Champagne and polar bears

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R.K. Headland

This comprehensive list of Antarctic expeditions includes details of all expeditions for purposes of exploration, scientific research, whaling, sealing and tourism, to the Antarctic continent and islands of the Southern Ocean, as well as lists of international laws and treaties relating to Antarctica, details of the Antarctic operations of various countries, a brief history of exploration and of Antarctic industries, as well as an extensive bibliography and index by expedition name, personal name, ship, location and organization. Revised edition of material in Antarctic pilot (1958) and Polar record (1958).

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Lawrence Millman

This collection of 30 adventure essays by celebrated Arctic enthusiast Millman features 17 new pieces along with those that have appeared elsewhere: in his previous books (Last Places; Northern Latitudes; An Evening Among Headhunters), magazines (Smithsonian, Atlantic Monthly, Islands) and as introductions to other works. Brought together in this way, these varied pieces reveal that Millman specializes in unsolved mysteries, odd myths, and extremely dangerous situations, and the stories he recounts are always highly amusing and unpredictable: he encounters Kodiak bears in Alaska, fortune-tellers on Yap, and leeches on Sarawak, to name just a few incidents. In the strongest pieces he pays homage to other explorers and adventurers, such as Henry Hudson, George Street, Harry Radford, Hassoldt Davis, John Cowper Powys, and Maurice Wilson. The fiction pieces interspersed among the travel narratives are somewhat weaker and not as well written as the nonfiction, a genre in which Millman clearly has few equals.

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Jean Malaurie

"Ultima Thule is the terrible yet fantastic story of European and American exploration in the Polar regions. Thirteen extraordinary men and expeditions preceded author Jean Malaurie to the North Pole. Based on excerpts from these explorers' logs counterbalanced by Inuit testimony, this book brings to life both sides of the clash between indigenous people and the white men who arrived in the Far North dreaming of Polar conquest, and believing they brought with them a superior civilization. Over the intervening 170 years, tensions have continually risen and fallen as new waves of Europeans encounter the native Inuit. Today, the outlook for the Inuit and for the Polar environment is bleak: both the people and their landscape are in danger of disappearing forever. But according to Malaurie, the situation is not without hope." "Using original travel accounts and a stunning array of period photographs, engravings, artifacts, maps, and drawings, Malaurie paints a richly detailed portrait of an intersection of cultures and fantasies. This beautifully produced book, an international success now available for the first time in an English translation, puts an entire museum of North Pole history in the reader's hands, illuminating a little-known world."--Jacket.

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Esther M. Friesner

This is NOT a mermaid book! (The title is a quote from Christopher Columbus's diary.) In this disturbing book, mythical king Prester John's ship is racing against Columbus to the New World. If he gets there first, all of the mythical creatures such as unicorns, fairies, pixies, selkies, etc will be saved and stay on earth. If not, they will be gone forever. This ship also carries a pregnant girl. She may or may not be a virgin, and may or may not be carrying a Savior, or just a human baby. ====== REVIEW WARNING: This book ends with a bloody atrocity worse than many war crimes. I am a Friesner fan, and did not know she would do this. If you are looking for a typical fantasy story, skip this dark book.