Book Reviews

Abstract

THE author of this book caught the fascination of the Antarctic when he went south with R. E. Byrd in thelittle America expedition of 1928-30 as special correspondent of The New York Times. He has retold the stories of some of the best-known expeditions of all times with an eye to journalistic interest rather than historical value. There is little new and practically nothing about the Antarctic Ocean, and very little about the Antarctic Continent, its glaciers and animal life. Mr. R. Owen is cautious about the Bransfield Palmer controversy over the discovery of what is now known as Graham Land, but he goes too far in asserting that C. Wilkes furnished proof of the continental character of Antarctic lands. There is very little in his pages about recent British and Norwegian work. Two dozen sketch-maps are a useful feature of the book. The Antarctic Ocean By Russell Owen. Pp. 225 + 14 plates. (London: Museum Press, Ltd., 1948) 18s. net.