The North Pole: The History of an Obsession

‘Extraordinary’ ANNE APPLEBAUM
‘Thrilling . . . a record of an infatuation’ TELEGRAPH
‘The book of a lifetime’ ELIF SHAFAK
‘The North Pole proves to be the perfect subject for him’ MICHAEL PALIN
'Heart-catching . . . fabulous' OBSERVER
‘A beautiful book’ALAIN DE BOTTON

The epic adventure story of the North Pole – its transcendent beauty and dangerous appeal – from Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge who travelled there in 1990

Foot-stepping alongside Erling Kagge, we hear the story of the North Pole as never told before. From Herodotus, who first wondered what the northernmost point of our planet might be like, to the intrepid early cartographers who mapped our world, and the legendary expeditions led by Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary – the first polar explorer global celebrities – who were in the grip of a dangerous obsession to get to the North Pole first.

What emerges is a new history of the world, spanning thousands of years, as seen from the ‘silver-shining vacantness’ of the North Pole. Blending memories from Kagge’s own 1990 trip with this gripping history, The North Pole is an adventure story, a book about difficult fathers and difficult sons, and an inspiring record of what it means to keep putting one foot in front of the other in the face of adversity.

'As an explorer Erling Kagge is world class; as a writer he is equally gifted’ RANULPH FIENNES