But these seemingly isolated ice realms shape life on our planet far more than we realise, influencing everything from the climate to ocean health. They may even hold the secrets to the origins of the Earth.

Taking an epic journey of discovery from pole-to-pole, ferrying between penguins and polar bears, Ends of the Earth reveals the polar regions as never before. Meeting with the leading physicists, climatologists, geologists, biologists and palaeontologists working in these extremes – often as eccentric as they are intrepid – Neil Shubin presents the compelling new science of the Arctic and Antarctic with characteristic verve and expertise.