Reading the World: Antarctica

 The Stowaway: A Young Man's Extraordinary Adventures to Antarctica by Laurie Gwen Shapiro

When I decided to start trying to read books written by authors from around the world, I had to decide where to begin.  How do I break the world down into manageable segments?  

There are 7 Continents:

    1.    Africa

    2.    Antarctica

    3.    Asia

    4.    Australia or Oceania

    5.    Europe

    6.    North America, and 

    7.    South America

I had read books written by an author from each continent except Antarctica.  The reason is pretty obvious - there are no authors from Antarctica since it is uninhabited except for Science Research bases.  So I decided to include books written by or about people who have visited / spent time in Antarctica.

I explored books searching Antarctica and found this one that had an intriguing title.  So I read it.

The Stowaway is about a Young Polish American William Gawronski who was determined to join Admiral Richard Byrd's American Exploration trip to Antarctica by stowing away on one of the vessels.  I would call it semi-biographical because by the time the book was written, the subject was deceased and information for the book was gathered from newspaper accounts and by interviewing people who knew "Billy" including his second wife and son.  Clearly there would be gaps in knowledge filled in by the author.  There is only a little information on his time in Antarctica.  

While the book wasn't the best written, it did provide an interesting insight into an historical event - the first American exploration of Antarctica from a unique angle - that of a young, Polish American who initially stowed away on a vessel.

  I plan to read another book (or two) based on first hand accounts of Antarctica before I cross Antarctica off my list of Continents.