From the author of the highly acclaimed An Ocean of Air, Gabrielle Walker’s latest book takes as its subject the endlessly mysterious continent of Antarctica. While many previous books on the continent have focused on either its science, wildlife or on exploratory missions travelling to it, this title aims to encompass the whole story in an ambitious narrative history made up of science, natural history, poetry, epic history, personal experiences of what it feels like to be there and why it draws so many varied individuals back again and again. Often described as the most alien place on Earth, the Antarctica is certainly one of the most treacherous, being the only part of our planet where humans could never survive unaided. In this fascinating book, Walker pays homage to its silence and its agelessness, and reveals how its mysteries contain the secrets of our past as well as of our future. Gabrielle Walker has a PhD in natural sciences from Cambridge University and has taught at both Cambridge and Princeton universities. She is Chief Scientist of strategic advisory firm Xynteo, a consultant to New Scientist, contributes frequently to BBC radio and writes for many newspapers and magazines. In 2009 and 2011 respectively she presented the Planet Earth Under Threat series and Thin Air for BBC Radio 4, and in 2011 she presented The Secret Life of Ice for BBC4. Her previous book, The Hot Topic, was described as ‘the authoritative statement on climate change and what to do about it or years to come’ by James Lovelock, and as ‘a beacon of clarity’ by Al Gore.