| Description | 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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The bestselling author of Your Inner Fish takes readers on an epic adventure to the North and South Poles to reveal the secrets locked in the ice about life, the cosmos, and our planet’s future. Renowned scientist Neil Shubin has made extraordinary discoveries by leading scientific expeditions to the sweeping ice landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic. He’s survived polar storms, traveled in temperatures that can freeze flesh in seconds, and worked hundreds of miles from the nearest humans, all to deepen our understanding of our world. Written with infectious enthusiasm and irresistible curiosity, Ends of the Earth blends travel writing, science, and history in a book brimming with surprising and wonderful discoveries. Shubin retraces his steps on a “dinosaur dance floor,” showing us where these beasts had populated the once tropical lands at the poles. He takes readers meteor hunting, as meteorites preserved in the ice can be older than our planet and can tell us about our galaxy’s formation. Readers also encounter insects and fish that develop their own anti-freeze, and aquatic life in ancient lakes hidden miles under the ice that haven’t seen the surface in centuries. It turns out that explorers and scientists have found these extreme environments as prime ground for making scientific breakthroughs across a vast range of knowledge. Shubin shares unforgettable moments from centuries of expeditions to reveal just how far scientists will go to understand polar regions. In the end, what happens at the poles does not stay in the poles—the ends of the earth offer profound stories that will forever change our view of life and the entire planet. |
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