Icewalk

Having walked Scott's route to the South Pole with two companions in 1986, Robert Swan determined to become the first man in history to reach both poles on foot, and in the process draw attention to the increasing dangers of environmental polution. In March 1989 he set off with an international eight-man team to cross 500 miles of frozen Arctic sea. Satellite pictures had shown towering 40-foot icewalls, and despite temperatures of - 55 degrees celsius, fragmented ice was drifting six miles a day, leaving large stretches of open water ahead of them. This candid chronicle of their courage and endurance is one of the most enthralling stories of our time.