Below the convergence : voyages towards Antarctica, 1699-1839

This "hugely entertaining book" ("The Daily Telegraph") tells of the first expeditions to Antarctica - all in search of land, glory, science and profit.

Life was harsh: crews had poor provisions and inadequate clothing, and scurvy was a constant threat.

With unreliable charts, these intrepid explorers were the first to discover and exploit a new continent, which was not the verdant island they had imagined but an inhospitable, frozen expanse of rock, ringed by pack ice and icebergs.