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, but all have focused on only one aspect. None has managed to capture the whole story—until now. Drawing on Walker’s uniquely broad travel across the continent, Antarctica weaves all the significant threads of life on the vast ice sheet into an intricate tapestry, illuminating what it feels like to be there and why it draws so many different kinds of people again and again.With her we witness cutting-edge science experiments, visit the South Pole, lodge with not only the Americans but also the Italians and the French, drive snowdozers and drill ice cores, and listen for the message Antarctica is sending us about our future. This is a thrilling trip to the farthest corner of our world, from an author whose work has been praised as “science writing at its best” (Mary Roach).