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From early Greek times, the cold, white mysteries of the Antarctic have
roused men’s ambition and curiosity. In Below the Convergence (Norton,
£27.50, ISBN 0 393 03949 8), Alan Gurney splendidly describes the many
expeditions, ill-equipped and dangerous, that were mounted between 1699 and 1839
to test the fabled existence of Terra Australis Incognita, now known as
Antarctica. These heroic explorations were born of mixed motives. Greed,
scientific curiosity, kudos and national pride played their part. This is
history as adventure, and the writing matches it.