Weaving together the discovery stories of explorers such as Cook, Shackleton, Scott, and Amundsen, with the ecological stories of whaling and sealing, fishing and climate change, man's impact on this magnificent continent is revealed. For such an austere, frozen, and inhospitable environment, Antarctica is in fact a surprisingly fragile Eden.

Weaving together the discovery stories of explorers such as Cook, Shackleton, Scott, and Amundsen, with the ecological stories of whaling and sealing, fishing and climate change, man's impact on this magnificent continent is revealed. For such an austere, frozen, and inhospitable environment, Antarctica is in fact a surprisingly fragile Eden.