3.5 Stars

At times captivating and at times a bit redundant, Justin Gardiner weaves his personal journey to Antarctica with the great explorers of Antarctica. His flawless transitions from his own experiences and thoughts, to the diaries of the explorers, to the historical tales are fascinating.

As someone that has always wanted to set their eyes on Antarctica, I enjoyed learning the history of the continent, much of which I never knew. Gardener’s book was an enjoyable history lesson.

The book slowed down for my at the end, and it started to feel like forced reading. The details of the groups’ misfortunes and mistakes felt a bit redundant and the reduction of Gardiner’s personal anecdotes pulled me away from the book a bit.

Still, Gardiner did an exceptional job at putting so much history into one book, while still adding a poetic (and cheeky) element, and confronting so many misconceptions and controversies. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is outdoorsy or into arctic exploration.

#BeneathTheShadow #NetGalley