‘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 traveled there in 1990.

Walking in the footsteps of Erling Kagge, we hear the story of the North Pole as it has never been told before. From Herodotus, who first wondered what the northernmost point of our planet might be like, to the brave early cartographers who mapped our world, and the legendary expeditions led by Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary – the first polar explorers who became global celebrities – who were driven by a dangerous obsession to reach the North Pole first.

What emerges is a new history of the world, spanning thousands of years, seen from the ‘silver-shining emptiness’ of the North Pole. Combining memories from Kagge’s own 1990 trip with this captivating history, The North Pole is an adventure story, a book about difficult fathers and difficult sons, and an inspiring account of what it means to keep taking one step after another in the face of adversity.

‘As an explorer, Erling Kagge is world-class; as a writer, he is equally talented’ RANULPH FIENNES

Pages: 432, Dimensions: 12.8x12.8cm