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The Uttermost Part of the Earth | 
 enlarge | Author: E. Lucas Bridges
Publisher: Overlook/Rookery
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $26.40
You Save: $13.60 (34%)
New (25) Used (7) from $25.08
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 142965
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 560
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 2.2
ISBN: 1585679569
Dewey Decimal Number: 982.760610924
EAN: 9781585679560
ASIN: 1585679569
Publication Date: December 24, 2007
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Product Description
Rapturous praise met the publication of Lucas Bridges' marvelous chronicle of Tierra del Fuego when it first came out in 1947, and that praise has hardly abated these past sixty years, nor has a book been written which supplants Uttermost Part of the Earth as the classic work on Tierra del Fuego and the little-known culture of the now-extinct Fuegian Indians. When the author was born in Tierra del Fuego in 1874, it was truly an unknown land. On the southern coast was the small settlement established by his missionary parents; the rest of it, over 18,000 square miles of mountain, forest, marsh, and lake, was the hunting ground of fierce and hostile tribes. Bridges grew up amongst the coastal Yaghans, learning their language and their ways. In young manhood he made contact with the wild inland Ona tribe, became their friend and hunting companion, and was initiated into the men's lodge. Surely the New York Times' critics's prediction for this book on its first publication has come true: "I have no doubt that Uttermost Part of the Earth will achieve a permanent place in the literature of several subjects: adventure, anthropology, and frontier history." Indeed it is still the essential work and indispensable introduction for anyone yearning to experience the breathtaking remoteness and stunning landscapes of this far-flung wilderness at the "uttermost part of the earth."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
a unique and important book January 8, 2005
Smallchief
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
No other book has been written, to my knowledge, that is similar to the "Uttermost Part of the Earth." The book is well and evocatively titled. The author was the third white child to be born in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina in 1874. Ushuaia has become today the southernmost city of the world -- a place where 60 degrees F is a hot summer day and the wind never stops blowing.
The author's missionary family came to Ushuaia to convert the Yahgan Indians who eked out a cold existence around the waters of the Straits of Magellan. Growing up, the author became even more fascinated with the Ona Indians who lived in the interior of Tierra del Fuego and hunted guanaco, a wild version of the llama. The author spoke the languages of both tribes, lived with them, and recorded their culture and lifestyles. These two peoples are now culturally extinct. In 1947 the author estimated that their numbers had declined from more than 7,000 when he was born to about 150. Disease brought by the White Man along with White settlement of Tierra de Fuego for sheep herding, mining, and fishing doomed the Indians.
The "Uttermost Part of the Earth" is also an adventure tale, told in a dead-pan understated style that accentuates the extraordinary events in the author's life. There are tales of sailing in waters that probably have the worst weather in the world and of being the first to cross Tierra del Fuego on foot. One does not doubt Lucas's veracity; there is little of the contrived excitement lesser adventurers try to generate. Indeed, he seems guilty of understatement. One would welcome from him more forthright expression of his views.
This book deserves a place on the short bookshelf of travel and adventure classics. "Uttermost" is one of the finest and most unique reads you will find, and one of the most informative also.
Smallchief
AMAZING TRUE STORY March 31, 2008
Diego Rovito (Miami, FL USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is about the colonization of Ushuaia, the southernmost town in the world. Although every account is 100% non-fiction, reading it was a magical journey between the real and surreal. One moment you're taken on an exploratory expedition, and the next you're learning the mysterious and mythical ways of the native Ona indians and the author's fantastic ability to befriend them, penetrate their culture and become a real life "Running with Wolves" character. A must read for anyone thinking about visiting Ushuaia.
back in print! what a wonderful surprise! January 16, 2008
Daniel Ford (New Hampshire)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A year ago we visited Ushuaia and Estancia Harberton, where memories of the Bridges family are very much alive. (We were shown about Harberton by the great-great-grandson of Thomas Bridges.) We were very anxious to acquire a copy of Lucas Bridges's book, but it was out of print, even in its Spanish edition. So we were delighted when we discovered on Amazon that it was about to be published in a new hardcover edition, and even more delighted when we received the book and realized that Natalie Goodall (the grandmother of our 2007 tour guide) had written a new introduction and epilogue for it. The book will be doubly treasured, for the information it contains and the associations it brings. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford
Walking on eggshells January 2, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Lucas Bridges spent his life walking on eggshells in my opinion. He loved his adopted people the Yaghans and the Ona, yet he was never far away from his potential death in the many encounters he had with them. His book shows this tension at every turn. His ability to recall specific events and name the people is admirable. I recommend this book and a visit to his beloved Tierra Del Fuego. Although I did not get to his Harberton, I am incredibly fascinated with Ushuaia and surrounds, especially the mountain views. As a kid in Canada I watched Cowboys and Indians in movies and always I cheered for the Indians. Living now in New Zealand I cheer the Maori. The colonists called all the natives they met in all the continents "Indians" but now the native people have their own names.
 A must read for anyone going to "South" South America March 6, 2008
Katherine A. Utley (Louisiana , USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
How Tierra del Fuego was settled.
The folly of early missionary work.
An anthropolocial study of the native people.
The the hard ships and joys of settling a new land;
But at its heart a narrative by Mr. Bridges on himself and his family who possessed a love for its native peoples and land that came to define them. And Alas it's a tale of the progression of civilization and the displacement (absorption) of native cultures that has played out across this globe.
Thanks Mr. Bridges
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