race to the pole

I wonder why the author  made  Amuendsen to win the race  was Amuendsen his favourite charecter. i wonder if the author was present during these events  because the  book states that this story is true . i wonder what feelings the author had while he wrote his book  and why did the author chosse to write about this scene in his life . i wonder when the autor started writting the book and when he finished. i wonder if the author was one of the people in the expodition . i wonder  how the author  dicided the amount of days it took to get to the south pole