Santa Claus frolicking with penguins and polar bears--do you know what's wrong with this picture? Actually, no penguin has ever lived at the North Pole, nor any polar bear at the South Pole.

Using a wide range of disciplines from physics to geography to biology, award- winning science writer Elaine Scott explores some of the unique properties shared by the two ends of the Earth's axis, and other ways in which they are poles apart. Find out what makes a compass point north and why it won't work at the poles. Discover how a tropical island wound up as the coldest spot on earth and why only penguins survive there today. And learn the fascinating story of human involvement with the poles, from the early explorers to the impact of global warming.

With dramatic color photographs and clear, simple text, Poles Apart offers the perfect introduction to the secrets of the poles.