The Antarctic: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

The author is a professor of geopolitics, and the book has strong emphasis on Antarctic governance and geopolitics. If you're interested in these topics, you will like the book more than I did. I on the other hand, would prefer the author devoted more space than he did to discovery, exploration and modern science of Antarctic.Amazon doesn't list Table of Contents, so here it is:Defining the Antarctic 1Discovering the Antarctic 23Claiming and negotiating the Antarctic 48Governing the Antarctic 69Doing the Antarctic science 89Exploiting and protecting the Antarctic 109Further reading 133Index 137

The title is quite misleading, as this is by no means an "introduction to the Antarctic," but a long and tedious disquisition on the geopolitics of the continent. If you're interested in treaties, and want a postmodern take on colonialism and oppression, complete with PoMo wordplay, then you might enjoy this. As someone who is going to visit Antarctica, and wanted to learn all about the area, it was devoid of interest. There's very little about the geological history, the present-day geology, the biology, the climate, and so on. It should have been called "A Progressive's Take on the Geopolitics of Antarctica." The writing is also tedious. All in all, a very disappointing read.

Vividly written and accessible to the general readers, this book presents useful information about the Antarctic you may want to know. Essentially, the topics that are covered include history of the Antarctic discovery, exploration research and exploitation in the Antarctic as well as the Antarctic Treaty and governance of the Antarctic.The Antarctic is is the very cold area around the South pole that includes Antarctica (landmass of the southern polar continent) and the surrounding seas. Geological evidence suggests that for much of its history, the Antarctic has been a green continent. The polar region is unique in that it has no indigenous human population but a rich ecosystem there.The Antarctic Treaty entered into force in June 1961. The peace and stability established by the Treaty can not rule out possible conflicts in the future as sovereignty of the region is unresolved. There are a number of extensions of the Treaty by legal instruments to address conservation, resource management and environmental protection. Despite enforcement efforts of regulatory bodies, over exploitation of seal, whale and fish have already disrupted the marine ecosystem in the Antarctic!

Great book, I got on Kindle as it was cheaper. It does repeat itself in parts but I found it very helpful for my Geography undergrad Antarctica module

Leí el Ártico y me gusto mucho. Por eso busqué este libro. Es muy diferente. A mi juicio, y pensando en el gran público, se ha volcado demasiado en las cuestiones asociadas a la governanza haciendo del libro algo árido. Creo que a la gente nos interesan esas cuestiones + peces + mamíferos marinos + geología, naturaleza en general, qué falta, a mi juicio, en este texto. Pero su librito el Ártico es una maravilla

This would be required reading for anyone who is unsure of the likely fate of Antarctica. The political history and its connections with possible oil, marine livestock and mineral resources are all spelled out clearly. I hope that most of the predictions will not come to pass.

bom