{"product_id":"race-to-the-top-of-the-world-richard-byrd-and-the-first-flight-to-the-north-pole-9781621570820","title":"Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the age of adventure  when dirigibles coasted through the air and vast swaths of the Earth remained untouched and unseen by man  one pack of relentless explorers competed in the race of a lifetime: to be the first aviator to fly over the North Pole. What inspired their dangerous fascination? For some  it was the romantic theory about a lost world  a hidden continent in the Arctic Ocean. Others were seduced by new aviation technology  which they strove to push to its ultimate limit. The story of their quest is breathtaking and inspiring; the heroes are still a matter of debate.  It was the 1920s. The main players in this high stakes game were Richard Byrd  a dashing Navy officer and early aviation pioneer; and Roald Amundsen  a Viking in the sky  bitter rival of Byrds and a hardened veteran of polar expeditions. Each man was determined to be the first aviator to fly over the North Pole  despite brutal weather conditions  financial disasters  world wars  and their own personal demons. Byrd and Amundsens epic struggle for air primacy ended in a Homeric episode  in which one man had to fly to the rescue of his downed nemesis  and left behind an enduring mystery: who was the first man to fly over the North Pole?  Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole is a fast-paced  larger-than-life adventure story from Sheldon Bart  the only historian with unprecedented access to Richard Byrds personal archives. With powerful  never-before-seen evidence of the race to pioneer one of Earths last true frontiers  Race to the Top of the World is a story of a day when men were heroes and the wild was untamed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67598737276981,"sku":"ByrdShop_1621570827","price":23.77,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781621570820.jpg?v=1790930603","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/race-to-the-top-of-the-world-richard-byrd-and-the-first-flight-to-the-north-pole-9781621570820","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}