The North-West Passage

The holy grail of so many daring sailing expeditions into the frozen wastes, the fabled Nortwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was finally conquered by seven men in the little craft «Gjöa». Though short on the death and life survival dramas of their failed predecessors, the account of their journey is still an enjoyable read, not least because of Amundsens description of the life of the inuit they met, the last generation to live isolated from the rest of the world.

Attempts to find the Northwest Passage—a water route from Europe to Asia through the Arctic archipelago north of the Canadian mainland—began as far back as the late-15th century. After numerous failures, many involving disaster and great loss of life, Roald Amundsen decided to take a turn.

The North-West Passage: Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the ship "Gjøa" is simply a must-read.