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Antarctica’s Forgotten Men by L. B. Quartermain, chronicles the exploits of 10 men who are not known to the general public who took part in the exploration of Antarctica during the early days of exploration around the turn of the last century. The ten men are: William Bruce; Charles Royds; Bill Lashly; Will Colbeck; Tannatt David; Edward Atkinson; Victor Campbell; Dick Richards; Alf Cheetham and Scotty Paton. A chapter is devoted to each man. The men worked in expeditions related to Scott and Shackleton as well as others. Each chapter details their various expeditions and what was accomplished under harrowing conditions. While interesting, eventually details run together and the book becomes hard to follow at times. I would recommend only to people who are very interested in the age of Antarctic exploration and want to find out more information beyond Scott and Shackleton. Pictures of the men are included as well as brief biographies of the men before and after their Antarctic visits.

A Dinosaur Dynasty by Katherine Rogers chronicles the Sternberg family of Kansas, who through several generations became a family of fossil hunters. Beginning with family head, Charles, and continuing through his sons, they traveled throughout the United States and Canada and even Argentina hunting for fossils and providing a treasure trove of specimens for museums in the U.S. and overseas.

Father Charles (born in 1850) became interested in fossils as a child and decided it would be his life’s work. He was taken under the wing of paleontologist Edward Cope who provided him with contacts to sell and ship his fossil discoveries and also  had a relationship with his rival, paleontologist Othniel Marsh another top paleontologist. Charles only had a grade school education, but his knowledge in the field grew and in later years he wrote and lectured about the topic. Conditions in his early days of fossil hunting were severe. There were dangers of Indian attacks and food and water were scarce. Charles and later his sons spent months away from their families throughout the years.

His sons George, Charles and Levi took up their father’s profession They came up with many solutions as to gluing; shipping; and mounting as time went on. The Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University in Kansas is a testament to their legacy. The book is filled with many pictures of their fossil finds, maps, and the men at work. This is an interesting book of a family not well known to the general public. Recommended.

It’s hard to understand the impact the Archaeopteryx (as it was called) finding had among Victorian scientists and the general public from the standards of today. The book tries to explain the uproar as well as other various fossil discoveries that came afterward in Europe and the U.S. that added fuel to fire.

The consensus today seems to be that Archeopteryx was a type of primitive bird rather than a feathered reptile or feathered dinosaur.  Most do not think it is an ancestor of living birds. It is thought to be an evolutionary side branch that became extinct. It is not viewed  (as in the past by many). as technically a missing link between dinosaurs and birds.

The author does a good job of providing the history and personal stories surrounding the discovery of this fossil and all the discoveries and theorizing since. But it can be a bit too technical for the lay reader at times. Worth reading for those who can digest the information.

Bones of Contention

by Paul Chambers

This book follows the discovery of the Solnhofen fossil in 1861 in Germany  which caused a major debate Bones of Contention: The Archaeopteryx Scandals

between Darwinists and Creationists, which was touted as the missing link between birds and reptiles by some and has been debated till this day. The the furious debate in England involved Thomas Huxley a supporter of Darwin (who elected to stay out of the debate) and Sir Richard Owen who headed the Creationists views. The fossil had reptile characteristics as well as feathers

The book gives a history of Huxley and Owen as well as other players in the big debate that rocked the Victorian world at the time. The author also give the backstory of Darwin and his beliefs  and studies resulting in the publishing of The Origin of the Species. The fossil had reptile characteristics as well as feathers.

An Empire of Ice provides maps,  but none were of  the entire continent and I found them hard to understand. This was a drawback. The many scientific discoveries and mapping are quite detailed. Among them were studies of the various penguins in the area. Mountains and a secret valley with streams during the summer season and simple forms of plant life were fascinating. I hadn’t read anything of this somewhat temperate valley.  Also the discovery of Antarctica’s influence on ocean currents and the Gulf stream was very interesting.  Antarctica was proven a continent with a temperate climate that at some point had broken off from other land masses and shifted to the bottom of the world. The brutal cold and dangerous living conditions make one understand how grueling these expeditions were, considering the times and equipment available. Scurvy and frostbite were constant companions.

Byrd’s death and final expedition were quite moving. Hailed a hero at the time, he is viewed by the scientific community today as more of a gallant bungler today, who risked his life and the life of his men. Shackleton is held in higher regard. (a reverse of the times) according to the author.

Overall, this book contained a lot of information, a bit too much for the general reader. I would like to read more on the subject, but more specific to the explorer and less scientific details, which bog the book down.

An Empire of Ice

by Edward J Larson

This book chronicles the last epoch of discovery of the early 20th century. The race to map and discover the last area of unexplored territory in the world, the continent of Antarctica. The book begins by describing the mood and public interest in England at the time after the discovery of the North Pole and the race to the South Pole and the scientific discoveries found there, concentrating on the explorations of Scott and Shackleton.

While I gained a lot of information, I found the book hard to follow as the many voyages and explorations tend to run together and the scientific discoveries are so detailed, its hard for the general reader to keep track of it all. The author concentrates mainly on the many explorations of Byrd and Shackleton. The British valued scientific discovery above all and this hampered Byrd’s race to the South Pole, which allowed the Norwegian, Amundsen, who was more interested in the race to the Pole over science, to be the first one to reach the pole.

Two Against the Ice by Ejnar Mikkelsen, based on his journals, chronicles the exploration of Northeast Greenland with his cohort Iver Iversen, during the years 1909-1912. Originally, the journeys objective was to obtain the diaries and possible remains of a previous expedition. (The diaries were found). But the 2 men were  up against more then they bargained for. This gripping tale of man vs. nature describes the horrible conditions the 2 men encountered and their constant battle against the elements. Extreme cold and hunger were daily companions. The loneliness and desolation of the landscape drew the 2 men together but also apart at times when emotional problems would surface. They barely survived and came close to dying of hunger several times. Their sled dogs all eventually died of exhaustion and hunger and were eaten by the 2 men. They were forced to drag their sleds themselves and eventually had to abandon them and most of their belongings. During the long winters of darkness they spent most of their days in small huts, eating their meager rations and what little they were successful in hunting. They were forced to spend an extra winter because they were late in meeting their rescue boat.

This is a hard to put down book and the fact it is all true makes it an even more compelling read.

Quakeland by Kathryn Miles is a book about earthquakes in America, what causes them and how we can prepare for them.

I have been working at home during the Corona Virus and part of my duties is to read Geology books and post them on this blog. The first book is titled Quakeland by Kathryn Miles. This is a book about earthquakes in America, what causes them and how we can prepare for them. The author travels across the country to visit earthquake sites; interviews scientists and officials; people who have experienced quakes and even went down into a mine. The resulting book is a frightening look at how unprepared we, as a country, are in dealing with the aftereffects of a major quake and how human activity is putting more stress on  faults that could speed up the timelines for more quakes. We also need emergency systems in place to minimize the danger to the populace after a major quake

Among the many topics discussed are the effects on building structures. The author visits Hoover dam, among other places and talks to engineers and scientists. She talks about past dam failures and what is involved in making a dam withstand an earthquake. The average age of a dam in this country is 52 years. Of the nations 84,000 dams, 4000 are found to be deficient. Over a third of dams in this country have no emergency contingent plan. Constructing buildings to withstand earthquakes and the fate of older buildings reacting to an earthquake is another area discussed. The author cites a Los Angeles study that predicted 5 high rise buildings built before the Northridge quake would collapse altogether. Another 10 or more would be so badly damaged they’d have to be demolished. And several dozen would be so damaged they’d have to be evacuated and closed for repairs.

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