"The history of human endeavour in Antarctica which culminated in the International Geophysical Year represents one of the most inspiring and significant stories of human achievement of all time. This magnificent work, the product of a lifetime of experience and scholarship by a true Antarctican will be seen as the classic, definitive telling of that story. As a veteran of 14 trips to the icy continent during a professional life that included 18 years as Chief Scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division, coupled with a life-long fascination for the human and scientific history of Antarctica, Patrick Quilty AM AAM is ideally placed to bring to life the story of the great southern continent and the adjacent sub-Antarctic islands."--Back cover.