What do you think?
Rate this book
Voyage through the Antarctic
The authors describe their experiences during a two month trip through the waters of the Antarctic observing the region's wildlife
160 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 1983
About the author
Richard Adams
86 books2,339 followersAdams was born in Newbury, Berkshire. From 1933 until 1938 he was educated at Bradfield College. In 1938 he went up to Worcester College, Oxford to read Modern History. On 3 September 1939 Neville Chamberlain announced that the United Kingdom was at war with Germany. In 1940 Adams joined the British Army, in which he served until 1946. He received a class B discharge enabling him to return to Worcester to continue his studies for a further two years (1946-48). He took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1948 and of Master of Arts in 1953.
He was a senior civil servant who worked as an Assistant Secretary for the Department of Agriculture, later part of the Department of the Environment, from 1948 to 1974. Since 1974, following publication of his second novel, Shardik, he has been a full-time author.
He originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters, Juliet and Rosamund, and they insisted he publish it as a book. It took two years to write and was rejected by thirteen publishers. When Watership Down was finally published, it sold over a million copies in record time in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Watership Down has become a modern classic and won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972. To date, Adams' best-known work has sold over 50 million copies world-wide, earning him more than all his other books put together.
As of 1982, he was President of the RSPCA.
He also contested the 1983 general election, standing as an Independent Conservative in the Spelthorne constituency on a platform of opposition to fox hunting.
He was a senior civil servant who worked as an Assistant Secretary for the Department of Agriculture, later part of the Department of the Environment, from 1948 to 1974. Since 1974, following publication of his second novel, Shardik, he has been a full-time author.
He originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters, Juliet and Rosamund, and they insisted he publish it as a book. It took two years to write and was rejected by thirteen publishers. When Watership Down was finally published, it sold over a million copies in record time in both the United Kingdom and the United States. Watership Down has become a modern classic and won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1972. To date, Adams' best-known work has sold over 50 million copies world-wide, earning him more than all his other books put together.
As of 1982, he was President of the RSPCA.
He also contested the 1983 general election, standing as an Independent Conservative in the Spelthorne constituency on a platform of opposition to fox hunting.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 20, 2020
About this time last year I was lucky enough to visit the Sub-Antarctic Campbell Island, Auckland Islands and Macquarie Island on a tourism expedition.
This book by British author Richard Adams (of Watership Down fame), chronicles his similar journey on a larger ship, on a larger route. His voyage left Ushuaia in southern Argentina, visits King George Island, Deception Island, Argentina, then Macquarie (administered by Tasmania), Campbell and Enderby (in the Auckland Island group), the snares Islands and Stewart Island in the south of New Zealand.
Along with Adams' writing, naturalist Ronald Lockley contributes sections on the specific animals, the photography is by Peter Hirst-Smith.
As well as describing the events of his journey, what he saw and thought, Adams shares his shipboard time, a little about his fellow voyagers, and some broad ecological hopes. At times he outlines the history of the places visited, although this is relatively light. Special mention goes to the harvesting of seals and penguins for oil, which thankfully was stopped, and Macquarie made a full sanctuary for wildlife.
While most of the photography is excellent, it is unfortunately reproduced in black and white for a large proportion. Peter Hirst-Smith in his short summary about the photography does mention he brought black and white film as well as colour, but I am not sure that is the issue here. The folly of describing the colouring of a yellow eyed penguin in a photograph caption, with the photo in black and white is obvious to all.
This was a welcome trip through my own memories of a year ago for me.
4 stars.
This book by British author Richard Adams (of Watership Down fame), chronicles his similar journey on a larger ship, on a larger route. His voyage left Ushuaia in southern Argentina, visits King George Island, Deception Island, Argentina, then Macquarie (administered by Tasmania), Campbell and Enderby (in the Auckland Island group), the snares Islands and Stewart Island in the south of New Zealand.
Along with Adams' writing, naturalist Ronald Lockley contributes sections on the specific animals, the photography is by Peter Hirst-Smith.
As well as describing the events of his journey, what he saw and thought, Adams shares his shipboard time, a little about his fellow voyagers, and some broad ecological hopes. At times he outlines the history of the places visited, although this is relatively light. Special mention goes to the harvesting of seals and penguins for oil, which thankfully was stopped, and Macquarie made a full sanctuary for wildlife.
While most of the photography is excellent, it is unfortunately reproduced in black and white for a large proportion. Peter Hirst-Smith in his short summary about the photography does mention he brought black and white film as well as colour, but I am not sure that is the issue here. The folly of describing the colouring of a yellow eyed penguin in a photograph caption, with the photo in black and white is obvious to all.
This was a welcome trip through my own memories of a year ago for me.
4 stars.
September 9, 2022
Richard Adams is a great naturalist and travel writer and it’s a pity he didn’t write more. Published in 1982, this has dated very well. Whether comparing icebergs to stars, reflecting on the immensity of nature and the insignificance of humans, describing the aurora from the deck of his ship, the massive Ross Ice Shelf, the abundant bird life of Antarctica and southern islands, albatrosses, fin whales, seals and sea lions ... his cruise across the bottom of the world makes me want to travel down that way and check it out.
His friend, naturalist Ronald Lockley, helps out with the text while Peter Hirst-Smith, takes some lovely photos. If you like the writing of Richard Adams, this non-fiction work shows us a different side to this talented writer.
His friend, naturalist Ronald Lockley, helps out with the text while Peter Hirst-Smith, takes some lovely photos. If you like the writing of Richard Adams, this non-fiction work shows us a different side to this talented writer.
September 4, 2022
I needed to mentally get away from reality, and this was the book I chose. What a great pick it was! The word pictures created were phenomenal. Great descriptives and many references to literature. In fact, I had to look up quite a few words in the dictionary. What I enjoyed the most was the many tie-ins to history, bringing everything up to "modern" day. (A rather dated book to begin with.) Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. You will too!
January 7, 2016
This past September I had the pleasure to meet the author, Richard Adams. We spoke of his "other books" and this one entered our conversation. Upon my return from England I seeked out a number of his lesser known books, among these Voyage through the Antarctic. This was a most enjoyable read mainly because it was a simple account of a once in a lifetime cruise through a very desolate part of the world. Narrative was shared between Mr. Adams and his friend, naturist Ronald Lockley, author of "The Private Life of the Rabbit," but most of it by Mr. Adams. For me this book was special because I could hear the words coming directly from Mr. Adams himself, having experienced his sharp wit and love of nature first hand. He is also a strong animal rights advocate and this comes through loud and clear in his descriptions of the abuse of Antarctic aquatic animals, all for the almighty dollar. If you have any interest in this part of the world, I would highly recommend this book. There are also some wonderful photographs by Peter Hirst-Smith. My only complaint is that so many are in black and white. Incidentally, while reading this book, I learned that their ship MS Lindblad Explorer, eventually struck an iceberg and sank in 2007. All passengers survived and there are few accounts of this disaster available online.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Expl...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Expl...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews