Some Americans may not care for the strong British flavor of the book; it is written primarily for readers in the United Kingdom although it is being distributed in the United States. Even though many of the more significant U.S. research programs are not mentioned, the breadth of scientific coverage is so great that one should not be concerned with omissions.
The book is illustrated with colored photographs (marine life) and diagrams (solar-terrestrial relationships), and excellent black-and-white pictures, tables, graphs and figures. Unfortunately, the illustrative material is not numbered. The select bibliography includes 63 references, only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to significant Antarctic research publications.
Part one covers the geography, history and geopolitics of Antarctica. The uninitiated can read these 62 pages and have all the background they need. One omission, however, is the role of women scientists "on the ice." Their advent in 1972 was ...
