Jim Mastro spent more than five years living and working in the Antarctic wilderness. This is his striking season­by­season account of one full year living on the ice. Mastro describes in vivid detail, complete with photographs, this strangely beautiful, vast frozen frontier. Experience face­to­face encounters with pods of killer whales, deadly winter storms, colonies of Weddell seals, and hazardous sea ice. Endure the lonely isolation during four months of utter darkness. Enjoy the anticipation and warmth of the world's shortest summer. Jim Mastro takes readers there to face the challenges and adventures that he and the other year­round human residents of Antarctica survived. From the wondrous ice caves to the explosively brilliant aurora australis, Mastro covers it all ­ photographically and in his own dramatic, personal narrative.