The Transantarctic Mountains are the most remote mountain belt on Earth; an utterly pristine wilderness of ice and rock rising to majestic heights and extending for 1;500 miles. In this book; Edmund Stump is the first to show us this continental-scale mountain system in all its stunning beauty and desolation; and the first to provide a comprehensive; fully illustrated history of the region's discovery and exploration. The author not only has conducted extensive research in the Transantarctic Mountains during his forty-year career as a geologist but has also systematically photographed the entire region. Selecting the best of the best of his more than 8;000 photographs; he presents nothing less than the first atlas of these mountains. In addition; he examines the original firsthand accounts of the heroic Antarctic explorations of James Clark Ross (who discovered the mountain range in the early 1840s); Robert Falcon Scott; Ernest Shackleton; Roald Amundsen; Richard Byrd; and scientists participating in the International Geophysical Year (1957–1958). From these records; Stump is now able to trace the actual routes of the early explorers with unprecedented accuracy. With maps old and new; stunning photographs never before published; and tales of intrepid explorers; this book takes the armchair traveler on an expedition to the Antarctic wilderness that few have ever seen.
#52041 in Books Yale University Press 2009-11-24Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x 1.20 x 5.80l; 1.45 #File Name: 0300158378496 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Interesting but hard to read.By Preciliano J. MartinThe book is hard to read but the material seems well researched and the book does contains information not found in other sources. From a "history" standpoint it is a good reference. Material on North American Indians raiding in Mexico is hard to come by. The effects of this raiding on the history of the area is hard to come by; this book does a good job of documenting that. Documentation of raids by Indians living in Mexico on Mexican people still remains to be written.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Good narrative history of the Southwest and its native peoplesBy Sumit GuhaThis book provides a gripping narrative of the role played by the independent Native American tribes of the region from the great plains to the edge of central Mexico. It shows the major part their initiatives played in allowing the expansion of Anglo settlers into Texas and then much of what was then North-west Mexico (including California). It also explains how these tribes were then also the victims of the Anglo expansion that they unwittingly helped bring about. It does not shrink from depicting the brutality and treachery that seems to have characterized so much of the warfare in this region. It ends with a sketch of how commercialization and intensification of raiding and stock-herding on the plains prepared the ground for the later collapse of bison populations to near-extinction.Those who buy it on Kindle should be aware that no illustrations are included in that format; not even maps or graphs. It loses a good deal by that omission.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Texas and Northern Mexican History you won't find elsewhereBy JFMost people have seen one of the Alamo movies and think they know something about Texas history. But the piece that is often forgotten is the role Indians played in Texas in the early years. I have read a lot about Texas history and this book is unique. In the early 1820s there were 25;000 indians and only about 5;000 of Mexican/Spanish decent. Indians actually controlled the state. This book has a tremendous amount of detail especially about the Commanches. It also explains how the Spanish dealt with the Indian problem and why it all fell apart in the 1830s. It is well researched and very readable. If you have not read this book; you just don't really understand what was going on in the late 1700s early 1800s in Texas and Northern Mexico.
