Recommended Polar Exploration Books

Ice: Stories of Survival from Polar Exploration by Clint Willis
Candid accounts of the joys and dangers of exploration, expedition and adventure travel. For example read about how 20 men traveled south after being trapped in the ice for two winters 750 miles from the North Pole.
Vanishing World: The Endangered Arctic by Fredrik Granath
A visual record of life in the Arctic to celebrate the wildlife that inhabits this unforgiving climate and a cautionary tale of global warming.
The Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford
This should be among the first books you read on Polar exploration. It describes the age of polar exploration when Amundsen and Scott were racing to conquer the South Pole.
The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
The author was one of the youngest of Scott’s team and later part of the rescue party that eventually found the frozen bodies of Scott and three men who had accompanied him on the final push to the Pole. This is his account of the expedition that went so disastrously wrong.
No Horizon Is So Far: Two Women and Their Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica by Liv Arnesen
The story of how two former schoolteachers walked, skied and ice-sailed through bitter cold to become the first women to cross Antarctica on foot.
Antarctica, A Guide to the Wildlife by Tony Soper
A compact handbook featuring the birds, seals and whales the traveler might encounter on a voyage to Antarctica.
The Crystal Desert by David Campbell
Essays on the fossils, glaciers, history and wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula. An excellent introduction to the land, history and marine life of the area.
Antarctica, The Blue Continent by David McGonigal
Features hundreds of gorgeous photographs and maps focusing on the environment, geography, nature and wildlife and exploration.
Antarctica: Beyond the Southern Ocean by Colin Monteath
A collection of photographs showing the wildlife and landscapes of Antarctica and the sub Antarctic islands in full color.
Solo by Pen Hadow
The author’s tale of journeying to the North Pole alone and unsupported, a journey likened to climbing Everest without oxygen.

Useful Polar Exploration Websites

North Polo Solo (http://www.northpolesolo.com)
Official website of Wave Vidmar and his solo expeditions to the North Pole.
The Poles (http://www.thepoles.com)
Expeditions lists, maps, ice and weather and polar statistics.
Pen Hadow (http://www.penhadow.com)
The official website of the English explorer who became the first person to trek solo, without outside assistance, from Canada to the North Geographic Pole. Pen organizes other expeditions, and does polar projects for television and charitable causes.
Global Warming (http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org)
Documents issues of global warming in polar regions and also coastlines.
ExploraPoles (http://www.explorapoles.org)
Provides an overview of polar expeditions and explorers and aims to educate viewers about the importance of these regions for our planet’s climate system.