The book is a compelling narrative of his 2007 expedition recreating the original route pioneered by Norwegian explorers Nansen and Johansen in 1895 through Franz Joseph Land in their attempt to reach the North Pole.

We quote from the Banff Festival's home page:

- Børge Ousland does a terrific job at an inherently complex task. Interweaving accounts of Nansen’s journey, general polar history, and his personal expedition, Ousland is a crisp writer with the added benefit of being arguably the contemporary authority on polar exploration. The result is alternately fascinating, delightful, insightful, inspiring, and frank and the stunning photography is another plus. Ousland doesn’t shy from providing graphic details into the physical challenges of a polar expedition (an explorer on an early American expedition slept next to the body of his dead comrade for three months until the ground softened for burial) or probing uncomfortable personal truths about the pull of expeditions versus personal lives back home, and what we gain versus what we give up in modern lives. The result is a tome that soars for the reader on many levels.

Ousland was presented with the award at the book festival during the evening ceremony yesterday, Thursday November 5th.

(Vaart Land/Press release)

Rolleiv Solholm