Mighty Bad Land: A Perilous Expedition to Antarctica Reveals Clues to an Eighth Continent
What does it take to prevail in Antarctica?
Four geologists and two mountain guides face the brutal beauty of West Antarctica eight hundred miles from the US main base. Their search reaches far into the treacherous mountains of Marie Byrd Land. During six weeks of living in tents and traveling by snowmobile, the team endures endless cold and furious blizzards. They cross ice fields and hidden crevasses, which one member of the team learns about the hard way.
What keeps them going in spite of these dangers? Will the mountains give up their secrets? Can these scientists find evidence of the formation of the ranges many millions of years ago as the giant continent of Gondwana began to break apart? Was a new continent, now known as Zealandia, created by this event?
Mighty Bad Land, told firsthand by Bruce Luyendyk, a former professor of geology, reveals his inner battles and challenges: he’s almost fifty, asthmatic, and fights chronic pain. Through deft storytelling, readers are invited into a land of emptiness, beauty, constant daylight, and unseen menace. Luyendyk’s memoir, Mighty Bad Land (Permuted Press; May 2023), is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
“Luyendyk’s memoir recounts a geological expedition to the ‘pure wilderness’ of Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land. Vividly details the harshness and hazards of life in a ‘land of hypnotic chaos.’ ”— KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Mighty Bad Land is an excellent memoir from Bruce Luyendyk, geologist and namesake of Antarctica’s Mount Luyendyk, who writes of his and his team’s dangerous, exciting, and eventful expedition to Antarctica… A testament to their dedication, drive, and grit to complete their research goals, Bruce and his team not only survived but thrived in this hostile environment.” — Theresa Kadair, Seattle Book Review 4 Stars
“Informative, fascinating, expertly written, fully reader engaging in organization and presentation, “Mighty Bad Land” by Bruce Luyendyk will prove to be of special appeal to readers with an interest in Antarctica history and exploration.” — Carl Logan, Midwest Book Reviews
