Greenland: a remote, mysterious island five times the size of California but with a population of just 56,000. The ice sheet that covers it is 700 miles wide and 1,500 miles long, and is composed of nearly three quadrillion tons of ice. Explorers and scientists hoped that it would serve as a gateway to the North Pole, and came to realize that it contained essential information about our climate, and ice cores could reveal the deepest mysteries of earth's past. But as Greenland's ice melts and runs off into the sea, it not only threatens to affect those people in coastal areas: it will have drastic effects on ocean currents, weather systems, economies, and migration patterns. -- adapted from jacket.

Introduction: The view from above -- Part I: Explorations (1888-1931). The scheme of a lunatic -- Hauling -- Simple and easy -- North by Northeast -- A pure primitive realm -- Thule -- TNT -- Digging -- Part II: Investigations (1949-2018). -- Machine age -- The Americans -- Drilling-- Jesus ice -- Deeper -- Sensing -- A key -- Meltwater season -- Epilogue: The ice clock.