Josef and Katharina Hoflehner: FROZEN HISTORY: The Legacy of Scott and Shackleton

Reviewed by MARGIE THOMSON


Eerily stunning, this is a standout among books devoted to the Antarctic's stupefying effect on our senses.

The Hoflehners' grainy, black and white photos are so textural they catch at our eyes like splinters in fingers, echoing with the muffled sounds of the men who lived, explored and sometimes froze and died in "the harshest, most desolate place on Earth".

This is the kind of book photographers dream of — no expense spared, paper so thick it's almost card, dignified use of text, and pictures that derive entire lives from ancient cocoa tins, frozen plates of seal meat and old socks.

* Josef Hoflehner, $150 (available from PO Box 36-269, Merivale, Christchurch)