Exploring the Poles: The History of the Initial Expeditions that Attempted to Reach the North Pole and South Pole

Exploration of Earth's wilderness areas became an international obsession in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as economically advantaged nations, in particular European powers and the United States were well equipped to mount exhaustive expeditions. From previously inaccessible forests and jungle country to the world's great mountain ranges, adventurers sought out the greatest extremes of climate and terrain in a race to plant the first flag where humanity struggled to survive.

An e...