The Last Place on Earth
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
The Last Place on Earth
| Full title | The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole |
|---|---|
| Author | Roland Huntford |
| Published | 1979 |
| Pages | 640 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Roland Huntford’s side-by-side account of Amundsen and Scott racing for the South Pole, arguing that Scott’s death was a failure of preparation dressed up afterwards as heroism. A book that changed a national myth, and a hard case study in planning, logistics and the reputational afterlife of failure. |
Where I heard about it
- @typesfast’s thread — named in the replies to his question “What’s the best history book you’ve read?”, June 2025. Full set of replies: What’s the best history book… (tweet).
About this edition
First published in 1979 as Scott and Amundsen; retitled The Last Place on Earth for the 1985 television adaptation.
Connections
- What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.