August 2025: Cool Off With Some Polar Adventures

Jul 31, 2025 | Announcements, Library

By Research Librarian Jessica Zaricki

It’s a hot and humid summer in the Seacoast Region, which led us to seek out some creative ways of beating the heat. Did you know that the Portsmouth Athenaeum has one of the strongest collections of polar materials on the US East Coast? While the following books might not change the heat index, these stories of adventure, exploration, and disaster might trick your brain into wanting a blanket and a hot cup of tea—if only for a moment.

Members, find the listed titles on display in the Sawtelle Reading Room through the month of August.

The Ministry of Time: A Novel

FICTION

This 2024 sci-fi romance centers on the relationship between a civil servant working as a “bridge” with an “expat” known as “1847.” The man, who history remembers as Commander Graham Gore, a member of the ill-fated 1845 Franklin Expedition to the Arctic, has been recovered as part of an experiment to determine the feasibility of time travel. In a genre-defying way, Bradley asks what it means to defy history and what we owe to one another.

Bradley, Kaliane. The Ministry of Time: A Novel. PR6102 .R33 M56 2024

Deception Point: A Novel

FICTION

Brown’s 2001 thriller centers on the authentication of a meteorite that may contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. This discovery takes place in the midst of a heated presidential election in which continued funding for NASA is a prominent issue. Intrigue abounds against a backdrop of Arctic discoveries and a search for the truth.

Brown, Dan. Deception Point: A Novel. PS3552 .R685434 D4 2001

Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age

BIOGRAPHY

If you’re looking for adventure, you could do much worse than this examination of the life and times of Danish explorer, writer, climate researcher, and resistance fighter Peter Freuchen. Larger than life with an insatiable sense of curiosity, Freuchen lived his life with a sense of restlessness and held ideals considered ahead of his time, including lifting up indigenous communities and promoting greater environmental stewardship. This biography returns a largely forgotten hero of the early 20th century back into public view.

Mitenbuler, Reid. Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age.

Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard

BIOGRAPHY

This is the first authorized biography of polar explorer and writer Apsley Cherry-Garrard, a member of the 1911 Scott Expedition to the South Pole. His book, The Worst Journey in the World, describes the event, including his discovery of the bodies of his friends lost during the polar winter: expedition leader Captain Scott; Birdie Bowers; and Bill Wilson. Cherry’s book is considered one of the finest adventure books ever written, but he never recovered from the loss of his friends and the depression resulting from the belief that he might have saved them. This read explores the dramatic nature of Polar exploration and the human cost of such adventures.

Wheeler, Sara. Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard.

On the Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station, Antarctica

NON-FICTION

Legler is a writer rather than a scientist, but that does not detract from this text which contains elements of nature writing, sociological study, and memoir. While those looking for information on the day to day function of an Antarctic scientific station may be disappointed in the lack of detail, this book will appeal to those wondering who is drawn to work in such a remote location and why.

Legler, Gretchen. On the Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. PS3562 .E39 Z47 2005

The Ends of the Earth: The Finest Writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic

NON-FICTION

A literary anthology featuring writings on the Arctic and Antarctic Ice Shelves. Comprised of two volumes in one book, the selected pieces include first-person narratives, cultural histories, science and nature writing, and fiction. Published in honor of the International Polar Year (beginning Spring 2007), the work continues a discussion on climate change and the future of the polar regions.

Kolbert, Elizabeth and Francis Spufford, ed. The Ends of the Earth: The Finest Writing on the Arctic and the Antarctic. G587 .E53 2007

The Last Imaginary Place: A Human History of the Arctic World

NON-FICTION

This book from the curator of Arctic Archaeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and based on his thirty years of work in the region explores the Arctic through the eyes and experiences of its inhabitants. McGhee describes Viking farmers, the Inuit population, and intrepid Western explorers, presenting a dreamlike, remote world with its own unique civilization.

McGhee, Robert. The Last Imaginary Place: A Human History of the Arctic World. G606 .M39 2007

Unknown Shore: The Lost History of England’s Arctic Colony

NON-FICTION

Ruby presents a dual narrative of two Arctic explorers three centuries apart. Elizabethan era pirate Martin Frobisher undertook England’s first attempts at colonizing the “New World” through exploration and settlement of a small, frozen island in the Canadian Arctic. This Meta Incognita, or Unknown Land, marked the largest Arctic exploration in history and brought hopes of gold deposits, the Northwest Passage to Cathay, and the development of a year-round colony. Unfortunately, the experiment ended in disaster and was lost for generations until rediscovered by 19th century American explorer Charles Francis Hall in his discussions with the Inuit population who passed the story through their oral history. The narrative explores the similarities between the two men, the work of exploration, the land, and the Inuits who lived there.

Ruby, Robert. Unknown Shore: The Lost History of England’s Arctic Colony. G650 .F58 2001

To the Ends of the Earth: Painting the Polar Landscape

NON-FICTION

An exhibition book from the Peabody Essex Museum’s 2008-2009 show featuring 50 different paintings of polar scenes and three essays regarding the importance of these images in light of the International Polar Year (2007-2008).

Scott, Samuel, Russell A. Potter, and John Paul Caponigro. To the Ends of the Earth: Painting the Polar Landscape. G579 .S36 2008

1912: The Year the World Discovered Antarctica

NON-FICTION

Roald Amundsen’s “discovery” of the South Pole in 1912 covered a larger story concerning expeditions to and explorations of Antarctica during the early years of the 20th century. Turney’s book examines several expeditionary groups including those led by Ernest Shackleton, Robert Scott, Nobu Shirase, Wilhelm Filchner, and Douglas Mawson, as well as Amundsen’s bid. He examines the lasting scientific legacy of these voyages as well as the inspiration they provided to generations of scientists, naturalists, and adventurers.

Turney, Chris. 1912: The Year the World Discovered Antarctica. G870 .T87 2012

Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure

NON-FICTION

This survival story, originally published in 1931 by the Captain of Ernest Shackleton’s doomed 1914-1916 expedition to Antarctica, describes the journey undertaken by the 25-man crew, first to barren Elephant Island, and then on to South Georgia, after their ship, Endurance, was trapped and taken by ice floes. This is a tale of courage, adventure, and the unflinching nature of polar exploration.

Worsley, F. A. Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure. G850 1914 .S53 W66 2000

IMAGE: Photo of a lithograph of Thetis and Bear, relief ships stopped by ice to the southward of the Duck Island, June 6, 1884. The vessels were attempting to rescue the surviving members of the Greely Expedition (1881-1884) which was exploring Lady Franklin Bay in the Arctic. PS2568