One hundred years have passed since Robert Falcon Scotts beleagured expeditionary team arrived at the South Pole, only to find that they had been beaten by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
The most feted explorer of his generation, Amundsen counted the discovery of the Northwest Passage, in 1905, as well as the North Pole amongst his greatest achievements. In the golden age of polar exploration Amundsen, whose revolutionary approach to technology transcends polar and nautical significance, was a titan among men. However, until now, his story has rarely featured as more than a footnote to Scotts tragic failure.
Reviled for defeating Scott but worshipped by his men, Amundsen was pursued by women and creditors throughout his life before disappearing on a rescue mission for the Italian Fascist who had set off in an airship to claim the North Pole for Mussolini. The Last Viking is the life of a visionary and a showman, who brought the era of Shackleton to an end, put the newly independent Norway on the map and was the twentieth centurys brightest trailblazing explorer.
Against the backdrop of the race to conquer the most inhospitable corners of the earth, The Last Viking stands alongside The Worst Journey in the World for its grim immediacy of heroism and hardship. Bestriding the generation defined by adventure and the unquenchable desire for discovery, it is the mesmerising story of courage, misery, friendship and the ultimate price paid for immortality.

Stephen Bown was born in Ottawa and graduated in history from the University of Alberta. Specialising in the history of science and exploration, his books include Sightseers and Scholars: Scientific Travelers in the Golden Age of Natural History and the internationally successful Scurvy: How a Surgeon, a Mariner, and a Gentleman Solved the Greatest Medical Mystery of the Age of Sail.