"The International Polar Years and the International Geophysical Year represented a remarkable international collaborative scientific effort that was focused on, but not limited to, understanding the Earth's poles. This groundbreaking collection redresses the surprising failure of historians to explore beyond even a cursory manner the richness of the IPYs and IGY as sites of historical and scientific study. In doing so, it illuminates critical aspects of the last 150 years of international scientific endeavour"--