This fascinating volume details two millenia of Arctic exploration driven by a hunger for commercial routes to the orient, colonization, exploitation of the natural resources of North America, and the pursuit of fame and glory. Included are the contributions of the Norse, Irish, Iberians, Germans, Danes, British, French and Americans. It describes the privations of the expeditions of Munk, DeLong, and Greely; the mystery of the Franklin expeditions; the 'race for the Pole'; and, the eventual completion of the Northwest Passage. It reflects the transition in the North from Viking 'longboat', through the age of sail, to the era of the submarine and airplane.