Having always been fascinated by these singular landscapes, Sergio Rossi reconstructs some of the episodes that have marked the exploration of these territories, such as the dramatic race between Amundsen and Scott to conquer the South Pole, and Captain Shackleton's odyssey to save his crew from certain death. But also modern trips including his own to these remote areas, explaining many aspects of the current science and political competition that is underway. The book leads us on an entertaining overview of all the problems and opportunities that the planet's most forgotten continent offers to humans. A remote mass of ice upon which our future as a species depends and which we cannot continue to ignore any longer.