From Norwegian explorer, philosopher and acclaimed writer Erling Kagge comes a gripping and thought-provoking memoir about his intrepid 58-day journey to the North Pole on skis—a historic first—along with a profound meditation about nature and our place within it.

The North Pole looms large in our collective psyche as the ultimate Otherland in a world otherwise fully mapped and traversed. It is the center of our planet’s rotation, one of the places that worries us in an epoch of global climate change. Its repellent frigid days and its strange year of one sunset and one sunrise make it an eerie, utterly disorienting place to our usual human understanding.

Erling Kagge and his friend Børge Ousland became the first people “to ever reach the pole without dogs, without depots and without motorized aids,” skiing for 58 days from a drop off point on the ice edge of Canada’s northernmost island.

With magnificent prose, Erling takes us along for his historical journey, examining the psychological motivations for going on this epic expedition, the history of the territory’s exploration, its place in legend and sublime art, and the thrilling adventures along the way.

This is a book that offers surprises with every word while observing the key role that this place holds in our current climate and geopolitical conversations. Ultimately, The North Pole is for anyone who has gazed out at the horizon—and wondered what happens if you keep going.