"Terra Incognita" by Sara Wheeler
I felt sorry for the trees that died to make "Terra Incognita" by Sara Wheeler. Once in a while a person accidentally stumbles on an especially annoying book. One written particularly because a desperate publisher made a phone call, or mailed a letter with a check to an author with the words: “It’s time to write another one, Shirley…” and the author hurled herself to write, without a plan, without ideas and the only thing that came out was a dull diary filled with self pity, anti-Americanism, sexism and generally criticism… Well, this is one of those books and I truly feel sorry for the trees that have to die annually to satisfy the erroneous marketing projections of underpaid book editors in the current cost-cutting environment (especially after the advent of Print-on-Demand) in order to deliver such hideous and mind numbing gems. Yet I am also grateful. I’m grateful for these sacrifices because they serve to carry a message to the reader, which he or she can carry to you the broader audience. That message is - DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH THIS BOOK AND THIS AUTHOR.
In terms of content – well, there is no story here. This is simply a tedious account of a lonely woman who spent someone else’s money to visit Antarctica and record her daily experiences. What kind of experiences, you wonder?
The kind that go like this”
“…we took off over the frozen sound toward the Transantarctics…”
“…we could see individual birds waddling about with stones in their beaks…”
“…Later that day we landed at the snout of the Mawson Glacier for a picnic...”
“…so we all had our own few feet of privacy. It was hot and dark inside…”
“…and later we saw all their small yellow tents pitched in the distance...”
and go on and on and on…
Occasionally the author makes references to Scott’s, Shackleton’s and other expeditions, but in no way enough to stir imagination or interest. I doubt you’d learn anything new from this book.
If you are truly interested about Antarctica, the history behind the conquests and a first person account of the harshness of the pole and its frozen lands, check out “Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest” by Ranulph Fiennes.
Yield to reason – ignore this one.
- by Simon Cleveland
In terms of content – well, there is no story here. This is simply a tedious account of a lonely woman who spent someone else’s money to visit Antarctica and record her daily experiences. What kind of experiences, you wonder?
The kind that go like this”
“…we took off over the frozen sound toward the Transantarctics…”
“…we could see individual birds waddling about with stones in their beaks…”
“…Later that day we landed at the snout of the Mawson Glacier for a picnic...”
“…so we all had our own few feet of privacy. It was hot and dark inside…”
“…and later we saw all their small yellow tents pitched in the distance...”
and go on and on and on…
Occasionally the author makes references to Scott’s, Shackleton’s and other expeditions, but in no way enough to stir imagination or interest. I doubt you’d learn anything new from this book.
If you are truly interested about Antarctica, the history behind the conquests and a first person account of the harshness of the pole and its frozen lands, check out “Race to the Pole: Tragedy, Heroism, and Scott's Antarctic Quest” by Ranulph Fiennes.
Yield to reason – ignore this one.
- by Simon Cleveland
posted by Simon Cleveland @ 12:35 PM
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