Endurance

Every part of my body ached. There were days when I questioned my sanity, when failure seemed possible, when there was nothing to look forward to but more snow, ice and wind. I had been in this dark place before, on operations in hellholes around the world. At least this time, no one was shooting at me.

Captain Louis Rudd is the first Briton, and one of only two men ever, to have completed a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica. In 2018, he pulled a 130kg sledge laden with his supplies for 925 miles, battling 60mph gales and temperatures of minus thirty degrees Celsius.

The skills required to survive alone in the most hostile environment on earth were forged during a three-decade military career, most of it spent in the SAS. Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Northern Ireland and Kosovo taught Louis how to think calmly in extreme danger, how to deal with pain and isolation, how to keep going when all he wanted to do was stop. In this gripping book, he takes us from joining the Royal Marines to passing the SAS selection course at only 22, from his first polar expedition with Lt Colonel Henry Worsley, when he fell in love with Antarctica, to his death-defying solo journey and the physical and mental battles he fought every day.

Ideal for readers interested in true stories and heroism.