Extremes: Oceanography’s Adventures at the Poles

Benson, Keith R., and Helen M. Rozwadowski, eds., 2007, xiv + 393pp., illus.   “ . . . Papers emphasize exploration and history of oceanographic research at the poles from the late 19th century onward, and describe contexts and purposes of polar exploration driving the objectives of individual nations . . . several papers are particularly good . . . ” —Choice, October 2007 “ . . . Polar science today is subject to some of the same national and cultural forces that have shaped polar activities in the past. At such a juncture it is critical that scientists are joined by historians so that in seeing where we have been we will better understand the challenges of where we now stand. This volume makes a significant contrition to that end.” —Bulletin of the Pacific Circle, 2007 (October) “Scientists exploring the polar regions have long recognized the region’s importance in the scheme of human history, and here to survey that importance is a scientific and historical overview of how scienti