The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole

Roland Huntford’s "Scott and Amundsen" tells the story of the race to the South Pole and the very different men who led the two expeditions. Huntford contrasts Scott’s reliance on courage, endurance and man-hauling with Amundsen’s meticulous planning and willingness to learn from the experience of Arctic peoples, particularly his use of dogs and skis.

It is a fascinating and often controversial account, particularly in its unsentimental assessment of Scott. Huntford argues that the disaster was not simply the result of bad luck or extreme weather, but of decisions and methods that left Scott’s expedition at a serious disadvantage. The book provides a compelling look at how two very different approaches to exploration ultimately produced dramatically different outcomes.