Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton Random House Press; 368 pp; $15.76 If you’re a big fan of polar exploration and its pantheon of brave leaders –– Shackleton, Ross, Scott, Peary and Franklin –– you probably think you’ve read everything there is to know about these treacherous expeditions to unmapped regions. But you’d be wrong, because until now the story of the ill-fated Antarctic Belgica expedition has never been published in the English language. This extraordinary story of man versus nature was first inspired by a casual reference to the expedition in a 2015 magazine article…

High Latitude Sailing, Self-Sufficient Sailing Techniques for Cold Waters and Winter Seasons By Jon Amtrup and Bob Shepton Hardcover, 198 pages, $35 Adlard Coles, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, London Written by two extremely experienced ocean voyagers, High Latitude Sailing provides exactly what its title claims: techniques, ideas, and strategies for self-sufficient sailing in cold waters. But it is also an inspirational book. Before you’ve even begun reading the text, Bob Shepton’s gorgeous photographs will have you running to the chart table to plan your own voyage to the superb wildernesses of the far north and south.  A renowned sailor and mountaineer,…