‘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 BOTTONThe epic adventure story of humanity’s obsession with the North Pole, from Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge who travelled there in 1990Throughout recorded human time, few places on Earth have inspired as much fascination as the North Pole. This is an otherworldly place where the sun rises and stays aloft for six whole months before setting, plunging the expanse of ice and water into darkness for half a year.Foot-stepping alongside Erling Kagge, who ventured to the North Pole in the spring of 1990, 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 the 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 epic history, The North Pole is an adventure story, a book about enacting hidden human dreams, about difficult fathers and their difficult sons, and a psychological record of what it means to keep putting one foot in front of the other in the face of adversity. It is for anyone who’s gazed out at the horizon – and wondered what happens if you just keep walking.'As an explorer Erling Kagge is world class; as a writer he is equally gifted’ RANULPH FIENNES Read more

Tom Crean was the indestructible farmer’s son from Kerry who sailed on three major expeditions to the unknown Antarctic over a century ago. He was among the few men who served with both Captain Robert Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton. He spent longer on the ice than either and outlived them both. Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary said 'he was a great man of immense strength and endurance and afraid of very little'.Crean was among the last to see Scott alive a few miles from the Pole in 1912. His astonishing 56km trek to save the life of Lt Evans is the finest act of individual heroism in the history of exploration. He returned to the ice months later to bury Scott. Crean was at the heart of historic events on Shackleton’s epic Endurance expedition, which featured the 1,200km open boat journey and the desperate march across the mountains and glaciers of South Georgia to rescue marooned comrades.But Tom Crean returned to Ireland during the War of Independence and would never speak about his exploits, taking his incredible story to the grave – until publication of An Unsung Hero, the biography that unearthed his story and saw him rightfully placed among the annals of the great explorers. This newly illustrated edition of the bestselling classic is a must for anyone with a taste for adventure. Read more

In the depths of Antarctic winter, hundreds of miles from land or rescue, a small fishing boat is swallowed by waves as high as houses. The captain is fatally slow to act, and then paralyzed by fear. The officers flee for their lives. Only the actions of Matt Lewis, a 23-year-old British marine biologist and one of the most inexperienced men aboard, will save the lives of the South African crew.Lewis is the last man off the sinking boat, and leads the escape onto three life rafts. There the battle for survival begins. Read more

The Arctic, often imagined as one of the most inhospitable places on earth, has been inhabited for nearly 30,000 years. The various communities that call the region home have found ingenious ways to harness and celebrate their environment, and to co-exist with its wildlife. Today, man-made climate change is transforming the region at an unprecedented rate, bringing with it a new set of challenges. Arctic: culture and climate explores the history of the Circumpolar North and its peoples through the lens of climate change and weather, drawing on a wealth of objects, artworks and voices – from past and present – to show how Arctic Peoples and their cultural traditions have continued to thrive amid both social and environmental change Read more

Sir Ernest Shackleton has been called 'the greatest leader that ever came on God's earth, bar none' for saving the lives of the twenty-seven men stranded with him on an Antarctic ice floe for almost two years. Written by two veteran business observers, Shackleton's Way details universal leadership tactics set against the thrilling survival story of the Endurance expedition.Whether it's hiring good workers, supporting and inspiring employees to do their best, managing a crisis with limited personnel and resources, creating order out of chaos, or leading by personal example with optimism, egalitarianism, humour, strength, ingenuity, intelligence and compassion, Ernest Shackleton set an example we can all follow. Illustrated with photographer Frank Hurley's masterpieces and other rarely seen photos, Shackleton's Way is filled with fascinating and practical lessons of a leader who succeeded by putting people first and triumphing brilliantly when all the odds were against him. Read more

Explore the Uncharted Depths of Earth's Mysteries in this Landmark Two-Book Compilation of The Smoky God and The Secret Diary of Admiral Richard E. ByrdUncover the secrets of the uncharted and delve into the enigmatic realms of inner Earth, beyond the North Pole, with this captivating compilation of two classic works about the hollow or inner Earth: The Smoky God: A Voyage to the Inner World by Willis George Emerson and The Secret Diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd.The Smoky God: A Voyage to the Inner World takes you on a remarkable journey. Follow the adventures of Olaf Jansen as he recounts a mysterious voyage into the heart of our realm, through the North Pole, as recorded from his deathbed confession. Navigating the uncharted polar regions with his father, Jansen discovers a hidden civilization of giants and its awe-inspiring landscapes, captivating readers with vivid descriptions of an underground utopia.The Secret Diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd. This intriguing document chronicles Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd's purported exploration of the Arctic's mysterious interior. Within its pages lies an account of a journey that challenges conventional beliefs about the shape of our Earth, provoking the imagination with its amazing tales of a hidden and highly advanced civilization residing past the boundaries of polar ice caps.The North Pole and Inner Earth Chronicles © invites readers to indulge in these timeless explorations, sparking curiosity about the unknown and challenging established beliefs about our world. It is perfect for conspiracy researchers, adventurers, mystery enthusiasts, and for all those with a thirst for exploration and discovery.This landmark edition also features:Unabridged original accountsPictures and mapsA foreword by Sebastien RichardThe Smoky God: A Voyage to the Inner World and The Secret Diary of Admiral Richard E. Byrd merge in this unique compilation to offer readers a captivating narrative that has fascinated generations.Delight your mind's eye as you delve into these fascinating expeditions and accounts of the unknown depths of our earth realm. Read more

An incisive account of the Arctic convoys, and the essential role Bletchley Park and Special Intelligence played in Allied success   Between 1941 and 1945, more than eight hundred shiploads of supplies were delivered to the Soviet Union protected by allied naval forces. Each journey was a battle against the elements, with turbulent seas, extreme cold, and the constant dread of torpedoes. These Arctic convoys have been mythologized as defenseless vessels at the mercy of deadly U-boats—but was this really the case?   David Kenyon explores the story of the war in the Arctic, revealing that the contest was more evenly balanced that previously thought. Battles included major ship engagements, aircraft carriers, and combat between surface ships. Amid this wide range of forces, Bletchley Park’s Naval Section played a decisive role in Arctic operations, with both sides relying heavily on Signals Intelligence to intercept and break each other’s codes. Kenyon presents a vivid picture of the Arctic theater of war, unearthing the full-scale campaign for naval supremacy in northern waters. Read more

In 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton set forth to make history with the first-ever crossing of the Antarctic continent. He sailed into the Weddell Sea aboard the Endurance, while a ship called the Aurora sailed into the Ross Sea to create a lifeline of vital food and fuel depots to supply the epic crossing. Yet all went tragically wrong when the Aurora broke free of her moorings in an Antarctic gale and stranded ten men ashore. Left with little more than the clothing on their backs and scavenged equipment, the men vowed to carry on in the face of impossible odds. Meanwhile the rest of the Aurora crew, cast adrift at the mercy of the elements, battled for survival. The lost men struggled to save themselves and carry out their mission with little hope of rescue. Read more

'A truly majestic work of scholarship, thought and literary imagination.' Jan Morris, The Times 'Shot through with crystalline brilliance.' Washington Post 'Fascinating.' Sunday Times When Captain Scott died in 1912 on his way back from the South Pole, his story became a myth embedded in the national imagination. Everyone remembers the doomed Captain Oates's last words: 'I'm just going outside, and I may be some time.' Francis Spufford's celebrated and prize-winning history shows how Scott's death was the culmination of a national enchantment with vast empty spaces, the beauty of untrodden snow, and perilous journeys to the end of the earth.Winner of the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, the Writers' Guild Non-Fiction Book of the Year and the Banff Mountain Book Prize. Read more

“One helluva read.”—Newsweek • “Gripping.”—Outside • “Spellbinding.”—Associated Press • “Powerful.”—New York In 1912, the Saint Anna, a Russian exploration vessel in search of fertile hunting grounds, was frozen into the polar ice cap, trapping her crew aboard. For nearly a year and a half, they struggled to stay alive. As all hope of rescue faded, they realized their best chance of survival might be to set out on foot, across hundreds of miles of desolate ice, with their lifeboats dragged behind them on sledges, in hope of reaching safety. Twenty of them chose to stay aboard; thirteen began the trek; of them all, only two survived. Originally published in Russia in 1917, In the Land of White Death was translated into English for the first time by the Modern Library to widespread critical acclaim. As well as recounting Albanov’s vivid, first-person account of his ninety-day ordeal over 235 miles of frozen sea, this expanded paperback edition contains three newly discovered photographs and an extensive new Epilogue by David Roberts based on the never-before-published diary of Albanov’s only fellow survivor, Alexander Konrad. As gripping as Albanov’s own tale, the Epilogue sheds new light on the tragic events of 1912–1914, brings to life many of those who perished (including the infamous captain Brusilov and nurse Zhdanko, the only woman on board), and, inadvertently, reveals one new piece of information—about the identity of the traitors who left Albanov for dead—that is absolutely shocking.“Poetic.”—The Washington Post • “A lost masterpiece.”—Booklist • “A jewel of polar literature.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer • “Vivid . . . [a work of] terrifying beauty.”—The Boston Globe  Read more

‘An elegant, densely textured work, like a tapestry … A welcome contribution to polar studies.’ Sara Wheeler, Spectator‘[MacInness] handles the whole thing with masterly skill…takes us to the heart of the hope, love, anguish and grief’ The TimesThe men of Captain Scott’s Polar Party were heroes of their age, enduring tremendous hardships to further the reputation of the Empire they served by reaching the South Pole. But they were also husbands, fathers, sons and brothers.For the first time, the story of the race for the South Pole is told from the perspective of the women whose lives would be forever changed by it, five women who offer a window into a lost age and a revealing insight into the thoughts and feelings of the five heroes.Kathleen Scott, the fierce young wife of the expedition leader, campaigned relentlessly for Scott’s reputation, but did her ambition for glory drive her husband to take unnecessary risks? Oriana Wilson, a true help-mate and partner to the expedition’s doctor, was a scientific mind in her own right and understood more than most what the men faced in Antarctica. Emily Bowers was a fervent proponent of Empire, having spent much of her life as a missionary teacher in the colonies. The indomitable Caroline Oates was the very picture of decorum and everything an Edwardian woman aspired to be, but she refused all invitations to celebrate her son Laurie’s noble sacrifice. Lois Evans led a harder life than the other women, constantly on the edge of poverty and forced to endure the media’s classist assertions that her husband Taff, the sole ‘Jack Tar’ in a band of officers, must have been responsible for the party’s downfall. Her story, brought to light through new archival research, is shared here for the first time.In a gripping and remarkable feat of historical reconstruction, Katherine MacInnes vividly depicts the lives, loves and losses of five women shaped by the unrelenting culture of Empire and forced into the public eye by tragedy. It also reveals the five heroes, not as the caricatures of legend, but as the real people they were. Read more

As war clouds darkened over Europe in 1914, a party led by Shackleton set out to make the first crossing of the entire Antarctic continent via the Pole. But their initial optimism was short-lived as ice floes closed around their ship, gradually crushing it and marooning 28 men on the polar ice. Alone in the world's most unforgiving environment, Shackleton and his team began a brutal quest for survival. And as the story of their journey across treacherous seas and a wilderness of glaciers and snow fields unfolds, the scale of their courage and heroism becomes movingly clear. Read more

Edward Wilson (1872-1912) accompanied Robert Falcon Scott on both his celebrated Antarctic voyages: the Discovery Expedition of 1901-1904 and the Terra Nova Expedition of 1910-1913. Wilson served as Junior Surgeon and Zoologist on Discovery and, on this expedit8ion, with Scott and Ernest Shackleton he set a new Furthest South on 30 December 1902. He was Chief of Scientific Staff on the Terra Nova Expedition and reached the South Pole with Scott, Lawrence Oates, Henry Robertson Bowers and Edgar Evans on 18 January 1912, arriving there four weeks after the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Wilson and his four companions died on the return journey. Trained as a physician, Wilson was also a skilled artist. His drawings and paintings lavishly illustrated both expeditions. He was the last major exploration artist; technological developments in the field of photography were soon to make cameras practical as a way of recording journeys into the unknown. This biography, the first full account of the Antarctic hero, traces his life from childhood to his tragic death. Read more

A harrowing tale of courage and sacrifice at the limits of human endurance‘A stirring story… a brilliant exposition of narrative non-fiction: moving, harrowing, as gripping as any well-paced thriller.’ The TimesThe age of exploration was drawing to a close, yet the mystery of the North Pole remained. Contemporaries described the pole as the ‘unattainable object of our dreams’, and the urge to fill in this last great blank space on the map grew irresistible. In 1879 the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds and amid a frenzy of publicity. The ship and its crew, captained by the heroic George De Long, were destined for the uncharted waters of the Arctic.But it wasn’t long before the Jeannette was trapped in crushing pack ice. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies, facing a seemingly impossible trek across endless ice. Battling everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and frosty labyrinths, the expedition fought madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.    Read more

Visitors to the Arctic enter places that have been traditionally imagined as otherworldly. The Spectral Arctic re-thinks our understanding of Arctic exploration by paying attention to the importance of dreams and ghosts in the quest for the Northwest Passage. Read more

This major new work fundamentally reassesses the operations by the Western allies to deliver war supplies to Russia via the Arctic sea route between 1941 and 1945\. It explores the motives underpinning Western aid, its real impact on the Soviet war effort, and its influence on wider Allied and German strategy as the war developed. It brings to life key participants, political and military, describes the interaction of intelligence with high policy and tactics, and brings a fresh perspective to key events, including the notorious convoy PQ 17. The book disputes the long-standing view that aid to Russia was essentially discretionary, lacking military rationale and undertaken primarily to meet political objectives, with only a minor impact on Soviet war potential. It shows that aid was always grounded in strategic necessity, with the Arctic supply route a constant preoccupation of British and American leaders, absorbing perhaps twenty per cent of Royal Navy resources after 1941 and a significant share of Allied merchant shipping badly needed in other theatres. The Soviet claim, determinedly promoted through the Cold War, that aid was marginal, still influences attitudes in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and contemporary Western opinion. It even resonates through the present war in Ukraine. Andrew Boyd demonstrates that in reality, Western aid through the Arctic was a critical multiplier of Soviet military power throughout the war and perhaps even enabled Russia’s very survival in 1942; and he makes plain that the British contribution to the aid effort was greater than generally acknowledged. The book also emphasises that the Arctic conflict was not framed solely by the supply convoys, important though they were. British, German and Russian operations in a theatre – defined by Adolph Hitler in early 1942 as the ‘zone of destiny’ – were shaped by other perceived opportunities and threats. For instance, Germany concentrated its fleet in Norway to forestall a potential British attack while attempting land offensives to cut Russia’s links with its northern ports. It also had vital raw materials to protect. Britain explored potential operations with Russia to dislodge Germany from the Arctic coast and sever her access to important resources. Elegantly written written and incorporating many new perspectives on the Arctic theatre, this new work should find a place on the shelves of every historian, scholar and enthusiast whose interests extend to the Russian dimension of the Second World War. Read more

Inuit elders who grew up in camps on the shores of Frobisher Bay can tell you what happened when Martin Frobisher arrived with his vessel in 1576: "He fired two warning shots into the air. So right away there were some grievances." Frobisher's shots were the opening salvos in the search for the Northwest Passage, a search that lasted for more than four hundred years and riveted the Western world, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. In Encounters on the Passage, present day Inuit tell the stories that have been passed down from their ancestors of the first encounters with European explorers.In many of these stories the old cosmogony is still in place, with shamans playing starring roles opposite "the strangers intruding on the Inuit lands." Dorothy Harley Eber presents stories told to her about the expeditions of Sir Edward Parry, Sir John Ross, Sir John Franklin, and the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, and sets them squarely in historical context. In the case of the disasterous Franklin expedition, new information opens up another fascinating chapter on the Franklin tragedy. Collected over twelve years on visits to communities in Nunavut, these remarkable stories of expeditionary forces and their dealings with native peoples will be new and exciting reading for those interested in the search for the Northwest Passage, the Franklin tragedy, and traditions of oral history. Read more

This stunning and powerfully relevant book tells the history of Antarctica through 100 varied and fascinating objects drawn from collections around the world.Retracing the history of Antarctica through 100 varied and fascinating objects drawn from collections across the world, this beautiful and absorbing book is published to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the first crossing into the Antarctic Circle by James Cook aboard Resolution, on 17th January 1773. It presents a gloriously visual history of Antarctica, from Terra Incognita to the legendary expeditions of Shackleton and Scott, to the frontline of climate change. One of the wildest and most beautiful places on the planet, Antarctica has no indigenous population or proprietor. Its awe-inspiring landscapes - unknown until just two centuries ago - have been the backdrop to feats of human endurance and tragedy, scientific discovery, and environmental research. Sourced from polar institutions and collections around the world, the objects that tell the story of this remarkable continent range from the iconic to the exotic, from the refreshingly mundane to the indispensable:- snow goggles adopted from Inuit technology by Amundsen - the lifeboat used by Shackleton and his crew- a bust of Lenin installed by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition- the Polar Star aircraft used in the first trans-Antarctic flight- a sealing club made from the penis bone of an elephant seal- the frozen beard as a symbol of Antarctic heroism and masculinity- ice cores containing up to 800,000 years of climate historyThis stunning book is both endlessly fascinating and a powerful demonstration of the extent to which Antarctic history is human history, and human future too. Read more

On January 17, 1913, alone and near starvation, Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, was hauling a sledge to get back to base camp. The dogs were gone. Now Mawson himself plunged through a snow bridge, dangling over an abyss by the sledge harness. A line of poetry gave him the will to haul himself back to the surface. Mawson was sometimes reduced to crawling, and one night he discovered that the soles of his feet had completely detached from the flesh beneath. On February 8, when he staggered back to base, his features unrecognizably skeletal, the first teammate to reach him blurted out, "Which one are you?" This thrilling and almost unbelievable account establishes Mawson in his rightful place as one of the greatest polar explorers and expedition leaders. It is illustrated by a trove of Frank Hurley's famous Antarctic photographs, many never before published in the United States. Read more

• ‘A breathtaking story of courage under the most appalling conditions’ SIR EDMUND HILLARY. • Illustrated with the rare and often forgotten illustrations of the voyage of the 'James Caird' drawn by official expedition artist George Marston. • ‘Makes us feel to the marrow the conditions that the party endured before all hands were rescued… remarkable’ THE NEW YORKER. The harrowing firsthand account by Frank Worsley of how the men of the 'Endurance', which sank crushed by ice in South Latitude 69, made their way in three small boats through the scattering floes to Elephant Island. It was from this island that Shackleton, Worsley and four others embarked on the 16-day journey that belongs for all time to the history of these seas, bringing the open boat, 'James Caird', over 800 miles through squall and hurricane to South Georgia. There they tramped across the ice and snow and rocky heights of the almost unknown interior to a whaling station, from which they set out to rescue the men they had left behind. Few could read the story of these triumphant exploits by land and sea without a stirring of the blood. Frank Worsley’s part in this epic voyage was pivotal, it was his feat of navigation and seamanship that made the extraordinary boat journey possible. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Frank Arthur Worsley was born in 1872 in New Zealand. A gifted seaman and navigator he served in the Royal Naval Reserve and Merchant Navy before joining in 1914, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition as captain of 'HMS Endurance'. In the First World War, he captured the Q-ship 'PC61' and a German U-boat. From 1921-2 he took part in Shackleton’s last expedition to the Antarctic as captain of the 'Quest'. He wrote several books charting his seafaring and Polar achievements including ENDURANCE: AN EPIC OF POLAR ADVENTURE, UNDER SAIL IN THE FROZEN NORTH: THE LOG OF THE 1926 BRITISH ARCTIC EXPEDITION and FIRST VOYAGE IN A SQUARE-RIGGED SHIP. He died in 1943 aged 70. PRAISE FOR ‘GREAT ANTARCTIC RESCUE: SHACKLETON’S BOAT JOURNEY’ ‘An epic of survival’ TIME MAGAZINE ‘A breathtaking story of courage under the most appalling conditions’ SIR EDMUND HILLARY ‘One of the most heroic rescues in history’ THE DAILY MIRROR ‘Makes us feel to the marrow the conditions that the party endured before all hands were rescued… remarkable’ THE NEW YORKER ‘One of the greatest survival stories ever told’ LIBRARY JOURNAL Read more