Unlike exploring the Antarctic, reading this book won't take you very long. But, like exploring the Antarctic, you may not find what you want.

There are all sorts of issues a book on the Antarctic might cover. The history of exploration. The geology. The biology. The natural beauty.

This one talks mostly about legal wranglings. There are six chapters covering 133 pages. Two full chapters, "Claiming and negotiating the Antarctic" and "Governing the Antarctic," are mostly about who gets to do what where. A third chapter, "Exploiting and protecting the Antarctic," also has a lot of territorial and governmental material. The chapter "Defining the Antarctic" is a little different, but it still feels legalistic.There is a chapter on discovery, and a chapter on science, but the bulk makes me feel like I'm talking to an accountant.

It's actually a pretty good overview of the issues of land claims and negotiations, and about what I'd want in, say, a 500 page book, where it would be about a sixth of the total. In a book a third that length, it is dominant and monotonous.

Your mileage may vary. I got this book because I'm interested in the science and the history, and found that it contained nothing new in the areas that interest me. If you really want to know how Argentina and Chile spend their time arguing about who gets this or that chunk of icy rock that even the penguins don't want, more power to you. But it's not for me. ( )