The book is a detailed description of polar travel from the time of the voyages of the Norwegian Vikings and the first Russian sailors to the present day. In the first part, along with the pre-revolutionary period, the author consistently sets out the history of expeditions to the Arctic after the October Socialist Revolution using all the achievements of science and advanced Soviet technology in order to study and master the Northern Sea Route and the natural resources of the Arctic. This part of the book ends with a chapter about the brave and glorious flight of the Soviet expedition to the North Pole. The second part of the book describes travels to the Antarctic.