The Silent Sound

"The Silent Sound" is Cliff Pearce's wonderful account of the time he spent on British bases in Antarctica forty years ago - when facilities for scientists were even more primitive, and conditions more dangerous than they are today. He was one of three men to establish the first winter base on the desolate Alexander Island - spending months trapped in a hut with dwindling supplies, increasingly frustrated by the three-month delay in the arrival of the summer sledging teams. Cliff Pearce is nonchalantly amusing about the frustrations and perils of daily life in one of the loneliest places on earth. But his excitement and sense of privilege at being there shine through, and he conveys his love and awe of the breathtaking glacial scenery in haunting descriptions