Icemen

An investigation of man's relationship with the Arctic--one of the world's most hostile environments and, for the last hundred years, a magnet for explorers. The men who came here encountered a world of towering ice and howling winds, of eerie fog and beautiful mirages. Some came for glory, some for wealth, and some out of sheer determination to succeed. Many swore they would never return, but for a few the Arctic became an obsession. The authors recount all the major expeditions that set off to explore the imposing, vast Arctic territory. Along the way, it tells the stories not only of the search for the Northwest passage by the British and the controversial race to the North Pole by the Americans, but also the feats of other inspired explorers, including balloon, airship and airplane flights.--From publisher description.