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b"In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made.

Greely and his men confronted every possible challenge\\u2015vicious wolves, sub-zero temperatures, and months of total darkness\\u2015as they set about exploring one of the most remote, unrelenting environments on the planet. In May 1882, they broke the 300-year-old record, and returned to camp to eagerly await the resupply ship scheduled to return at the end of the year. Only nothing came.

250 miles south, a wall of ice prevented any rescue from reaching them. Provisions thinned and a second winter descended. Back home, Greely\\u2019s wife worked tirelessly against government resistance to rally a rescue mission.

Today I\\u2019m speaking with Buddy Levy, author of \\u201cLabyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition.\\u201d We look at this story and what came after: Months passed, and Greely made a drastic choice\\u2014he and his men loaded the remaining provisions and tools onto their five small boats, and pushed off into the treacherous waters. After just two weeks, dangerous floes surrounded them. Now new dangers awaited: insanity, threats of mutiny, and cannibalism. As food dwindled and the men weakened, Greely's expedition clung desperately to life.

We discuss the story of the heroic lives and deaths of these voyagers hell-bent on fame and fortune\\u2015at any cost\\u2015and how their journey changed the world."