A Tale of True Exploration

Next on NOVA: "Arctic Passage"

http://www.pbs.org/nova/arctic: Broadcast: February 28, 2006 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - The greatest geographical prize of its day was the search for the fabled Northwest Passage through the island maze of Arctic Canada. In 1845, Great Britain mounted an all-out assault with a lavishly equipped expedition that was never heard from again. Then in the early 1900s, a little-known Norwegian adventurer set forth in a secondhand fishing boat and succeeded beyond all expectation. This two-hour special answers the riddle of why Sir John Franklin's mission failed and Roald Amundsen's made it.