本书是有关北极题材的生态文学经典。在五年深入考察的基础上，洛佩兹为我们揭开了地球之巅的神秘面纱，用科学的严谨与诗意的表达，描述了北极地区独特的自然、人文景观。
从洋流、冰川、土壤，到动物、植物，再到土著居民、探险者、科学考察家、开发商… 洛佩兹用百科全书式的记录，全面审视这块土地的历史与现状，重塑我们对北极的认识，同时也对西方的传统价值观进行了深度的反思。
该书出版后获1986年美国国家图书奖（非虚构类），是环保主义理论的奠基作之一。

1879年7月8日，德隆告别了年轻的妻子，带领美国军舰珍妮特号从旧金山启航了，时逢“北极热 ”，前来送行的人群欢呼雀跃。德隆领导着33人的团队——带着一个年轻国家想要跻身世界强国的远大抱负——深入那些从未有人探索过的海域。
船刚到白令海峡以北，便陷入一块大浮冰中动弹不得。经过两年的困顿航行，船体受损严重，珍妮特号最终葬身北冰洋底。探险队员们彼时身在西伯利亚以北近1000英里的冰盖上，孤立无援，只有三条敞篷船和勉强维持的补给。
他们就这样开始了漫长的、决定命运的冰海远征——历尽艰险，被视为有史以来人类为生存而战的最伟大战斗之一。面对从雪盲症和冻疮到肆虐的寒风暴雪和神秘的冰上迷宫，探险队与疯狂和饥饿搏斗着，孤注一掷地朝西伯利亚海岸行进。

这部纪录片的编剧、导演和旁白均由沃纳·赫尔佐格（Werner Herzog）来担当，记录了他与剧组前往南极洲拍摄当地生物、居民以及独特地理风貌的历程。这部纪录片并不是一部关于南极著名的企鹅的影片，而是去探索南极的人类生活，以及壮丽神奇的南极洲美景。他们前往由美国国家科学 基金会南极计划部门运作的南极洲最大的科学研究中心——位于罗斯岛的麦克默多站进行拍摄，在当地采访了一些在作业、后勤、IT和维护等方面提供支援的成员后，他们陆续前往海豹基地、潜水营地等南极洲人类扎营的地点，沿途遇到很多有意思的人，做了很多包括细胞生物学家塞缪尔·宝泽（Samuel Bowser）、动物学家占·保罗斯基（Jan Pawlowski）、企鹅研究学者大卫·安利（David Ainley）等在内的简短访谈。在某种程度上，他们拍摄探索的并不在于展现科研领域，而在向大众揭示一种独特的生命体验。
本片提名2009年第81届奥斯卡最佳纪录片奖。

New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides returns with a white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and survival in the Gilded Age
In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: the North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans, although theories abounded. The foremost cartographer in the world, a German named August Petermann, believed that warm currents sustained a verdant island at the top of the world. National glory would fall to whoever could plant his flag upon its shores.
James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald, had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to re-create that sensation on an even more epic scale. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of 32 men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever."
The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship. Less than an hour later, the Jeannette sank to the bottom,and the men found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies. Thus began their long march across the endless ice—a frozen hell in the most lonesome corner of the world. Facing everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and frosty labyrinths, the expedition battled madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.
With twists and turns worthy of a thriller, In The Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most unforgiving territory on Earth.