Ends of the Earth
Journeys to the Polar Regions in Search of Life, the Cosmos, and our Future
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- 199,00 kr
Publisher Description
Meet the scientists uncovering the secrets of Earth's harshest environments – the polar regions
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY TRIVEDI SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2025
AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR
'Thrilling... This book is a reminder of how incredibly "cool" our planet can be, and how we must fight to protect it.' Nick Mohammed
Frigid, remote and inhospitable – the polar regions seem far removed from our everyday lives.
But these seemingly isolated ice realms shape life on our planet far more than we realise, influencing everything from the climate to ocean health. They may even hold the secrets to the origins of the Earth.
Taking an epic journey of discovery from pole-to-pole, ferrying between penguins and polar bears, Ends of the Earth reveals the polar regions as never before. Meeting with the leading physicists, climatologists, geologists, biologists and palaeontologists working in these extremes – often as eccentric as they are intrepid – Neil Shubin presents the compelling new science of the Arctic and Antarctic with characteristic verve and expertise.
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'A fast-moving, fascinating book that combines travelogue and natural science discovery... a delightful and compelling read.' Daniel J. Levitin, author of The Organised Mind
'Gripping... Shubin’s captivating storytelling will give you a new appreciation for some of the harshest and most mysterious places on Earth.' Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
'What a remarkable planet we live on – wildest at its cold and lovely poles. This compelling volume should summon us to defend that cold, the vital task for our time on earth.' Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
'Fascinating. Important.' Spectator
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this dazzling report, Shubin (Some Assembly Required), a biology professor at the University of Chicago, examines what the Earth's poles reveal about the planet and the universe. Describing how a team led by Australian explorer Douglas Mawson became the first to find a meteorite in Antarctica during a 1912 excursion that Mawson only narrowly survived after his companion and supplies disappeared down a crevasse, Shubin points out that subsequent study of space rocks preserved in ice there showed many were over a million years older than Earth and offered clues about what material "swirled around the sun prior to the formation of the planets." Antarctica had vibrant rain forests 90 million years ago, Shubin notes, discussing how ice overtook the continent after atmospheric carbon bonding with rock from the newly formed Himalayan Mountains triggered worldwide cooling. Elsewhere, Shubin offers hair-raising accounts of his own polar voyages, including a 2002 trip to Canada's Ellesmere Island during which 70 mph winds shredded his tent, and fascinating trivia on the adaptations of Arctic fauna (the Arctic woolly bear caterpillar spends 11 months of the year frozen solid, emerging every July for several years to feast until it stores enough energy to metamorphose into a moth). This enlightens and amazes. Photos.
