Big dead place
by Nicholas Johnson · first published 2005
88% recommend13% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Funny, bleak insider account of working at McMurdo in the US Antarctic Program, written by a station garbageman. Gives the best window into the contractor culture; suits anyone curious about life or work there.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"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, 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. Also included is a glossary of Antarctic slang and bureaucratese, and 16 pages of color photographs."--BOOK JACKET.
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If you like this, I recommend "Big Dead Place" (https://www.amazon.com/Big-Dead-Place-Menacing-Antarctica/dp...) by Nicholas Johnson, a garbageman at McMurdo.
on “The McMurdo Wastewater Treatment Plant” ↗If you're really curious about what goes on down there, you should read the works of Nick Johnson, author of the "Big Dead Place" blog and a subsequent book. http://feralhouse.com/big-dead-place/ The blog is off line (might be on archive.org), and Johnson sadly took his own life in 2012. http://feralhouse.com/nick-johnson-rip/
on “Antarctica: McMurdo research station is looking for a Systemadministrator” ↗These are the ones I've liked best Neal Thompson - "Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR" Dee Brown - "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" Nicholas Johnson - "Big Dead Place" - about living in Antartica Mark Noll - "The Civil War as a Theological Crisis" David Halberstam - "The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War" Stanley Karnnow - "In Our Image: America's Empire…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗In years past there was also ABigDeadPlace.com, which has since lapsed due to the author's unfortunate death. Thankfully it was published as a book, _Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica_ by Nicholas Johnson. If brr.fyi strikes your fancy, I bet that book would as well. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40919
on “Last Flight Out” ↗A much more fun and less SEO/smarmy take on this topic is Nicholas Johnson's "Big Dead Place", originally a blog and later a book. It gives the flavor of working in the U.S. Antarctic program like nothing else does.
on “How I Got Paid to Live in Antarctica” ↗…nearing the end of a year long deployment who writes much more eloquently than I ever could if you want to read more. Antarctica: A Year on Ice is an enjoyable film documentary from ~10 years ago. A Big Dead Place by Nicholas Johnson is also worth a read from the early 2000s.
on “Ask HN: How does Starlink work for IP address/ASN internationally?” ↗Brr.fyi is like reading Instagram. What you really want to read is Big Dead Place by Nick Johnson. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-30/big-dead-place-the-wi... https://web.archive.org/web/20201116183654/http://www.bigdea... It's a much different story. And way more depressing.
on “Boeing 787 capable of carrying 300 passengers lands in Antarctica in world first” ↗…and the possibility of Antarctica excited me[1] I could not conceive of the possibility of not being 100% into the idea of being there - right now I'm extremely glad I'm not :) [1] - like when I read Big Dead Place - a book I think you'd enjoy. It's written by someone who'd stayed in a couple of the US antarctic bases (McMurdo and Pole, iirc). Warning it will make you want to go http://feralhouse.com/big-dead-place/
on “How Antarctic bases went from wooden huts to sci-fi chic” ↗For those wanting to read about McMurdo, Big Dead Place http://feralhouse.com/big-dead-place/ is the best book to read. Apparently it was due to be made into a TV series....
on “How Antarctic bases went from wooden huts to sci-fi chic” ↗…there's actually not much in common between the two, I guess outside of the small field camps which are almost(?) always summer-only affairs and usually run by mountain guides. There's a great book, Big Dead Place, which is the best window in to the USAP culture that I've come across. It's a bit dated, but I can assure you that the crazy sorts of things in that book still happen - it's shocking/beautiful that…
on “Returning from a Year of Isolation in Antarctica” ↗Antarctica If you're looking for a moderately entertaining light read try a book called "Big Dead Place". The author's life is pretty dark but the book is funny light reading. Its basically the movie "old school" with a lot of snow and a screwed up male/female ratio, combined with a bit of Dilberts PHB…
on “Google Employees Secretly Live on Campus to Avoid Paying Rent” ↗For those interested in working at Antarctica, check out the Big Dead Place: http://bigdeadplace.org/ From the old Antarctica FAQ on working there and how it changes you: First time is for the adventure, Second time for the money, And third because you can't work anywhere…
on “Running a South Pole data center” ↗If you enjoyed this, definitely follow Maciej's recommendation and read Big Dead Place (http://www.powells.com/book/big-dead-place-9780922915996), which captures the "Office Space on Ice" bleakness quite vividly. You can get a taste here: https://web.archive.org/web/20140108023919/http://www.bigdea...…
on “Shuffleboard at McMurdo” ↗Reminds me of this book, which I recommend; Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica http://feralhouse.com/big-dead-place/
on “The Perils and Pleasures of Bartending in Antarctica (2017)” ↗My favorite writing about Antarctica is "Big Dead Place": https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-30/big-dead-place-the-wi... You can find the blog in the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20120402141259/http://www.bigdea... or grab the book. Silver…
on “Last Flight Out” ↗