Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica | 
 enlarge | Authors: Nicholas Johnson, Eirik Sonneland
Publisher: Feral House
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $0.70
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Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 155913
Media: Paperback
Pages: 276
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0922915997
Dewey Decimal Number: 302.3509989
EAN: 9780922915996
ASIN: 0922915997
Publication Date: April 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Paperback, tear on cover, minor shelf wear. Ships promptly w/notification emailed after shipping.
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Product Description
What goes on in Antarctica? Is it the pristine but harsh frontier where noble scientific missions are accomplished? Or an insane corporate bureaucracy where hundreds of workers are cooped together in hi-tech communes with all the soul of a suburban office park? Welcome to Big Dead Place, a grunt's eye view of America's Antarctic Program that shatters the well-worn cliches of polar literature. Here the heroic camaraderie and romantic desolation give way to sterile buildings populated by characters like a crazed manager who fills his boots with antifreeze, the greasepaint-obsessed worker Boozy the Clown, ghosts that haunt the food freezer, and horny employees who grab rare private moments coupling on the altar in the Chapel of the Snows. The Foreword is by Eirik Sonneland, who claims the longest unsupported ski trek in the continent's history. Also included is a glossary of Antarctic slang and bureaucratese, and 16 pages of color photographs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Legends of Ice and Bureaucracy March 2, 2007
Kcmo (San Francisco, CA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Anyone approaching this book as a sociological critique of human mores in an extreme environment is looking for a different book. Oh, there's plenty of sociology, plenty of critique, and plenty examples of human mores in an extreme environment; but these are the simple byproduct of an intelligent man's opening his eyes and recording what he sees as an Antarctic contract/wage worker.
On the bounds of journalism, not quite Gonzo, not quite straight reportage, the author manages to weave enough Antarctic lore, daily observation, and well-researched history into the narrative, so that the reader is ever mindful of the locale. This alone is a feat of work, for at times one would swear from the corporate shenanigans at the Bottom of the World that this was written as a script for the movie version of "The Office," and rejected for being too real.
The end result--as is the case with most accounts of human bureaucracy in a sublimely inappropriate venue--is hilarity. Think of it as a Monty Python sketch on a continental scale, funded by the American government, subcontracted to an arms manufacturer, and played by a diverse cast of world citizens who can never escape the moral of the story: that things just aren't fair.
Original and a fun read November 10, 2005
a reader (Singapore)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
For every scientist stationed in Antarctica, there are five support crew including dish washers and trash men. Luckily for us the author, Nicholas Johnson, was among them.
Johnson's story is an insider's view of life on the bottom of the planet for those of us who will probably never make it to the South Pole (which may be a good thing, after reading about the frosty welcome tourists get from the "polies"). The author combines hilarious anecdotes about day-to-day life with the history of the continent's exploration. The photo of the Easter Island snowman alone is worth the price of the book.
Having been there... September 13, 2005
A friend of Mr. Speed (\United States)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
Having spent 12 years working "on ice" and at every US Station and Ice Breaker, I can say this: Johnson has only scratched the surface on the lunacy, idiocy and buerocratic hell the US Antarctic program has become.
Since Raytheon has taken over as contractor, it's been one laugh after another. HR isn't about helping employees, it's about sticking to the corporate policy with a velvet hammer.
It'll be a fine day when the last Rathioyd leaves Antarcitca, but like the old song by The Who, it'll be "...meet the new boss, just the same as the old boss..."
Having met and known a few Antarctic treaty signatories, I'm sure they're doing a slow spin in their graves.
You will enjoy this book. I promise. September 9, 2005
Max
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Big Dead Place is a great combination of Antarctic history and Antarctic humor. It's fascinating to see that a place that could be described as an icy hell has somehow become a beaurocratic one as well. While the tone of the book is lighthearted, with an emphasis on humor, it's clear that Johnson cares deeply about Antarctica. This book gave me a great insight into Antarctica, one that I doubt I could have gotten elsewhere; it did so whilst being funny! If you get this book, you will be entertained and you will learn something about what is probably the strangest place on the planet. I can't recommend it highly enough.
 Big Dead Place September 1, 2005
Joel Hartman (Middle of Missouri)
8 out of 32 found this review helpful
Somewhat interesting, and at times amusing. Although at times there is potential for depth in critically evaluating living at the bottom of the world, the author rarely goes there. He is stuck on the absolute surface of things, rattling along, I suspect, on pot or some other substance. He seems to have no perspective from which he can organize his observations into any kind of meaningful structure.
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