Scholars and layman alike have long projected their fantasies onto the great expanse of the global North, whether it be a frozen no-man's-land full of marauding Vikings or the unspoiled cradle of primeval human life. Bernd Brunner recovers the true encounters of adventurers, colonists, and Indigenous communities along with the artifacts, myths, and observations that comprised a "cabinet of wonders" of the North and came to imbue Scandinavia, Iceland, and the Arctic with a perennial mystique. Like the mythological literary sagas made famous by Vikings. Extreme North unveils the dramatic vistas of the Norwegian fjords and the murky depths of a European psyche obsessed with Nordic whiteness. Examining these facts and fictions, Brunner argues that the North is as much a cultural invention as a place on the map. Full of glittering details and vivid storytelling, Extreme North is a fascinating romp through popular images of the top of the world and the realities that travelers confronted when they got there.