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Book Review: To the South Polar Regions by Louis Bernacchi
Title: To the South Polar Regions: Expedition of 1898–1900
Author: Louis Bernacchi
Published: Hurst and Blackett, 1901
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 380
Total Page Count: 537,050
Text Number: 1966
Read Because: these boys are just so cold, borrowed from Open Library
Review: Bernacchi is one of the better writers in my travelog readings: funny, with a dark bent, managing evocative and informative depiction both of the sweeping grandeur of Antarctica and the gripes of close-quarters and rough living. But readers picking this up because Bernacchi "was critical of aspects of Borchgrevink's leadership" (as per Wikipedia) may be disappointed by his understated criticism. Bernacchi is subdued, bordering on passive aggressive: he's frank about the conditions at Camp Adare, but Borchgrevink is notable largely for his absence, rarely mentioned, a quiet dismissal noticeable particularly when Bernacchi contradicts Borchgrevink's version of events. The Southern Cross expedition is largely forgotten, for reasons both unfair and actually quite fair. The sequence of events is a lot of nerd talk (admirable, but not especially engaging) and frustrated, failed excursions; this is a skippable, slipshod cold mess of an expedition, not especially distinctive or memorably tragic, vaguely embarrassing, despite Bernacchi's honesty. Predictably, I still enjoyed it, especially when the accounts are contrasted.
Author: Louis Bernacchi
Published: Hurst and Blackett, 1901
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 380
Total Page Count: 537,050
Text Number: 1966
Read Because: these boys are just so cold, borrowed from Open Library
Review: Bernacchi is one of the better writers in my travelog readings: funny, with a dark bent, managing evocative and informative depiction both of the sweeping grandeur of Antarctica and the gripes of close-quarters and rough living. But readers picking this up because Bernacchi "was critical of aspects of Borchgrevink's leadership" (as per Wikipedia) may be disappointed by his understated criticism. Bernacchi is subdued, bordering on passive aggressive: he's frank about the conditions at Camp Adare, but Borchgrevink is notable largely for his absence, rarely mentioned, a quiet dismissal noticeable particularly when Bernacchi contradicts Borchgrevink's version of events. The Southern Cross expedition is largely forgotten, for reasons both unfair and actually quite fair. The sequence of events is a lot of nerd talk (admirable, but not especially engaging) and frustrated, failed excursions; this is a skippable, slipshod cold mess of an expedition, not especially distinctive or memorably tragic, vaguely embarrassing, despite Bernacchi's honesty. Predictably, I still enjoyed it, especially when the accounts are contrasted.