In "The Ice: A Journey to Antarctica" America's foremost expert on wildfire turns to the land without fire, a continent reduced to a single mineral--ice. "Stephen Pyne long ago realized that life is but a special case of the more general chemistry of carbon and exygen that are constantly setting earth aflame. The frozen waste of Antarctica is thus a glimpse at the future that awaits us at the end of all time, when life and fire finally cease." --William Cronon ""The Ice" is a compilation of more about ice than you knew you wanted to know, yet sheer compelling significance holds attention page by page...Pyne conveys a view of Antarctica that interweaves physical science with humanistic inquiry and perception. His audacity as well as his presentation warrant admiration, for the implications of "The Ice" are vast." -"New York Times Book Review" "Stephen Pyne has written an imaginative book that combines a geophysical description of Antarctica with a history of attempts to explore and assimilate intellectually this remote and strange continent." -"Isis"