In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette: Audiobook Review
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette – An Audio Book Review
- In the Kingdom of Ice
- Author: Hampton Sides
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hours and 30 minutes
- Unabridged
- Genre: History
CD available to BUY at Amazon.
Audio book Summary:
In the late 19th century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of “Arctic Fever.” The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice.
Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship. Less than an hour later, the Jeannette sank to the bottom, and the men found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies. Thus began their long march across the endless ice – a frozen hell in the most lonesome corner of the world.
Facing everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and ice labyrinths, the group battled insanity and starvation as they desperately fought for survival.
With twists and turns worthy of a thriller, In the Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most unforgiving territory on Earth.
Reactions:
“Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding novel written about the epic naval expedition to the North Pole taken by 33 men in the late 1800’s. It was believed that a rim of ice circled the top of the globe that, once broken, lead to a warmer “open polar sea.’” The North Pole would then be easy sailing. Their passion for adventure leads them to years and years of survival and endurance in the most extreme of conditions. Hampton Sides details this adventure in a thriller that had me sneak reading throughout the day and staying up late into the night. His heartfelt portraits of these heroic figures using memoirs, crew’s journals, naval records and private correspondence created unforgettable characters that I soon cared very deeply about.” – Jen
“Masterfully written, the author brings together many first person accounts and weaves them together into a seamless whole. It helps, of course, that both Captain and Emma DeLong are fabulous writers in their own right, as is Melville.” – Natalie
“I would recommend this to everyone, regardless of the type of prose you prefer. It is an important recount of our history and intriguing to learn about a somewhat forgotten time.” – John
“It is long by audio book standards but it was worth it because of the entire context of the era provided. It helps answer the question “why” that most often comes up when you read or listen to these stories of exploration. This is a good compliment to all the Antarctic exploration/disaster books. It is hard to believe that not that long ago there were no cell phones, satellites, airplanes, etc. People went on these expeditions with two years of supplies into an unmapped region of our own planet.” – Dennis Hinkamp
“This is too long for one sitting but there is so much history and geography involved I am learning as I listen and do my own research.” – Tony
Score on Audible: 4.4 out of 5
Score on Amazon: 4.7 out of 5
