Pocket History: A Short History of Polar Exploration

This history vividly brings explorers’ tales to life. Apsley Cherry-Garrard, a man who went to Antarctica with Captain Scott, said, “Polar exploration is the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time ever devised.” Despite the hardships, many have volunteered for the glory of polar exploration.

This book tells the memorable stories of men and women who risked their lives in the Arctic and Antarctic, from Scott, Shackleton, and Amundsen to lesser-known heroes like Fridtjof Nansen and Robert Peary. It also examines the polar regions’ influence on artists and writers over the last 200 years, through paintings, films, and literature.