It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it.

Its not always necessary to be strong, but to feel strong.

I think part of the appeal of Antarctica is experiencing some sort of power, the forces of the natural world.

The endless, agonizing recycling of what might have been, soon followed by a litany of rationalizations and self-deceptions as you struggle to reconcile the void between the person you want to be and the person you fear you are.

I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute.

I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head. But that only added to the scheme’s appeal. That it wouldn’t be easy was the whole point.

Mr. Franz, I think careers are a 20th century invention and I don't want one.