All Things Polar Books: for an exciting read or scholarly research

Countless books have been authored about the subjects of polar exploration, geography and climate of the poles, climate change, and indigenous peoples who inhabit lands to the north.  And despite our world of instant information access on the web, a “good read” from a real book still ranks highly in pleasures and time well spent. 
The below represent a very partial list of some of the best titles available, primarily in the realm of polar exploration, both past and present.  The majority of the details described on the Expeditions and People pages on ATP are from these titles.  Several of the below are adventurous reads, seemingly of fiction.  Mawson’s Will by Lennard Bickel comes to mind.  Others, though highly detailed are such interesting reads that they are hard to put down:  Huntford’s Shackleton for example.  For modern day excitement check out Chasing Shackleton by Tim Jarvis.  The excitement of the hunt and find of Erebus in Geiger and Mitchell’s book makes it a pager turner.  Two names that deserve more recognition than generally granted can be found within Michael Smith’s book about Tom Crean and the two books about John Rae.
The majority of the titles listed are out of print, though  available most appropriately from the many independent used and rare bookstores around the world.  Book resellers include: AbeBooks, Rare Book Celler, Biblio.com, and Polar Books to name but a few (listed in no particular order), and of course Amazon.   Depending on one’s taste for the read itself (i.e. newly reprinted softcover is fine) or interest in hard covers, first editions, and signed copies, one can spend either a reasonable or a princely sum.  There are other, more rare items available than those listed, below not owned by the author of this page, unaffordable to my pocketbook.  In addition, a number of titles from several categories can be purchased from the Scott Polar Research online Book Store.

  • Points North

    • Beattie Owen and Geiger, John. Frozen in Time-Unlocking the Secrets of the Franklin Expedition. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1987. ISBN 0-525-24685-1

    • Bryce Robert M. Cook and Peary, The Polar Controversy Resolved. Mechanicsburg PA: Stackpole Books, 1997. ISBN 0-8117-0317-7

    • Davies Thomas D. Robert E. Peary at the North Pole. Seattle: Starpath Publications, 1989. ISBN 978-0-914025-20-7

    • Fiennes Sir Ranulph. To the Ends of the Earth-The Transglobe Expedition: the First Pole-to-Pole Circumnavigation of the Globe. New York: Arbor House, 1983. ISBN 0-87795-490-9

    • Geiger John and Mitchell Alanna. Franklin’s Lost Ship-The Historic Discovery of HMS Erebus. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 2015. ISBN 978-1-44344-417-0

    • Hamilton Alice J. Finding John Rae. Vancouver B.C: Ronsdale Press, 2017. ISBN 978-1-55380-481-9

    • Henson Matthew. A Negro Explorer At The North Pole: The Autobiography Of Matthew Henson. Montpelier VT: Invisible Cities Press, 2001. ISBN 1-931229-00-7

      • First Edition-New York; Frederick A. Stokes, 1912.

    • Herbert Wally. The Noose of Laurels. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989. ISBN 0-689-12034-6

    • Houston C. Stuart, ed. Arctic Artist, The Journal and Paintings of George Back, Midshipman with Franklin, 1810-1822. Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-7735-1181-4

    • Heyerdahl Thor, Richter Soren, and Riiser-Larsen H. J. Great Norwegian Expeditions. Oslo: Dreyers Forlag, 1950s? (no date).

    • McGoogan Ken. Fatal Passage, The Untold Story of John Rae, the Arctic Adventurer Who Discovered the Fate of Franklin. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. 0-00-200054-7

    • Morris Charles, ed. Finding the North Pole, Dr. Cook’s Own Story of his Discovery, April 21, 1908; The Story of Commander Peary’s Discovery, April 6, 1909. W. E. Scull, 1909.

    • Palin Michael. Erebus-One Ship, Two Epic voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2019. ISBN 978-1-77164-572-0

    • Watson Paul. Ice Ghosts, The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2017. ISBN 978-0-393-24938-5

  • Points South

    • Bickel Lennard. Mawson’s Will-The Greatest Survival Story Every Written. New York: Stein and Day, 1977. ISBN 0-8128-2177-1

      • First published as-The Accursed Land. Melbourne: Macmillan, 1977.

    • Brown Robert N Rudmose. The Voyage of the “Scotia”. (Scholar Select reprinting)

      • First edition-Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1906.

    • Butler Angie. The Quest for Frank Wild. Warwick: Jackleberry Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-9569272-0-0

    • Cherry-Garrard Apsley. The Worst Journey in the World. North Salem NY: The Adventure Library, 1997. ISBN 1-885283-12-1

      • First edition-two volumes, London: Constable and Company, 1922.

    • Fuchs Vivian. A Time to Speak. Shropshire England: Anthony Nelson Ltd. 1990. ISBN 0-904614-37-0

    • Huntford Roland. Race for the South Pole-The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundson. London: Continuum, 2010. ISBN 978-1441-16982-2

    • Huntford Roland. Shackleton. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985. ISBN 0-340-25007-0

    • Jarvis Tim. Chasing Shackleton. New York: HarperCollins, 2013. ISBN 978-0-06-228273-6

      • First published as-Shackleton’s Epic. Australia: HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.

    • Lansing Alfred. Endurance. New York: Basic Books, 2014. ISBN 978-0-465-06878-5

      • First Edition-New York: McGraw Hill, 1959.

    • Larson Edward J. An Empire of Ice, Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science. New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-300-15408-5

    • McClintock, James. Lost Antarctica: Adventures in a Disappearing Land. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012. ISBN 978-0-230-11245-2

    • Rose Lisle A. Explorer, The Life of Richard E. Byrd. Columbia MO: University of Missouri Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-826-21782-0

    • Sancton, Julian. Madhouse at the End of the Earth. New York: Crown Publishing, 2021. ISBN 978-1-=9848-2433-2

    • Shackleton Ernest. South. Beverly MA: Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc, 2019.. ISBN 978-0-7603-is 6482-6

      • Original-London: William Heinemann, 1919.

    • Smith Michael. An Unsung Hero, Tom Crean-Antarctic Survivor. Cork: The Collins Press, 2009. ISBN 13: 9781905172863

    • Speak Peter. William Speirs Bruce, Polar Explorer and Scottish Nationalist. Edinburgh: NMS Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-901663-71-X

    • Turny Chris. 1912, The Year the World Discovered Antarctica. Berkeley CA: Counterpoint, 2012. ISBN 978-1-58243-789-7