On the Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Travelogue, cultural meditation, and love story, On the Ice casts a panoramic view on one of the oddest communities in one of the most extreme places on earth.

Negative 70-degree weather. Canned food that dates back at least a decade. Wind storms powerful enough to lift a human off the ground. Extremely unfashionable clothing. Welcome to Antarctica, the farthest-away place in the world.

Hoping to get away from the complexities of her life, Gretchen Legler arrives at McMurdo Station with the intention of researching the landscape; what she finds, instead, is a zany population of misfits and dreamers. Populated by people from all walks of life--bankers, MBAs, therapists, carpenters, scientists, laborers, and military brass--the individuals that Legler meets have gone to Antarctica to escape everything from parking tickets to angry spouses.

Part sociological study, part historiography, and part love story, On the Ice is an exploration of one of the most unexplored places on earth and the people who are drawn to it.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Published: 10/25/2005
ISBN: 9781571312822
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.54lbs
Size: 8.32h x 5.94w x 0.45d
Award: Triangle Awards - Nominee

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 10/03/2005 pg. 65
Library Journal 11/01/2005 pg. 103
Booklist 11/01/2005 pg. 14
Lambda Book Report 04/01/2006 pg. 21