"I will never speak lightly of an Antarctic winter night again I have been through one . . . ."In 1939, Admiral Richard E. Byrd led his last expedition to the Ross Ice Shelf on the continent of Antarctica. A 25-year-old geologist named Charles Passel was one of a small crew of men who took part in this mission, which included a year and a half of isolation from the rest of the world except by amateur radio operators.Passel kept a daily diary throughout the expedition. Days began with the cook prying a frozen griddle from a shelf to make breakfast and the men taking half an hour to dress for...