The arctic night is endless. The fear is numbing. Screams freeze in the throat. Death arrives in shades of white. And cold-blooded murder seems right at home. Conducting a strange and urgent experiment on the Arctic icefield, a team of scientists has planted sixty powerful explosive charges that will detonate at midnight. Before they can withdraw to the safety of their base camp, a shattering tidal wave breaks loose the ice on which they are working. Now they are hopelessly marooned on an iceberg during a violent winter storm. The bombs beneath them are buried irretrievably deep . . . and ticking. And they discover that one of them is an assassin with a mission of his own.

'An epic tale of exploration, daring and tragedy told by a fine historian - and a wonderful writer' Peter Frankopan, author of the bestselling The Silk Roads. 'The name of William Barents isn’t that familiar to us these days…but this enthralling, elemental and literally spine-chilling epic of courage and endurance should change all that’ Roger Alton, Daily Mail A dramatic and compelling account of survival against the odds from the golden Age of Exploration. Since its beginning, the human story has been one of exploration and survival - often against long odds. The longest odds of all might have been faced by Dutch explorer William Barents and his crew of fifteen, who on Barents’ third journey into the Far Arctic in the year 1597 lost their ship to a crush of icebergs and, with few weapons and dwindling supplies, spent nine months fighting off ravenous polar bears, gnawing cold and seemingly endless winter. This is their story. In Icebound, Andrea Pitzer combines a movie-worthy tale of survival with a sweeping history of the period - a time of hope, adventure and seemingly unlimited scientific and geographic frontiers. At the story’s centre is William Barents, one of the sixteenth century’s greatest navigators, whose larger-than-life ambitions and obsessive quest to find a path through the deepest, most remote regions of the Arctic ended in both catastrophe and glory - glory because the desperation that his men endured had an epic quality that would echo through the centuries as both warning and spur to polar explorers. In a narrative that is filled with fascinating tutorials - on such topics as survival at twenty degrees below, the degeneration of the human body when it lacks Vitamin C, the history of mutiny, the practice of keel hauling, the art of celestial navigation and the intricacies of repairing masts and building shelters - the lesson that stands above all others is the feats humans are capable of when asked to double then triple then quadruple their physical capacities.

The international bestselling series with over 5 million copies sold in the U.S. alone! Kidnapped after the fierce battle with Lord Morgarath, Will and Evanlyn are bound for Skandia as captives aboard a fearsome wolfship. Halt has sworn to rescue Will, and he will do anything to keep his promise–even defy his King. Expelled from the Rangers he has served so loyally, Halt is joined by Will's friend Horace as he travels toward Skandia. On their way, they are challenged constantly by freelance knights–but Horace knows a thing or two about combat. Soon he begins to attract the attention of knights and warlords for miles around with his uncanny skill. Even so, will they be in time to rescue Will from a horrific life of slavery? The smash hit series continues with another heart stopping adventure. Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series.

Captain Francis Crozier was a major figure in 19th century Arctic and Antarctic exploration who led the doomed Franklin Expedition's battle to survive against the odds. It is a compelling story which refuses to be laid to rest and recent discovery of his lost ships above the Arctic Circle gives it a new urgency. The ships may hold vital clues to how two navy vessels and 129 men disappeared 170 years ago and why Crozier, in command after Franklin's early death, left the only written clue to the biggest disaster in Polar history. Drawn from historic records and modern revelations, this is the only comprehensive account of Crozier's extraordinary life. It is a tale of a great explorer, a lost love affair and an enduring mystery. Crozier's epic story began comfortably in Banbridge, Co Down and involved six gruelling expeditions on three of the 19th century's great endeavours – navigating the North West Passage, reaching the North Pole and mapping Antarctica. But it ended in disaster.

Sally Carrighar was a prolific writer of stories of the natural world. She has an almost magical ability to bring wild creatures to life with her literary renditions of their world allowing us to get inside that world and live it briefly. In Icebound Summer, we are taken through a brief and intense arctic summer when seemingly frozen and lifeless tundra comes to life. From the arctic fox to the arctic terns overhead, we suddenly realize this is a place of surprisingly abundant life. Icebound Summer is one of the great outdoor classics of wildlife literature.

Dr David Lewis tells of his latest expedition in which he sailed to Antarctica in the winter to be intentionally icebound. Much more than a sailor's tale of a voyage of exploration, it is a revelation of the human spirit under duress. On 14 November 1982, David Lewis, Mimi George and four others set sail from Sydney, Australia, in a 65-foot steel-hulled yacht, the Dick Smith Explorer, on a privately funded expedition to the southern polar ice-cap. Their mission: to overwinter in the frozen Antarctic wastes, study environmental hazards and wildlife, and assess the effects of total isolation on six former strangers. In a lively and candid narrative the authors take us behind the scenes of polar expedition-the fitting out of the ship, selection of crew, navigation through pack-ice and monster icebergs, tagging seals, studying penguins and other birdlife, sledging in blizzards and battling frostbite. Behind it all is the haunting beauty of Antarctica-the last great uncharted wilderness. This is the land of Amundsen and Scott, of Shackleton and Fuchs-a land beset with dangers, yet which still irresistibly exerts its thrall. Lewis and George's fascinating account of their adventures brings every detail alive.

A superb account of the American Navy's boldest and most tragically ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole. "A gripping tale,"--The Washington Post "Truly exciting,"--The Atlantic Monthly "Beautifully executed narrative,"--Kirkus Reviews "...Uncovers intriguing new information, including the reason the expedition's full story was never revealed."--The Cleveland Plain Dealer "Uncommonly stirring,"--John Barkham Reviews "On all levels, a book worth reading,"--The New York Times Book Review