I'm a sucker for adventure memoir books. I love reading about all these amazing people doing amazing things I could only dream about doing. But one thing I love above all else is how not cocky any of these people are. They talk about all their adventures, from climbing Everest and K2, and also in the case of this book, skiing to each of the poles unaided. But they also talk about how damn hard everything is. The emotional turmoil of being away from your home and everyone you love, the physical exhaustion from pushing yourself to edge day after day, the anguish of losing people you care about to avalanches, falls, and diseases such as HAPE/HACE and AMS. They don't sugarcoat anything. Their accomplishments are fantastic, but they can come at a price.

I have read several books about mountain climbing, but this is the first one about adventuring to the poles. Waters writes in a very easy to follow format, explaining his time on each expedition and what went with it. However, I wish that he had elaborated a bit more on them. I really enjoyed reading about each trip, and I get that there are days on them where not a lot happens, but I would have liked a bit more in-depth explanation on a few of them. I did enjoy how he talked about his personal life outside of his expeditions, and how his love of climbing and grand adventures wasn't easy, and sometimes got in the way of the other things he wanted. I can only imagine how hard it would be to have a steady relationship with someone when you're gone for months at a time, with the very real possibility that you won't come back home alive. We may dream of doing these amazing expeditions, but we don't always realize what consequences they may have. I applaud Ryan Waters and the many others who have realized these dreams and shared them with the rest of us.

This book is the classic adventure’s memoir. The first half is about the author’s early life experiences and mountain climbing. The second half of the book is largely about the two polar expeditions that complete the American Grand Slam (a term that was, surprisingly, new to me). I haven’t read too many memoirs about polar trips, but they sound intense. Ryan Waters is a badass adventurer and you deserve to read his story.