HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and…
Loading...

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette (edition 2015)

by Hampton Sides (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,2245715,806 (4.33)126
In the late nineteenth 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, although theories abounded. The foremost cartographer in the world, a German named August Petermann, believed that warm currents sustained a verdant island at the top of the world. National glory would fall to whoever could plant his flag upon its shores. James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald, had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to re-create that sensation on an even more epic scale. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of 32 men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power. 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 frosty labyrinths, the expedition battled madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.… (more)
Member:Fourpawz2
Title:In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
Authors:Hampton Sides (Author)
Info:Anchor (2015), Edition: Reprint, 480 pages
Collections:Non-Fiction, Recommended by someone on LT, Wishlist
Rating:
Tags:Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction - History, Polar Exploration, rec by drneutron

Work Information

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides (Author)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 126 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 57 (next | show all)
Excellent. With a story like this, how you organize and. Present the facts is everything. Sides slowly builds interest, developing the chars ters, making you care about what happens to them, and then taking you along for the trip ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
An entertaining and mostly thrilling account of this famous arctic adventure. Some of the preliminary and by the way material seemed gratuitous, but maybe I was just eager for the story to begin. The story of the idea of the open polar sea is another fascinating look at what we are willing to believe strongly despite all evidence to the contrary.
==============
It has occurred to me, since I wrote this review, and as Christmas approaches and I read Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express to my grandson, that the idea of a mystical place at the north pole where Santa Claus can work with his elves, might be somehow tied up not just with the north pole's remoteness, but also with these other 19th century ideas about what might be there (e.g. a hole into the center of the earth and prehistoric creatures). ( )
  markm2315 | Jul 1, 2023 |
This was a fascinating voyage. I could not put it down. ( )
  franniepuck | May 7, 2023 |
What a fascinating historical account of an attempt to find the North Pole in the late 1800's! I love a good outdoor adventure story, and this one is well told by Mr. Sides. It would have been five stars except there was just a bit too much set up for my taste, but the book title really exemplifies the second half of the story, and it was riveting.

Captain de Long and his 33 person crew attempt to sail a specially fortified ship, the Jeannette, to the North Pole. Unfortunately, one of the main theories of the time was that the North Pole was surrounded by a warmer circle of ocean, and if you could just break through the ice barrier and get to that part of the ocean, all would be well. So that's what the Jeannette tried to do, and needless to say, it wasn't smooth sailing.

A subplot of the book is the touching love story between the captain and his wife as revealed through her letters to him.

I look forward to reading more books by this author. His account was detailed (perhaps sometimes too detailed), but very well told. ( )
  Anita_Pomerantz | Mar 23, 2023 |
This is one of the best non-fiction books I have read. The author weaves together the stories of the people involved in the polar voyage of the USS Jeannette, some of whom are very colorful characters. He also draws a vivid picture in the mind's eye of what life was like during the 1890s, both culturally and scientifically. He provides many arctic theories that were, at the time, widely accepted, but now seem incredulous that anyone could have believed them to be true. This book highlights the admirable leadership qualities of explorer George De Long, and the depths of hardship and adversity he and his crew faced during this arduous journey. It seems a shame that this voyage is not more widely known. Highly recommended. ( )
  Castlelass | Oct 30, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 57 (next | show all)
Hampton Sides's "In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette," which recounts the astonishing tribulations of a group of seafarers determined to be the first men to reach and reconnoiter the North Pole, is a splendid book in every way.
 
... as Hampton Sides illustrates in his vivid new book, “In the Kingdom of Ice,” hopelessly naive notions rarely lead to good outcomes in the Arctic.
 

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Sides, HamptonAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Morey, ArthurNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
The privilege isn't given to everyone . . . You must have suffered first, have suffered greatly, have gained some miserable knowledge. In that way your eyes are opened to it.
- - Henry James, 1881
Dedication
To My Brother
Link Sides
1957-2013
First words
(Prologue) On a misty morning in late April 1973, the Tigress, a steam barkentine out of Conception Bay, Newfoundland, was pushing through the loose floes and bergs off the coast of Labrador, heading for the seasonal seal-hunting grounds.
Close to midnight, on the evening of Sunday, November 8, 1874, as the early edition of the next day's New York Herald was being born, the gaslit building at the corner of Broadway and Ann Street bustled.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
In the late nineteenth 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, although theories abounded. The foremost cartographer in the world, a German named August Petermann, believed that warm currents sustained a verdant island at the top of the world. National glory would fall to whoever could plant his flag upon its shores. James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald, had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to re-create that sensation on an even more epic scale. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of 32 men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power. 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 frosty labyrinths, the expedition battled madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.33)
0.5
1 1
1.5
2 1
2.5 1
3 23
3.5 7
4 90
4.5 31
5 103

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,232,384 books! | Top bar: Always visible