The North Pole: The History of an Obsession

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Throughout recorded human time, few places on Earth have inspired as much fascination as the North Pole. This is an otherworldly place with no latitude and no longitude, a place where the sun rises and stays aloft for six months before setting, plunging the expanse of ice and water into darkness for half a year.

Long before we ever journeyed to the North Pole, human beings have wondered what the northernmost point of our planet might be like. It became densely mythologised by writers, thinkers, historians and philosophers across civilisations. Perhaps it was the actual garden of Eden? Or the sunny land of the Hyperboreans, as Herodotus surmised? Only recently did we get to the North Pole – fending off scurvy, polar bears and frostbite – to report on its strange wonders.

Norwegian adventurer, philosopher and acclaimed author Erling Kagge ventured to the North Pole in 1990. Blending memoir from that intrepid journey, along with history, philosophy and a stark warning about melting ice, comes a profound meditation about nature and our place within it. The North Pole is for anyone who’s gazed out at the horizon – and wondered what happens if you keep walking.

'A philosophical adventurer or perhaps an adventurous philosopher' NEW YORK TIMES

'As an explorer Erling Kagge is world class; as a writer he is equally gifted’ SIR RANULPH FIENNES

© Erling Kagge 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025