A Step Too Far

by Peter Bland

Peter BlandÕs life has always been about overcoming challenges and taking that extra step, but sometimes itÕs been a step too far. Like the time he stepped from his tent during an unsupported crossing of the Antarctic peninsula and was swept away by an avalanche, ending up unconscious and near death 40 metres down a crevasse. Or the time he dived under a stricken yacht adrift among icebergs in the Southern Ocean on a voyage to the South Magnetic Pole Ð without a wet suit and with the external air temperature minus 60 degrees Celsius Ð in order to free a rope that was wrapped around the propeller. Or how after major heart surgery to repair a massive aneurysm he dragged a sled 650 kilometres to become the first Australian to reach both magnetic poles. A Step Too Far is PeterÕs story. It is a tale of gripping adventure and survival in some of the planetÕs most inhospitable regions. It is an exciting and utterly absorbing study of a great adventurer.

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 16, 2009

About the author

Peter Bland is a poet and actor, whose writing commits to an everyday sub-urban sense of reality, often exploiting the framework of the dramatic monologue. He has a distinguished place in New Zealand theatre history as co-founder of Downstage and its artistic director 1964-68. He has worked as a stage and television actor and several of his own plays have been produced. Bland has published a large selection of poetry volumes in New Zealand and the UK. 'Coming Ashore' (Steele Roberts, ISBN: 978-1877577499) is his most recent collection. The Times Literary Supplement describes his poetry as 'vivid, witty, and original'.