"A dazzling book -- soulful, awe-inspiring, and deeply thought-provoking. Erling Kagge takes readers on a journey they''ll never forget." - Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life "After the North Pole is a thrilling, insightful, and magical journey with something to interest readers of all stripes. This intriguing adventure through time, history, and ice investigates the myth and reality of the North Pole." - Shelf Awareness "A well-researched dive into the lure of the Arctic tundra as he experienced it and into the legendary expeditions that fueled his passion. Bursting with history and adventure and a cautionary observation: the rapid speed of climate change is upon us and will likely affect future expeditions." - Booklist "From a Norwegian explorer who knows all about extreme trips.The reasons for the many [North Pole] failures are as harrowing as they are fascinating, including murder, scandal, a few cannibals and lots and lots of polar bears.
" - Minnesota Star Tribune "In 1990, [Erling Kagge] and his fellow Norwegian Børge Ousland were the first to reach the pole unassisted, with only skis for transport. It was a considerable accomplishment that gives him unique insight into the centuries of stories he recounts here. it''s that history that constitutes the bulk of this captivating volume." - Anchorage Daily News "Erling Kagge''s decades-long obsession with the North Pole has produced an extraordinary book that defies genre: an elegant travel account, a learned history and a psychological thriller wrapped in one. He evokes the ''silver-shining vacantness'' of the North Pole like no one else could." - Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag: A History "Exhilaratingly Epic as the Land in Grandeur, called HOME." - dg nanouk okpik, American Book Award-winning author of Corpse Whale "It''s impossible to read Erling Kagge and not fall in love with the North Pole. His enthusiasm is infectious, and his adventures are epic.
" - Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction "Kagge honors all those who survived or perished in the Arctic Circle, many he rescued from obscurity, with incredible tales of heroism, romance, and tragedy. After the North Pole is written so engagingly about a part of the world for which I had no previous curiosity, yet found myself fascinated by the histories of Kagge''s fellow explorers, who, like him, were blessed or cursed with a calling to trek there." - Griffin Dunne, author of The Friday Afternoon Club "Erling Kagge charts a wondrous way to the North Pole, exploring the marvel and complexity of a place that exists both in reality and in our symbolic imagination. A fascinating and richly detailed book." - Paul Lynch, Booker Prize-winning author of Prophet Song "An electrifying memoir of a daring journey through Earth''s most unforgiving landscapes. Intrepid explorer and philosopher Erling Kagge masterfully intertwines the adrenaline of his 58-day ski trek to the apex of the world with captivating lore, forgotten histories of past expeditions to the frozen unknown, and profound reflections on survival and our planet''s fragility. A bouillabaisse of pure delight." - Laurie Gwen Shapiro, author of The Stowaway: A Young Man''s Extraordinary Adventure to Antarctica "With Erling Kagge alive and active, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I am not the only mad man alive at present.
He is also, never mind his icy achievements, a brilliant author." - Sir Ranulph Fiennes, renowned British explorer and author of Shackleton "A distinctive, thoughtful, and quietly moving work by that rarest of creatures, a genuine philosopher-explorer. Erling Kagge has heard the call of the wild as clearly as anyone, and in this gem of a book he demonstrates how the North Pole has served as a container of countless human hopes, dreams, and sorrows--including his own." - Darrell Hartman, author of Battle of Ink and Ice "A mesmerizing book. Kagge is an expert guide of the history, science, and adventures of the North Pole, showing us how one of the most remote and dangerous places on Earth can draw out our most elemental sensation: that of being fully alive in the world." - Ben Shattuck, author of The History of Sound: Stories "A wonderful book about the sublime, eerie place known as the North Pole. A place that has doubled as a fertile dreamscape as much as a hard, inhospitable landscape for human beings over the centuries. This is the book of a lifetime, from a rare writer-adventurer whose obsession and passion for his subject knows no bounds.
" - Elif Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees "Layered into Erling Kagge''s rich, evocative history of our quest to reach the North Pole--a quest characterized by dreams of conquest and exploitation, and ideas of romantic heroism, and tales of pain and suffering--is Kagge''s own quest for the North Pole. We share his journey of beauty and fragility amid biting cold, gnawing hunger, and a life-threatening encounter with a polar bear. His story, of heaven and hell in one turn after another, is riveting." - Deborah Cramer, author of The Narrow Edge "Erling Kagge is a deeply thoughtful writer who has a strong and very individual style. The North Pole proves to be the perfect subject for him." - Sir Michael Palin, English actor and author of Erebus and Pole to Pole "After the North Pole is an enchanting pursuit of a place that lies both far away at the top of our planet and deep within us all." - Peter Moore, author of Endeavour "I''ve lived the harshness of the polar regions, and Kagge captures it perfectly. After the North Pole brings you face-to-face with the raw, untamed beauty and unforgiving nature of the Arctic.
" - Mike Horn, explorer and author of Conquering the Impossible "It''s rare to find an author and a subject so perfectly matched. Erling Kagge has not only journeyed to the North Pole, he''s spent years exploring its role in history, cartography, science, literature, and philosophy. This book is full of extraordinary stories and wisdom earned through hard experience. ''Think ahead, travel light, and leave your fears behind you,'' one explorer advises. Much like the place itself, After the North Pole is memorable, inspiring, unsettling, and poetic." - Eric Schlosser, journalist and author of Command and Control "Erling Kagge is an adventurer in the true sense of the word, exploring his curiosity with physical and intellectual and creative capabilities, all of which are prodigious, and fully engaging the reader in his adventures. At the conclusion of a Kagge read, I usually note my hands are sweating." - Bob Shaye, founder, New Line Cinema "What a treat to read Kagge''s latest book, a dazzling story of the North Pole and its legendary explorers, spanning thousands of years.
The book is for anyone who wonders about nature and humanity''s place within it." - Carine Smith Ihenacho , Bloomberg.