The lure and danger of Antarctica is vividly captured here by author Henry, through the diary entries of her father, George W. Gibbs Jr., who was the first Black man to set foot in Anarctica in 1940 and recounts his expedition there. Gibbs' account provides a firsthand look at what he and others experienced during their voyage to this frigid, beautiful, and mysterious continent, including the racism he endured. It recounts the achievements of other famous Antarctic explorers and researchers stly white men, but a few women, too. Through copious color and historical photos, artwork, maps, and sidebars with fascinating facts, the book illustrates Antarctica's history, geography, and biology. It describes the international treaties and protocols enacted to protect and conserve Antarctica's environment and flora and fauna, particularly in response to climate change. There's a foreword from University of Colorado research scientist Ted Scambos, and back matter includes an author's note, a bibliography, source notes, further reading, a glossary, and an index. Readers will discover a unique continent in need of preservation in this appealing, well-researched book.

One of the coldest and most remote places on Earth is brought into the spotlight with personal warmth, thrilling history, and bitter truths.Henry presents a treasure trove of information about Antarctica as testimony to her late father George W. Gibbs Jr.'s impactful legacy as the first Black man to travel there in 1940 onboard the USS Bear as part of Richard E. Byrd's expedition to establish permanent bases and further explore and map the continent. Excerpts from Gibbs' diary frame stories of other intrepid explorers, the extreme challenges of the unique terrain, and the evolution of technology and equipment. Still, the story of Antarctica is at times unavoidably disheartening, as the same anti-Black racism that nearly erased from the history books Matthew Henson, a free Black man that played a pivotal role in Robert Peary's famed 1909 expedition to the North Pole, is a point of focus here as Henry narrates her father's own adventures and the historical context surrounding them. Fatal accidents, the mistreatment of wildlife, and negative human-made environmental impacts are also covered in this detailed description of the continent and our complicated relationship to it. This is an accessible look at the bio- and geo-diversity of our planet that focuses on a particular space full of relatively new discoveries and with much more still to teach us.Antarctica is undeniably cool, and this volume makes sure we know it. (author's note, glossary, source notes, bibliography, further reading, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-16)