The Ice cover

The Ice

by Stephen J. Pyne

Half of this book is a detailed, scientific, sometimes rhapsodic dissertation on Antarctica's most prominent feature: ice in its various forms. Interspersed are chapters on the exploration, geopolitics, earth sciences, literature, and art of the region: intellectual histories assuming background knowledge. The alienness of Antarctica is stressed. Pyne, a professional historian, author of books such as Fire in America (1982), has written a work of interest to scholars and specialists, though likely to overwhelm the general reader.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?