books, Brent.
Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent – Gabrielle Walker
An excellent book covering everything you could possibly want to know about the “last great wilderness”, and the people drawn into its icy grasp for science, discovery and adventure. Walker weaves together personal stories gleaned from her travels in Antarctica, from the heroic age of exploration through to current climate breakdown studies, from scientists in the distinctly earthbound fields of geology and ecology to cosmetologists looking into deep space and deep time. Get it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧 /5
Endurance – Alfred Lansing
Lansing is a powerful storyteller, and this is one of the most epic stories ever. In 1914, the Endurance* set sail for Antarctica to establish a British base on the continent, and attempt the first overland crossing of the continent, but became trapped in the pack ice long before reaching her destination. The shifting, thawing, and freezing ice splintered the vessel, stranding Shackleton and his crew on the floes. The rest of the expedition is far more remarkable than the original plan, and against all odds, all survived. Find it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧/5
*a three-masted barquentine, which I know you needed to know. Discovery, pictured above, is a barque.
The Worst Journey in the World – Apsley Cherry-Garrard
As the youngest member of the team accompanying Robert Falcon Scott on his ill-fated attempt to reach the South Pole, Cherry-Garrard was one of only three survivors of the expedition, and part of the rescue mission that discovered the frozen bodies of his colleagues. His account pieces together diary extracts from other team members, adding details of scientific endeavours and anecdotes of resilience and endurance in the frozen south, touched with survivor’s guilt. Read it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧/5
Polar Exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time that has been devised.
Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Icebird – David Lewis
I’ve included book recommendations on sailing expeditions previously in the Armchair Travel series, but this one is, without doubt, about the greatest and most terrifying feat in singlehanded sailing; a solo circumnavigation of Antarctica in 1972. Leaving Australia, Dr Lewis sailed out of radio contact for three months. On reaching Palmer Base on the Antarctic Peninsula, he revealed his 32′ (9.4m) steel cutter had capsized and dismasted twice (and would do so once more before the end of the expedition). A phenomenal undertaking to read as a non-sailor, and your worst nightmare if you are a sailor.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧/5
Alone in Antarctica – Felicity Aston
In 2012 Aston became the first person to complete a solo ski journey across the Antarctic landmass using muscle power alone**, taking 59 days to cover 1,744km (1,084 miles). Having worked as a British Antarctic Survey meteorologist, Aston was familiar with the landscape and weather conditions she was to face, but not with the solitude and sensory deprivation in the vast white expanse of the polar plateau. Pick it up here.
Penguin rating: 🐧/5
** Norwegian Børge Ousland made the first solo ski crossing in 1997, using a kite to assist his 3,000km (1,864 miles) journey, crossing from sea to sea.
The Last Viking: The Life of Road Amundsen – Stephen Brown
An excellent biography of Amundsen, the ultimate polar explorer, who in the UK is often sadly viewed as the villainous foil to Scott’s heroic failure. The Norwegian expedition to the pole was meticulously planned, using indigenous knowledge gleaned from Amundsen’s time with Inuit in the Arctic, and relied on dog teams to haul sleds rather than mechanical transportation and manhauling. In addition to winning the South Pole, he was the first to lead expeditions to traverse the Northwest and Northeast passages, and with Italian aeronaut, Umberto Nobile, was first to reach the North Pole. Find it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧/5
End of the Earth: Voyaging to Antarctica – Peter Matthiessen
An account of his time spent guiding guests on Antarctic voyages across the Southern Ocean, carved out in sparkling, spare prose, at a serene, glacial pace through the geology and ecology of the continent. His trademark austere writing style will not resonate with all readers, but the book is worth persisting with until it becomes all-absorbing. Get it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧/5
The Library of Ice – Nancy Campbell
A journey into the beauty and power of the forces of nature, combining travel writing, memoir, science narrative, and literature, on a tour to observe the icy cold corners of the earth before they become irreparably diminished. Beautifully and poetically written, with an artist’s eye, and an engrossing read as Campbell moves from curling rinks to cryo-labs to the crevasse that concealed Austrian iceman Ötzi. Find it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧/5
EMpire Antarctica: Ice, Silence And Empire Penguins – Gavin Francis
Francis was posted to the isolated Halley V research station as the base doctor for a 14-month deployment, driven by a longing to see penguins since a childhood visit to Edinburgh Zoo, where my own fascination with Antarctica began. A blend of personal memoir, polar history, and nature writing, meditating on the isolation and solitude of his experience. Read it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧/5
Penguins Stopped Play – Harry Thompson
Yes, this is a book about cricket. About a rubbish village cricket team with an epic losing streak at that. But this hilariously funny and touchingly poignant account of an incompetent, disaster-filled attempt to play a match on every continent, including Antarctica, is the perfect companion book for tales of heroic expeditions, proving that passion and endurance in the face of tribulation isn’t just the reserve of adventurers. Thompson is an excellent writer, and provides a handy chart of fielding positions, if like me silly mid-off, cow corner, and third man mean nothing to you. Read it here.
Penguin rating: 🐧🐧🐧🐧/5
Have you enjoyed any of these books? Which ice adventures would you recommend for me?
I’d love to hear from you; let me know what you think in the comments.
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These Vagabond Shoes. 
That’s quite a reading list! I think I read Cherry Garrard when I was a kid, but otherwise, I can only remember ‘Scott and Amundsen’ … a rather biased account, which did Captain Scott no favours. So, I wouldn’t really recommend it.