Penguin hunts and amputations: Antarctic account published in English
(The Guardian Books News)

Book by Argentine who spent four winters on the South Orkney Islands in the 1920s tells of perils, boredom and `infinite solitude´ he faced with companionsAn account of four winters spent almost a century ago on the South Orkney Islands, a frozen, uninhabited archipelago north-east of Antarctica, has been published in English for the first time.Telling of everyday life, from ice fishing to the amputation of gangrenous fingers, the chronicle is the only autobiographic account of life on the islands, located 670km north of Antarctica. It was written by José Manuel Moneta, a technical officer in Argentina´s National Meteorological Service who spent four winters on the archipelago in the 1920s, and was published in Spanish between 1939 and 1963. Related: Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of the World`s Most Mysterious Continent by Gabrielle Walker - review Continue reading...