Mr Ragnar Kvam will talk about the race to be the first to set foot on the North and South Poles, the last two unconquered white areas on the map, which entered a crucial phase around the turn of the last century. From Great Britain, Robert F. Scott and Ernest Shackleton, and from Norway, Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, or "the four greatest" as Ragnar have chosen to call them, joined the race. Some succeeded better than others in that tough battle against the ice and cold. Great challenges demanded fearless decisions, and by analysing their qualities as leaders, we may be able to answer why some won and others lost.
Mr Kvam is an author and, as some will have it, an adventurer. He holds a Masters degree in History from the University in Oslo and worked for many years as a political correspondent for Dagbladet, a nationwide Norwegian newspaper.
In 1987 he bought a 37 foot sailing boat and embarked upon a circumnavigation that was to last for 14 years. He wrote several books on this epic voyage. Returning to his home turf, he engulfed himself in the history of Polar exploration, a lifelong interest.
In his book The Great Four from 2000, Kvam studies the personality of the giants of the ice Fridtjof Nansen, Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott, with a particular emphasis on their ability to lead their men.
In recent years Ragnar Kvam has been working on an extensive biography of another great Norwegian explorer, Thor Heyerdahl, who is perhaps best known for his 8000 km journey across the Pacific Ocean on the bamboo raft Kon-Tiki in 1947.
Everyone is more then welcome to Kvams talk 7 pm at the Norwegian Seamens Misson.