The epic history of the explorers and adventurers who risked -- and sometimes lost -- their lives in the quest to conquer and claim the Arctic.
Ever since approximately 325 BC, the Arctic has been the backdrop for tales of triumph and disaster, of hardship and horrors endured by those who were drawn to the northern latitudes. For centuries the major world powers sponsored teams of explorers seeking trade routes as well as the chance to claim new territories. These commercial interests brought them into contact with natives, who at first saw white crews die in the forbidding landscape they called home only to later succumb to disease, alcohol, and the drastic environmental changes wrought by global trade.
At a time when global warming is drastically altering the region, Arctic Obsession chronicles an age when the Arctic remained one of the last unconquered places on Earth.
"A boisterous survey of those answering the Siren call of the North Pole. ... The author tenders much cultural, historical, political and geographical detail, but not at the expense of drama, romance and manliness. ... Colorful enthusiasm draped over a thorough treatment of Arctic exploration."
Kirkus Reviews
"Feeding the public's unquenchable need for stories of adventure and exploration, Troubetzkoy brings a historian's touch to his chronicle of 2,000 years of forays into the Great White North. ... But most striking are the amazing tales of life and death about lesser-known figures, such as the four Russian hunters who weathered six years stranded on an icy island that truly show off Troubetzkoy's ability as a researcher and a storyteller."
Publishers Weekly
"Troubetzkoy packs an enormous amount of information into this survey of centuries of Arctic exploration. ... In the grand tradition of Pierre Berton's The Arctic Grail (1988), Arctic Obsession considers the age-old "'ure of the far north' and the men who could not look away, despite the cost in blood and treasure."
