The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica by David G. Campbell
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Book Reviews of The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica
Book Review: The Crystal Desert: Summers in Antarctica
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed reading this book and it provided me with a lot of information that I found very useful. I had no idea what it was like in Antarctica and this book helped me get a feel for it.Book Review: Interesting look at the flora/fauna of Antarctica
Summary: 5 Stars
Very interesting reading for those with limited knowledge of what kinds of life exist in this hostile locale.Book Review: Good, but the author isn't big on introspection
Summary: 4 Stars
Since I've visited Antarctica, and enjoyed its haunting, indifferent beauty as well as the spectacular wildlife, I was interested in reading an account of someone who had lived, studied, and conducted research there. Campbell's strength is writing about the science, the wildlife, the extremes of weather and of living in a difficult place. His weakness is his utter lack of self-analysis. He berates the tourists who come to this place (does he think he owns the Antarctic area himself?), and laments the loss of microscopic and macroscopic life that is lost when the loutish tourist dares step on the fragile landscape, yet he is blissfully unaware of the far greater damage he does to the ecosystem when he powers up the hills to work on the weatherstation, and when he pulls up marine creatures and watches them burst, dying, under his microscope.
I guess anything is fair game when done under the guise of 'science', but woe be to the ordinary person who dares to learn about one of the farthest reaches of the planet.