To the Ends of the Earth: The Truth Behind the Glory of Polar Exploration

""Dippel is an engaging, provocative storyteller whose eye for the unexpected detail is a delight" --NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW "A lively, richly detailed investigation of the promises and perils of historic polar expeditions. In our moment of climate crisis, this book helps readers understand why generations of explorers viewed their relationship to the nonhuman world as antagonistic--and at what cost. Full of personality and compelling details, John Dippel's polar history is sure to find wide readership." --Hester Blum, associate professor of English, Penn State University, author of The News at the Ends of the Earth: the Ecomedia of Polar Exploration "A sharp, brightly written history. At a time when polar exploration was the great drama of the Victorian Age, Dippel takes us deep backstage. Here we see explorers--all too human--without the mantle of their furs and flags to protect them. In Dippel's account, the real story of exploration begins to take shape." --Michael F. Robinson, professor of history at the University of Hartford, author of The Coldest Crucible: Arctic Exploration and American Culture "Dippel has read widely and thought deeply on polar exploration and the pantheon of daring leaders who comprise the principal heroes of this mythology. He has countless interesting observations on psychology, temperament, and historical and social context that question orthodoxy and open new thoughts. To the Ends of the Earth should be considered required reading for any serious study of these larger-than-life but all-too-human historical figures." --Stephen R. Bown, author of Island of the Blue Foxes: Disaster and Triumph on the World's Greatest Scientific Expedition and The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen "This book is a good read both for those with knowledge of the polar regions as well as for beginners on that topic. It is well researched and written, and the author reveals detailed new insights into historic polar events and explorers, illuminating the humanity of the men who took part in these expeditions. The reader will come away with a better understanding of society in the past and how its attitudes shaped the ambition and course of polar expeditions." --Dr. Ursula Rack, polar historian at Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, New Zealand