Alastair Fothergill

This is another good example of the popular science books produced as an adjunct to television series during the 1980s and 1990s by leading media companies, characterised by authoritative text, outstanding visuals (often pioneering for their time). This one portrays the Antarctic region in all its starkness and terrible beauty, with stunning photographs of regions and places hardly visited by people. Especially impactful and moving are the descriptions of the struggles of various species to show more survive and bring up their young, of which surely the stories of the emperor penguin and the wandering albatross are surely the most poignant. A great achievement by the author and the production teams. show less

An outstanding production, portraying the extreme environment of the polar regions and their animal denizens. As much as the descriptions of the habitats and the living organisms, it is also an account of the four-year odyssey of the BBC filming crew that braved such extreme conditions, risking their health and their lives amidst raging blizzards and crackin snow fields. By getting down in the ground with the local species, such as the penguins and the seals and whales, they have given us show more almost a physical experiences of the conditions. For most of us, who will never have the occasion to actually visit such places, this is truly a gut-wrenching alternative. show less

I really enjoyed this book. What an incredible, interesting and amazing journey and world. I might have given it less than 5 stars but I went to a brilliant talk by Doug Alan (a wildlife and documentary photographer) http://dougallan.com/#home who brought to life this incredible world that is described in this book. The 2 things working together just made it. Full of stunning photos.

Mostly providing wonderful photographs, but also some trivia about the extra-ordinary life in the poles, the book was quite what I expected: I would recommend it for curious minds that are not scientists. Like most documentaries, this book raised more questions than gave answers: if you tell that the great gray owl has asymmetrically placed ears, I bet everyone wants to know where the ears are! Some facts (about the physical environment) were dropped here and there and mostly seemed correct show more and nicely simplified.

Most of all I enjoyed the last part: the problems the crew encountered, the good luck they had in getting the shots they got and the constant struggle against the nature - that is what the life near the poles is. show less