
The Last Place on Earth
Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole, Revised and Updated
Random House Publishing Group · Print & ebook · September 7, 1999
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the South Pole was the most coveted prize in the fiercely nationalistic modern age of exploration.
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Genres
- Adventurers & Explorers, Polar Regions History, Exploration & Discovery
- Published
- Random House Publishing Group, September 7, 1999
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genres: Adventurers & Explorers, Polar Regions History and Exploration & Discovery.
The Ice at the End of the WorldJon Gertner50% match
A Voyage for MadmenPeter Nichols53% match
The Man Who Ate His BootsSimon Vance, Anthony Brandt58% match
The Race for TimbuktuFrank T. Kryza51% match
The ExplorersAmanda Bellows53% match
Sea of GloryNathaniel Philbrick55% match
A Wretched and Precarious SituationDavid Welky, Joel Richards62% match
EnduranceAlfred Lansing, Nathaniel Philbrick62% match
For younger readers: Race to the South Pole, Mawson in Antarctica, Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the South Pole was the most coveted prize in the fiercely nationalistic modern age of exploration. In the brilliant dual biography, the award-winning writer Roland Huntford re-examines every detail of the great race to the South Pole between Britain's Robert Scott and Norway's Roald Amundsen.
Continue reading
Scott, who dies along with four of his men only eleven miles from his next cache of supplies, became Britain's beloved failure, while Amundsen, who not only beat Scott to the Pole but returned alive, was largely forgotten. This account of their race is a gripping, highly readable history that captures the driving ambitions of the era and the complex, often deeply flawed men who were charged with carrying them out. THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH is the first of Huntford's masterly trilogy of polar biographies. It is also the only work on the subject in the English language based on the original Norwegian sources, to which Huntford returned to revise and update this edition.
Polar Contention
Come here for
- Scott and Amundsen at full historical scale
- Serious expedition history with a performance edge
Expect
- Revised and updated framing
- Biography, travel, and adventure in one stark package
Where it sits
| Exploration & Discovery | 56% |
|---|---|
| Adventurers & Explorers | 51% |
| Polar Regions History | 50% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Exploration & Discovery
- Travel Writing
- Polar Travel
- Authors
- Roland Huntford, Paul Theroux
- Publisher
- Random House Publishing Group
- Published
- September 7, 1999
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Exploration & Discovery