In 1909, three expeditions set off to capture the world’s four “poles.” An American team led by Robert Peary left hoping that on this attempt he’d finally be the first person to set foot on the North Pole. Another team meanwhile ventured south, intent on planting the English flag on the South Pole and, via a separate party, the Southern Magnetic Pole. Finally, an Italian expedition headed to the Himalaya, where it planned to reach the Earth’s so-called “Pole of Altitude,” by climbing K2, what was then believed to be the highest mountain in the world. Weaving the stories of these 1909 expeditions together into a cohesive narrative, Edward Larson’s To the Edges of the Earth is a must read for any lover of polar work.
