As one of two points where the Earth’s axis meets its surface, the South Pole should be a precisely defined place. But as Elizabeth Leane shows in this book, conceptually it is a place of paradoxes.

An invisible spot on a high, featureless ice plateau, the Pole has no obvious material value, but is nonetheless a much sought-after location. The endpoint of exploration's most famous 'race' between teams led by Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen, the Pole has more recently become a favoured destination of 'extreme' tourists. Like the whole of Antarctica, '90 South' does not belong to any nation, but six national claims meet there, and for nearly sixty years the US has occupied the site with a series of scientific stations. The Pole is a deeply political place.In South Pole, Elizabeth Leane explores the important challenges that this strange place poses to humanity. What is its lure? How and why should people live there? How can creative artists respond to its apparent blankness? What can it teach us about our planet and ourselves? Along the way, she considers the absurdities and banalities of human engagement with the Pole.

Ranging from the ancient Greeks to the present, and featuring spectacular images of the South Pole, this book offers a fascinating history of the symbolic 'heart' of the Antarctic.