This picture book with its dramatic and colourful illustrations pays tribute to the bravery and persistence of Matthew Henson who was the first man to set foot on the North Pole. Starting out as a cabin boy at 13 years of age his taste for adventure led him to overcome racism and prejudice and to seize every opportunity to prove himself. His story is related in the form of a dramatic monologue, detailing the many obstacles he had to overcome to achieve his ambitions as an explorer of the Arctic wilderness.