Lonely Planet have been setting the standards for travel guide-books for a number of years now.Jeff Rubin's guide-book to Antarctica is a treasure, first of all because guide-books on Antarctica are still very rare indeed, secondly because it is exhaustively comprehensive in its detail and yet so readable.
Antarctica is a unique place. The last true wilderness remaining on earth. A land where diverse and warring nations co-exist together to work, study and explore in peace. A land where Man can watch Mother Nature act alone, undisturbed. The highest, windiest, driest continent and yet the one containing the most water. Jeff Rubin gives profound insights on this last continent, this last true frontier. This book is packed with facts about history, geology as well as environmental issues (by Dr.Maj de Porteer) and antarctic science (by Dr.David Walton).
This book also contains a wildlife guide with more than sixty entries packed with pictures and with information essential for those who want to go and observe the wilderness of Antarctica.
Practical tips on when, how and with whom to go is both up to date, independent and as complete as one can get.
Plenty of information on the main Antarctic gateways is also provided as well as my most treasured part of the book - the chapter on the Sub-Antarctic Islands packed with information which is very diffuclt to find anywhere else with details on such isolated islands like Bouvetoya - the most isolated land on earth, Ile Crozet, Ile Kerguelen and many many others.
There are more than 20 maps in this book including, believe it or not, a map of non-existent islands. Throughout his book Rubin adds boxed text which provide to-the-point information on varied subjects ranging from Helicopter Safety, Taking Photos in Antarctica, Why one should not collect anything from Antarctica, Glaciology, the Aurora Australis and How to cope with isolation.
It is a pity that Rubin does not deal with such sensitive issues such as the exploration of the undergroung lake Vostok and attempts by many groups to ban sampling from this lake so as to avoid contamination.
A selection of photos is also present in this book, although unfortuantely not even one new photo has been added when compared to the first edition.
This book is a must for all those who are going to Antarctica as well for all those are interested in Antarctica but who do not have the good fortune, or the necessary finances to go to the most beautiful place on earth in person. Instead through Jeff Rubin one can practice on a regular basis armchair tourism. The only pity is that here in Malta the temperature is 35 degress Celsius. To feel truly there, I need a 2 metre tall freezer so as to at least feel what is it like to be in a very hot Antarctican summer day!
