Mountains of madness : a scientist's odyssey in Antarctica / John Long ; foreword by Tim Bowden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Long, John, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Long, John, 1957---Travel--Antarctica--Transantarctic Mountains.

Long, John.

Long, John, 1957-.

Travel.

Scientific expeditions.

Paleontology.

Antarctica--Transantarctic Mountains.

Paleontology--Antarctica--Transantarctic Mountains.

Scientific expeditions--Antarctica--Transantarctic Mountains.

Transantarctic Mountains (Antarctica)--Discovery and exploration.

Transantarctic Mountains (Antarctica).

Genre:

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

xiv, 252 pages, 4 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : J. Henry Press, [2001]

Summary:

In 1988 and again in 1992, paleontologist John Long went fossil hunting in the coldest place on Earth -- the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. As a scientist, he went seeking specimens of fossilized fish, but as a human being, Long went seeking adventure -- and the experience changed his life forever. Through many dangerous, occasionally comical, but always genuinely moving experiences, his life was fundamentally altered.

Mountains of Madness is a moving saga of science, exploration, and human endurance. His is a story of how real science is practiced in a unique and demanding setting -- where scientists come close to sacrificing their lives in the pure and simple quest for knowledge.

Contents:

1 A Strange and Hostile Land 1

2 Of Heroes, Rocks, and Fossils 12

3 Survival Training: Tekapo, New Zealand 22

4 Arrival in Antarctica 29

5 Antics on Ice 39

6 A Very Good Christmas 45

7 Dry Valleys, Sand Dunes, and Rivers 57

8 Back to the Great White South 67

9 Cape Evans and Cape Royds 75

10 A Flight of Discovery 84

11 On Mr. Darwin's Glacier 88

12 The First Worst Day of My Life 91

13 Dancing on the Gorgon's Head 102

14 Up the McCleary Glacier 110

15 A Room at the Fish Hotel 116

16 The Skua 127

17 The Ascent of Mt. Gudmundson 131

18 Over the Mulock Glacier 137

19 Mt. Ritchie and Deception Glacier 142

20 Onwards to Escalade Peak 149

21 "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" 155

22 On the Snout of the Alligator 168

23 Long Day's Journey into Night 172

24 Skating Away on the Thin Ice of a New Year 181

25 Working on the Portal 188

26 At the Crucible of Shark Evolution 193

27 Pick-Up Day Problems 203

28 Base Blues and Arrival Home in Australia 207

29 So Much for the Afterglow 213

30 Reflections from the Ice 219

Appendix 1 What I Liked and Disliked About Antarctica 227

Appendix 2 Some Great Recipe Ideas from Antarctica 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-233) and index.

ISBN:

0309070775

OCLC:

45202125