Basically Bipolar: Laughing Maniacally Through the Dark Delirium of a Polar Winter… or Two

Engineer Nelson recounts in journal entries the year and three summers (between 2008 and 2012) he spent at Summit Station “on the apex of the Greenland ice cap” to “maintain scientific instruments, launch weather balloons, perform snow accumulation surveys, maintain meteorological suites, and troubleshoot any problems.” But his story is much more than relaying the scientific data he collected; he recounts life at the polar ice station, including his first days at the Summit, where it was -70 °F (“I expected it to be cold here, but I didn’t expect it to be that cold”), and the fatigue he and his five coworkers experienced—“an eerie mind-numbing quality to life” where “brains are malfunctioning.... Words are fleeting, memory short, train of thought easily derailed.” Along the way, he describes the rugged environment (“the monochromaticity of a frosty-white world lends extra brilliance to what color there is”), bouts of insomnia, and breaking up a long-distance relationship. This is a fascinating and perceptive look at what it means to live and work in extreme conditions. [em](BookLife) [/em]