The Ice Master (HB) by Niven Jennifer
This is a story of a disasterous expedition, treacherous crew members and extraordinary bravery. Drawing on previously unpublished letters of journals of crew members, their decendants and interviews with survivors, this book is the account of one of the most ambitious - and disasterous - Artic expeditions ever mounted. The Karluk set of in September 1913 and the ship and its crew were soon imprisoned in ice, abandoned by the expedition's leader. For five months those left behind eked out an existence on board, until they were forced to leave the ship when she was crushed by powerful ice floes. The ship went down in january 1914, and for two more months the ship's company lived on the polar icepack. Finally, the captain left his crew and walked seven hundred miles across the Artic to search for help. He reached civilization in May 1914 and the handful of survivors were finally rescued by a tiny schooner in September 1914. This is their story.
More and more books these days are dealing with danger-fraught, true-life expeditions, but Nevin's remarkable epic is something specialAs well as the customary descriptions of extraordinary bravery and a vividly realised Arctic backdrop, Nevin is able to stir treacherous crew members and the astonishing behaviour of the expedition's leader into her narrative. Sailing from British Columbia in 1913 in search of the undiscovered Arctic continent, the Karluk and its crew were soon imprisoned in ice, abandoned by the expedition's leader. The tale of their survival on the ship for five appalling months (until it was crushed by powerful ice floes) and their subsequent time on the Polar ice pack is a tale of bravery and horror such as fiction can rarely deliver. Despite the cool, dispassionate prose, the reader becomes closely caught up in the fate of the handful of survivors and Nevin uses the material available to her to characterise strongly the various protagonists. An astonishing read.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780333779606 |
| ISBN 10 | 0333779606 |
| Title | The Ice Master (HB) |
| Author | Niven Jennifer |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Pan Macmillan |
| Year published | 2000-11-10 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |