Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent - Hardcover

Walker, Gabrielle

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0151015201 ISBN 13: 9780151015207

Publisher: Harper, 2013

Synopsis

Antarctica is the most alien place on the planet, the only part of the earth where humans could never survive unaided. Out of our fascination with it have come many books, most of which focus on only one aspect of its unique strangeness. None has managed to capture the whole story—until now.

Drawing on her broad travels across the continent, in Antarctica Gabrielle Walker weaves all the significant threads of life on the vast ice sheet into an intricate tapestry, illuminating what it really feels like to be there and why it draws so many different kinds of people. With her we witness cutting-edge science experiments, visit the South Pole, lodge with American, Italian, and French researchers, drive snowdozers, drill ice cores, and listen for the message Antarctica is sending us about our future in an age of global warming.

This is a thrilling trip to the farthest reaches of earth by one of the best science writers working today.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for An Ocean of Air

“A sense of wonder, transmitted down through the ages through generations of scientists, animates Ms. Walker’s high-spirited narrative and speeds it along like a fresh-blowing westerly.” — William Grimes, New York Times

“This is science writing at its best: clear, witty, relevant, unbelievably interesting, and just plain great.” — Mary Roach

“Walker has a Ph.D. in chemistry, but she writes like a poet. With a few deft strokes, she brings wacky characters to life . . . Walker’s book should absorb and delight anyone who breathes.” — Los Angeles Times

“[Walker] shows a storyteller’s knack for making long-settled questions seem again intriguing and mysterious.” — American Scientist

About the Author

GABRIELLE WALKER has a PhD in chemistry from Cambridge University and has taught at both Cambridge and Princeton universities. She is a consultant to New Scientist, contributes frequently to BBC Radio, and writes for many newspapers and magazines. She is also the author of four books, including An Ocean of Air and Antarctica. She lives in London.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0151015201
• ISBN 13: 9780151015207
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416