| Product Summary | | Format: Paperback | | ISBN: 9780792268369 | | Publisher: National Geographic Society | | Publish Date: 3/9/2009 | | Buy.com Sku: 36385517 | | Item#: BLKXDR | | Dimensions (in Inches) 9H x 5.75L x 1T | | Pages: 288 |
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| | | Matthiessen has once again lit upon a subject profoundly fitted to his creative genius. He is simply the ultimate lyricist of loss, a writer brilliantly attentive to the way vanishings are braided into even the most exquisite moments of our lives. He agonizes over what is passing away, but does so in a manner that increases our appreciation of what remains. In "End of the Earth," Matthiessen joins the crew of the Akademik-a 384-foot research vessel bound for wild and storied South Georgia Island and Antarctica. Along the way we are treated to a patented Matthiessen brew: lyricism and emotion applied to the sharp-eyed evaluations of a seasoned naturalist. Brilliant and instructive observations of the creatures inhabiting this far-flung region are sprinkled with eloquent disquisition on the history of the region (Shackleton, Captain Cook, the first Antarctic whaling station at Grytviken which processed 25, 60-foot whales a day between 1900 and 1903) the effects of pollution and the resulting global warming that, unchecked, threaten polar meltdown and the exponential obliteration of vast quantities of the world's land mass. He tells us why the waters off South Georgia are one of the richest whale-feeding grounds of the world, how the wandering albatross-with the greatest wingspan (ll. feet) of any bird on earth-"arching down the sky to vanish behind a wave, curving high again like a white cross," excited cries of wonder from the crew of the Akademik. We learn of the inexplicable king penguin congregation (70,000 strong) in Gold Harbor, how seabirds process saltwater, the habits of every variety of fur seal, walrus petrel and penguin that inhabit the region. And just when you think yourappetite for nature depiction is slaked, an intense hurricane batters the Akademik for two days, injuring virtually everyone on board. Like all great writers Matthiessen is both obsessive and expansive as he converts his travels to the world's most remote and unforgiving places into opportunities to embrace a host of landscapes and creatures with a boundless curiosity. After 28 books and 75 peripatetic years, his passion for the natural world is undiminished, and "Islands at the End of the Earth," is Matthiessen at the very top of his game.
| Author Bio| Peter Matthiessen | | A "New Yorker by birth, not inclination" Peter Matthiessen broke with his wealthy Connecticut roots and Ivy League education to become a writer famous for adventures on all five continents, and his numerous nonfiction books and novels show a deep affinity for nature, exotic locales, and native cultures. After graduating from Yale, Matthiessen published several novels and was one of the founders of The Paris Review in 1953. However, his breakout work was his National Book Award-winning THE SNOW LEOPARD (1978), a memoir about an expedition in the Himalayas filled with ruminations on Zen Buddhism on the death of his second wife. IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE (1983), a defiant book accusing the FBI of falsely convicting Leonard Peltier for murder, led to a libel lawsuit by an FBI agent and the governor of South Dakota that prevented the book from being published in paperback for over a decade. Beginning in 1990 with KILLING MISTER WILSON, Matthiessen has published a trilogy about Edgar J. Wilson, a pioneer, murderer, and legend of the Florida Everglades. SHADOW COUNTRY, a revision of this epic trilogy, was nominated for the 2008 National Book Award. |
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