Shipwrecked on the Top of the World by David Roberts

Shipwrecked on the Top of the World by David Roberts

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Summary

Roberts' quest to reconstruct perhaps the most amazing and inspirational survival story in history: the tale of how four eighteenth-century sailors endured six years on a barren Arctic island.

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Shipwrecked on the Top of the World by David Roberts

While reading Valerian Albanov's IN THE LAND OF WHITE DEATH David Roberts came across an old legend of four shipwrecked Russian sailors who had managed to survive for six years on Svalbard in the high Arctic. Incredulous, Roberts - an expert on exploration literature - determined to learn the truth about this astonishing story. This book is the result of that quest, a journey that took Roberts to libraries and archives on two continents and eventually to Russia and Svalbard itself. In 1743 a Russian ship bound for Arctic walrus-hunting grounds was wrecked by ice, stranding four of its crew - the only survivors - on a tiny island. With minimal provisions they endured six years of ice- bound hell: they collected driftwood for fires and with homemade lances killed ten polar bears (nine of which attacked them) for food. Concluding with Roberts' own four-man expedition to the desolate island where the ordeal took place, this riveting book explores more than just the struggle of men against nature - it ponders the genius of survival against impossible odds which turns a true story into a legend that, centuries later, still fires the imagination.
'David Roberts' relentless pursuit of the truth of four men's story engages us in a riveting journey.. This monumental tale ... deserves the impressive research efforts of a writing talent like Roberts' Pen Hadow, Polar explorer; 'David Roberts does a phenomenal job of piecing together this elusive and remarkable piece of history ... Roberts turns this book into a gripping suspense thriller' Jennifer Niven, author of THE ICE MASTER.
David Roberts is the author of a dozen previous books. His writings on the outdoors, adventure, and history have appeared in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, ATLANTIC MONTHLY, and THE SMITHSONIAN, among other publications. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780316724890
ISBN 10 0316724890
Title Shipwrecked on the Top of the World
Author David Roberts
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Little, Brown & Company
Year published 2004-02-05
Number of pages 320
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.