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(More customer reviews)`Race to the Pole' is Fogles and Cracknells account of their race to the south pole and if you have seen the BBC series then you will have a good idea what the race and their experiences entailed. This book goes through their preparation, training, pre race illness' and the race itself. Fogle had to fight off a tropical illness before the race, as well as his wife having a miscarriage on the eve of departure and yet he still managed to finish the race as one of the strongest team members, much kudos is due. One aspect of the story that will keep you hooked is the friendly rivalry with a Norwegian team which mirrors the original expedition in the early 1900's when Amundsen and Scott also raced to the pole. In the series Cracknell comes across as arrogant and obnoxious and he put the team in danger at many points with his attitude and whilst this also comes across in the book, you also see the reasoning behind his behaviour (rather than just the actual behaviour itself) and you soon realise he was behaving the way he did due to extreme fatigue and race injuries. For a gold medal winning, hyper competitive Olympian it must have been very hard to take being the weakest member of the team and this explains some of his outbursts and attitude. The third team member, Ed Coats, isn't involved in the writing of the book but does get adequate mention and even though he seemed to be bullied by Cracknel in the TV series, their obvious admiration for each other comes through in the pages of the book. There are also two colour plates showing various aspects of the race, including Cracknells seriously worn and wrecked feet! This is a gripping and well written story and their strength and determination in hostile conditions is inspirational and I got choked up at the end when they finally achieved their goal. Well worth a look for fans of the series or of real life adventure books.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Race to the Pole: Conquering Antarctica in the World's Toughest Endurance Race
New Year's Day, 2009. Somewhere on the bottom of the world, six teams of adventurers and explorers have gathered to race one another, on foot, to the South Pole. It is the first time that anyone has undertaken such a race in almost a hundred years; the first time since the great Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, beat Captain Scott to the same goal in 1911. The stakes are high, as double-Olympic Gold-winning medallist James Cracknell and TV presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle must contend with hidden crevasses, frostbite and the favourites to win: a team of teak-hard former soldiers from Norway, trained in Arctic warfare. Temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius lie in store for the teams as they attempt to ski across 800 kilometres of unforgiving, icy wilderness, pulling behind them sledges laden with equipment, tents and food. "Race to the Pole" is a rip-roaring 'boy's own' adventure packed with excitement, humour and even a few tears. But with just a few months to learn to cross-country ski before the start, and with national pride at stake, can Ben and James re-write history and beat the Norwegians?
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