In an age when many books carry obtuse titles that try to be clever (for example, the best-selling self-help book Who moved my cheese? (Johnson Reference Johnson1998), which is in no way dedicated to the shifting of cultured dairy products), it is refreshing to find a book title that tells it to you straight. And, with more than 95% of all Antarctic tourists starting their journeys to the deep south from South America, Bernard Stonehouse's Antarctica from South America is sure to appeal to many.
Anyone who has read Stonehouse's previous title, The last continent: discovering Antarctica (Reference Stonehouse2000), will be familiar with the contents of this new book because they have been pretty much lifted straight out and republished. The author acknowledges this directly, stating that the new title and its streamlined focus, which now omits the Ross Sea and East Antarctica, is essentially a second edition of the earlier book from 2000. Antarctica from South America follows the same basic outline and many of the comments made in a review of that earlier work (Carey Reference Carey2000) are still valid with this new book. The introductory chapters provide descriptions of the southern region, including the land, ice, and surrounding seas, as well as the soils, plants, and wildlife. Background information is also provided on some of the human history of the continent, with a focus on the politics, Antarctic Treaty, and management. These are done with the same well-written prose that one expects from a Stonehouse book, and they do a fine job of educating the potential tourist about what to expect on a holiday to the Antarctic. A thorough index makes it easy to find what you are looking for, although the narrative style of writing makes this book more enjoyable when read from start to finish, rather than just dipping into it. The book does not set out to be a wildlife guide, but some basic identification and natural-history information is provided. One useful addition not found in the first book are black-and-white line drawings that show the scale of seabirds, seals, and whales, in relation to each other and a human figure. This is especially valuable for the large albatrosses, the gigantic stature of which is never fully appreciated from the deck of a ship.
Most people who buy travel guides do so in order to get some specific information about a place they intend to visit. The six chapters in the middle of this book are therefore the real ‘meat’ of the volume. Stonehouse starts by describing the South American ports that serve as the gateways for tourists. The information provided is fairly general and will give one a feel for the cities, but it will not be very helpful if you are looking for, say, a particular service or hotel. The lack of maps also limits the usefulness of these entries.
The next chapters describe a sample of destinations in the Falklands, South Georgia, and the Antarctic itself. Included are the most popularly visited sites, and the list of places is very similar to those covered in the previous book. The only changes are the addition of King Haakon Bay (South Georgia) and the deletion of Ronge Island (Antarctic Peninsula). Both of these modifications reflect changes in visitor trends. The site descriptions are of varying length and, unfortunately, not all are accompanied by photographs. In one case, a photo of Saunders Island is used (and captioned) in the entry for New Island (Falklands).
Eleven maps are included, ranging from a continent-wide perspective, to close-ups of specific areas like the islands around the Gerlache Strait, or the South Shetland Islands. Sadly, there are many short-comings with these. The first map, showing the entire continent, has been squished laterally, as if someone wanted to make it fit a vertical page. The clearly marked Antarctic Circle is actually an oblong. The second map, showing the length of the Antarctic Peninsula, is the best of the bunch, with generally accurate outlines and clear contrast between the white of the land and the blue of the sea. The remaining maps are difficult to read because of the poor contrast between the blue of the sea and green used for landmasses. Further, many of the landing sites described are not included on the maps, or in some cases (for example, Half Moon Island), are incorrectly marked. Map 10 (page 143) is perhaps the worst of the lot. Depicting the area around the Gerlache Strait, the labels for Pleneau and Petermann Islands have made it on the map, but the landmasses they point to have not. And Paradise Harbour, one of the most-visited sites in Antarctica, is not labelled at all. Clear, easy-to-use maps are important if a travel guide is to do its intended job.
Occasionally, the book includes some outdated information. For example, the Antarctic Protected Management system no longer lists Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) — they are now Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPA), and the no-go area described for Pendulum Cove (page 126) does not include the burned out Chilean station remains. Another quibble about the text and content is the lack of visitor behaviour suggestions for individual landing sites. These are included for a few destinations, but with tourist numbers climbing sharply while the average experience of tour guides declines, more advice from seasoned professionals can only be a good thing.
What really disappoint are the illustrations. The book includes numerous colour photographs, but many are not sharp or their colours are washed out. Almost all of these pictures were included in Stonehouse's earlier book, and it is clear that the reproduction of many of them has been greatly improved for this edition, especially with regard to colour. But overall, the photos are not up to the same high quality as the text, and this discrepancy may hinder the book's appeal to the southern traveller.
