Amundsen: Quiet Conqueror of the Polar Regions

This is a story about a little known, yet much misunderstood hero. But more than that it is also a story about a clash of philosophies, the dawn of a new era; a young nation, and a once mighty one - both in their own way experiencing an identity crisis. In 1911, a young Norwegian explorer called Roald Amundsen reached the south Geographic Pole in a slick, clinical, sportsmanlike operation, having recently also been the first man to sail through the fabled North-West Passage on the other side of the globe. In doing so, he eclipsed a massive, lavishly funded, British polar expedition which was characterised by poor organisation, incompetent leadership and gross negligence that led to tragic suffering and loss of life. What followed in Britain was nothing less than a public cover-up, and whitewashing of their own expedition’s failures. Amundsen was characterised as a usurper and glory seeker, such that his reputation suffered even in his own fledgling nation of Norway. Undeterred, he would nevertheless pus