The North Pole, the magical kingdom of silence, has always given the impression that it would remain unchanged forever amidst its boundless tracts of ice. But the ice is beginning to melt, the icebergs of Greenland are breaking up and this legendary landscape, threatened by global warming, is gradually being destroyed. As early as the spring of 1987, Francis Latreille began to take photographs of the frozen waste of the Arctic, providing moving testimony to this alien, yet at the same time enchanting, world, and also to his admiration for those who dwell in these inhospitable regions, and their demanding way of life. Through this beautifully illustrated book, first published on the eve of the fourth International Polar Year (2007-2008), he pays tribute to the white paradise and its magical light, and to all those who live in or study the Arctic. 236 colour photograps.