Ends of the Earth

Praise

“In the hands of an expert storyteller and brilliant biologist, the topics of ice and the polar regions becomes a fast-moving, fascinating book that combines travelogue and natural science discovery. From encountering the arctic wooly bear caterpillars and hearty tardigrades to polar fish that manufacture their own ‘anti-freeze,’ I found Ends of the Earth to be a delightful and compelling read.”
—Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, New York Times bestselling author of I Heard There Was a Secret Chord and Successful Aging

“Ends of the Earth is a gripping tale of polar exploration, from a scientist and science writer of the highest caliber. A veteran of fossil-hunting expeditions at both poles, Neil Shubin writes with such warmth about an icy subject. Come for the adventure but stay for the science, as Shubin’s captivating storytelling will give you a new appreciation for some of the harshest and most mysterious places on Earth.”
—Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh paleontologist and New York Times bestselling 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, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Nature

“For me, as a theoretical physicist who works at his desk with coffee always nearby, Neil Shubin’s brand of science is exhilarating, scary, and a bit alien. But adventuring to forbidding climes teaches us amazing things about our Earth and life on it. We’re fortunate to have such a gifted writer on the scene to bring back these stories.”
—Sean Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of Quanta and Fields

“Ends of the Earth is a cosmic adventure story written in ice. It’s a tale of glaciers that flow like rivers and scientists who fall through crevasses and animals that evolve their own anti-freeze to allow them to thrive in extreme cold. Shubin brings alive some of the harshest and most fragile places on Earth, revealing the exquisite dance of time and physics and biology that created these icy realms and all the creatures that inhabit them, as well as the perils these regions now face in our rapidly-warming world. In the ice, Shubin has discovered the story of our time.”
—Jeff Goodell, New York Times bestselling author of The Heat Will Kill You First

“Enlightening and often, well, chilling, Shubin’s evaluation of the polar world masterfully merges discovery, appreciation, and concern.”
—Booklist, starred review

“In this dazzling report, Shubin, a biology professor at the University of Chicago, examines what the Earth’s poles reveal about the planet and the universe…  Shubin offers hair-raising accounts of his own polar voyages… This enlightens and amazes.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The world offers two vast laboratories: the Arctic, most specifically Greenland, and the Antarctic… There are plenty of surprises to discover in both places [in this] accessible, nontechnical narrative.”
—Kirkus