Keyword: ANTARCTICA | Books about heroic adventures

Antarctica has been synonymous with heroic adventures since the 19th century, when this land was officially discovered. The first explorers knew nothing about the place and had to guess on how to conquer it. Most of them got it wrong and died. Actually, death is a very familiar reality among those who spent time there, even today. And yet, people are still willing to go to Antarctica and explore it.

Read the article: “A frozen graveyard: The sad tales of Antarctica’s deaths”, by Martha Henriques (BBC).

The first Antarctic explorers are pictured as heroes, who went to an inhospitable and unforgiving place trying to beat it. The most famous ones, Shackleton and Scott, died there, although Shackleton died on his fourth mission. Amundsen died in the Arctic. Scott and Amundsen are especially famous for their race to reach the South Pole and Shackleton is especially famous for leading the ship Endurance, which got stuck and then sank in Antarctica (all crew members miraculously escaped alive). Besides many books about these heroes, there are many others about late explorers.

Check: “The 50 best books about Antarctica”, by Paul Clammer (Swoop | Antarctica blog).

Nowadays, it is possible to go to Antarctica as a tourist. It is not for everyone due to the physical health conditions needed and also the wealth requirements. Besides, there are not many vacancies. Yet, this has triggered authors to write about it. Fiction books set in Antarctica are increasingly abundant, whether about tourists (usually trying to run away from something), researchers, or even police officers looking for a peaceful place to work (but not finding it…).

Check: “Ten Great Books set in ANTARCTICA”, by TripFiction.

Ah, but you don’t have time to read or just prefer to watch films. Great, there are plenty of that too. Between documentaries, animation or fiction (based on true events or not), there are plenty of films and tv series for all tastes.

Check: “The best films about Antarctica”, by Paul Clammer (Swoop | Antarctica blog).

And also: TV series set in Antarctica (TMDB).

Whatever you choose, enjoy!