To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, a unique and unforgettable telling of the climax of the age of exploration: in 1909 three simultaneous expeditions each reached the ends of the earth, setting records for the farthest north, south, and altitude, as American Robert Peary (with Matthew Henson) strove for the North Pole; Douglas Mawson successfully achieved the magnetic South Pole, while his expedition leader Ernest Shackleton nearly claimed the geographic South Pole; and on the slopes of K2 in the Himalayas (the so-called ''Third Pole''), Italy's dashing Duke of Abruzzi set a world altitude record that stood for generations.