Antarctica

New Zealand photographer and mountaineer Colin Monteath has assembled a remarkable collection of stunning photographs with accompanying text--covering everything from wildlife to weather-- that offers a panoramic view of the mysterious continent at Earth's southern extreme. Nearly 250 full-color photos.

---

The New Zealand photographer and mountaineer Colin Monteath has assembled a remarkable collection of nearly 250 full-color photos with an accompanying text that offers a panoramic view of the mysterious continent at the earth's southern extreme. An early chapter carries readers to Life on the Fringe, a words-and-pictures portrait of wildlife in the Falklands, South Georgia, and other nearby islands. Here we discover dramatic landscapes and seascapes beneath spectacular skies, and colonies of penguins and albatrosses. Earth the Ice Planet brings us to Antarctica's great ice cover -- ice shelves and glaciers, as well as icebergs fantastically shaped by sea and weather in the adjacent Southern Ocean. Mountain photos taken on Antarctica's mainland follow and suggest dreamscapes and imaginary voyages to distant planets. A lengthy central chapter titled A Slippery Path shows us the effects of human activity on Antarctica, from the huts of early explorers to today's scientific bases, as well as the large tourist ships that sail coastal waters. A concluding chapter, Wild and Free, examines the unique life cycles and adaptations of Antarctica's wildlife. Here, in one beautiful and absorbing volume, is a stunning photo essay on Antarctica plus a wealth of textual information about this spectacular continent.