The heroic age of Antarctic exploration produced some of the greatest adventure writing ever published. Start with Apsley Cherry-Garrard's The Worst Journey in the World, his account of Scott's doomed Terra Nova expedition. It's harrowing, beautifully written, and gives you a visceral sense of what these men endured. Ernest Shackleton's South tells the astonishing story of the Endurance expedition — the ship crushed by ice, the open-boat journey to South Georgia, the rescue of every single crew member. If you read one Antarctic book, make it one of these two.
For a modern retelling of the Endurance saga, Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage is superb — tightly paced and gripping even though you know the outcome. Roland Huntford's The Last Place on Earth offers a revisionist comparison of Scott and Amundsen's race to the South Pole that sparked fierce debate when it was published. It's partisan but fascinating. Sara Wheeler's Terra Incognita is the best contemporary account of life on the ice, sharp and funny and honest about both the beauty and the tedium.
If you're heading to Antarctica, bring at least one of these along. Reading about the explorers who hauled sledges across the same landscapes you're seeing from a heated ship puts the whole experience in perspective. The scenery is extraordinary on its own, but knowing the stories layered into it makes every glacier and frozen bay resonate differently.
For field identification, the Antarctic Wildlife guide by James Lowen is compact and useful for identifying the penguins, seals, and seabirds you'll encounter. Most expedition ships have a library on board, but the good titles get borrowed fast. Download to your e-reader before you leave — you'll have plenty of reading time during Drake Passage crossings.