The last place on Earth
by Carol Snow
5mentions
3recommended by
4HN commenters
2008–2025first – last mentioned
75% recommend25% neutral
"Daisy's best friend Henry has mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind only a cryptic note"--
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…humor. "On the Move" - Oliver Sacks's biography. Insightful and uplifting, especially if you enjoy writing. "Ready Player One" - a dystopian cyber thriller. Reminded me of Snow Crash. Good stuff. "The Last Place on Earth" - a good (if labored) summary of the races to the north and south poles and their geopolitical impacts. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" - been on my list for years. Long but good. "Steve…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2015?” ↗Roald Amundsen --- The first man to reach the south pole. It's not the accomplishment itself, but the way it was accomplished. If interested, read "The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole."
on “Ask YC: Who are YOUR heroes?” ↗…things and made them look easy. Nansen also. And Shackleton, although he didn't make them look easy... Basically everything written by Roland Huntford about polar exploration is great inspiration. The Last Place on Earth covers Amundsen and Scott (the latter who did difficult things and made them look hard and died.)
on “Ask HN: Books about people who did hard things” ↗I've been reading "The Last Place on Earth", and the author is quite disdainful of Scott, who he views as a dilettante who never prepared properly, refused to learn from his mistakes, and who was never involved in an expedition that didn't run…
on “Lost Franklin expedition ship found in the Arctic” ↗…snacks, but it was really difficult to get them tasty, because the traditional recipes were not made to be tasty. As soon as there’s seal fat included, that gets awfully difficult. I just finished "The Last Place on Earth", about the race to the south pole, and one of Amundsen's obsessions was with ensuring that he had an experienced arctic cook.
on “Everything You Need to Know About Cooking with Blood” ↗