Endurance: SAS Soldier. Polar Adventurer. Decorated Leader

Description

In 2018 Captain Louis Rudd MBE walked into the history books when he finished a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica, pulling a 130 kg sledge laden with his supplies for more than 900 miles. Louis' skills had been honed in the SAS, on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, but now - in the most hostile environment on earth - they would be tested like never before. Alone on the ice, Louis battled through whiteouts, 50 mph gales and temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius. It would take all his mental strength to survive. In this gripping book Louis reveals how a thirst for adventure saw him join the Royal Marines at sixteen and then pass the SAS selection course at only twenty-two. He describes his first gruelling polar expedition with legendary explorer Lieutenant Colonel Henry Worsley in 2011 and the leadership challenges he faced a few years later when he led a team of Army Reservists across Antarctica. And he takes us with him step by painful step as he pushes himself to the limit, travelling alone in 2018 on his epic and lonely trek across the continent's treacherous ice fields and mountains. With edge-of-the-seat storytelling, Endurance is an awe-inspiring account of courage and resilience by a remarkable man.

Captain Louis Rudd was a Royal Marine Commando for six years before joining the SAS, in which he served for over two decades. He is a veteran of military campaigns in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq and has also taken part in four major polar expeditions. His first, the Scott Amundsen Centenary Race Expedition, involved two teams of soldiers who followed the same routes taken a hundred years earlier by the two greatest explorers of the era. He then led the SPEAR17 Expedition - an Army Reserve team crossing of Antarctica - for which he was awarded an MBE. He led another team traversing Greenland in 2018, and later that year he made history as the first Briton ever to complete a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica. Endurance is his first book.

It's an incredible story of resilience and tenacity against the odds. An extraordinary tale of bravery, written with humility by the toughest of the tough. * Levison Wood * Gripping pulse-racing adventure by a true legend. Louis Rudd's courage and determination is admirable. * Andy McNab * I've spent enough time in Antarctica to know what an extremely remarkable thing Capt Rudd has achieved. To have crossed the continent alone without assistance or support of any kind in the time of 56 days without a single day's rest is nothing short of astonishing - a true testament to Lou's mental and physical endurance. Capt Rudd is an inspiration to us all, I believe his name will go down in polar history. * Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE *