To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration

by Edward Larson Narrated by Paul Michael Garcia

Overview

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, an entwined narrative of the most adventurous year of all time, when three expeditions simultaneously raced to the top, bottom, and heights of the world.

As 1909 dawned, the greatest jewels of exploration-set at the world's frozen extremes-lay unclaimed: the North and South Poles and the so-called “Third Pole,” the pole of altitude, located in unexplored heights of the Himalaya. Before the calendar turned, three expeditions had faced death, mutiny, and the harshest conditions on the planet to plant flags at the furthest edges of the Earth.

In the course of one extraordinary year, Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson were hailed worldwide at the discovers of the North Pole; Britain's Ernest Shackleton had set a new geographic “Furthest South” record, while his expedition mate, Australian Douglas Mawson, had reached the Magnetic South Pole; and at the roof of the world, Italy's Duke of the Abruzzi had attained an altitude record that would stand for a generation, the result of the first major mountaineering expedition to the*Himalaya's eastern Karakoram, where the daring aristocrat attempted K2 and established the standard route up the most notorious mountain on the planet.*

Based on extensive archival and on-the-ground research, Edward J. Larson weaves these narratives into one thrilling adventure story. Larson, author of the acclaimed polar history Empire of Ice, draws on his own voyages to the Himalaya, the arctic, and the ice sheets of the Antarctic, where he himself reached the South Pole and lived in Shackleton's Cape Royds hut as a fellow in the National Science Foundations' Antarctic Artists and Writers Program.*

These three legendary expeditions, overlapping in time, danger, and stakes, were glorified upon their return, their leaders celebrated as the preeminent heroes of their day. Stripping away the myth, Larson, a master historian, illuminates one of the great, overlooked tales of exploration, revealing the extraordinary human achievement at the heart of these journeys.

Editorial Reviews

JUNE 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator Paul Michael Garcia adeptly evokes the hardships and unrelenting cold experienced by those exploring the ends of the earth. In 1909, three expeditions set out to conquer the North and South Poles, as well as the so-called “pole of altitude.” Ernest Shackleton falls short in the south, but his team claims the magnetic pole and a new “furthest south” record. Robert Peary claims the North Pole, although doubts still surround that claim. Less well known is the unsuccessful climb of K2 by Italy’s Prince Luigi Amedeo that, nevertheless, resulted in a long-standing altitude record. The stories are enormously detailed, but Garcia keeps the energy up as Larson highlights bravery, achievements, and mistakes. An amusing light touch is adopted for the tabloid storm that detailed Amedeo’s romance with an American heiress. A.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Booklist

A fine psychological study, a story of bravery and obsession and men who pushed themselves to the edge of sanity. … Larson captures the excitement and danger that were the defining characteristics of this age of exploration.

JIM WHITTAKER

Fascinating. A masterfully written story of incredible adventures against insurmountable odds.

JUNE 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator Paul Michael Garcia adeptly evokes the hardships and unrelenting cold experienced by those exploring the ends of the earth. In 1909, three expeditions set out to conquer the North and South Poles, as well as the so-called “pole of altitude.” Ernest Shackleton falls short in the south, but his team claims the magnetic pole and a new “furthest south” record. Robert Peary claims the North Pole, although doubts still surround that claim. Less well known is the unsuccessful climb of K2 by Italy’s Prince Luigi Amedeo that, nevertheless, resulted in a long-standing altitude record. The stories are enormously detailed, but Garcia keeps the energy up as Larson highlights bravery, achievements, and mistakes. An amusing light touch is adopted for the tabloid storm that detailed Amedeo’s romance with an American heiress. A.B. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2018-01-22
Pulitzer Prize winner Larson (History and Law/Pepperdine Univ.; The Return of George Washington: 1783-1789, 2014, etc.) records the three most important expeditions during a highly significant year in polar exploration.The Gilded Age was a time of great wealth, and men and women wanted to prove they were more than just society figures sipping champagne. Primary among these was the most famous climber at the time, Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, the Duke of the Abruzzi, who held the farthest-north record at the Arctic and first ascent on mountains on three continents. In 1909, he turned to the "Pole of Altitude" in the Himalayas, "one of the world's highest mountains." Mount Everest was out of the question, since Nepal and Tibet had closed their borders, but this would prove an equally difficult challenge. Focusing on the North Pole was American Robert E. Peary, who had mounted seven prior expeditions and had the lost toes to prove it. He had experienced many setbacks—e.g., trying to traverse sea ice that could carry away supplies, disrupt trails, and disorient returning groups. Peary was obsessed with gaining the pole and glory and downplayed scientific records and research while they wintered over. He also plundered the north and the Inuit nation of religious objects, furs, and tusks. Ernest Shackleton relied on ponies and a fairly useless motor car to transport supplies in the Antarctic. His group included the best of scientific experts, split so one group, led by Edgeworth David, headed for the magnetic pole, which is not fixed but migrates with the Earth's fluid core, and the other, led by Shackleton, for the geographic pole. Throughout, Larson delivers riveting tales of stalwart explorers risking their lives for discovery in some of the world's harshest areas. Their successes and even their failures made them heroes.A fascinating look at the adventures of remarkably resilient men, so well-related as to make you feel the chill.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170298907
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/13/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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