In the Kingdom of Ice

The best adventure book I have ever read, a must read!

After I got past the first, maybe, third of the book that sets up the voyage and the expedition actually embarks, I had a problem putting it down. While the very beginning of the book sets up the people, the circumstances, and the history behind the voyage, it got a little dry and boring. The expedition, however, is another story entirely. From their high spirits the very first day to the conclusion I wasn't expecting, I absolutely loved the remaining 2/3rds of the book. Highly, highly recommend, even if you feel the need to skip the first third. I won't judge.

This is just such a fascinating read of a group of truly incredible men venturing into a voyage more difficult than they could ever have imagined. My favourite parts of this book didn't come from the voyage itself though, but all the little tidbits about America in the Gilded age: The 1877 World's Fair which sounded like something out of a steampunk fantasy, the quirky super rich Newspaper editor, the misguided scientific theories causing people to believe that the North Pole might actually be warm, and so on.
I'm typically a sci-fi fantasy reader, but deep down it probably comes down to a fascination with new and unknown worlds. In the 19th Century, the North Pole was just that, and so this book of exploration really can read like a fantasy at times. Knowing it actually happened and that this is all based on meticulous logs makes the story all the more palpable.
I never really gave much attention to Gilded Age history or sailing adventures, but I took a risk on this only because I once read about scientific exploration of the North Pole in a magazine, and it seemed like a fun thing to learn more about. Now I think I might read more about these adventures to fill in the blank spots of the globe. Reading about the risks these people took for the purpose of extending knowledge of science and nature is just so fascinating, I want more now!

Is In the Kingdom of Ice the best nonfiction I've read this year? you ask.

It just might be.

But how can that be? you continue. Didn't you also read the amazing Dead Wake? And Being Mortal?

Yes. And yes.

You prod me, You just can't leave it at that. Tell me more.

But Kingdom of Ice is the incredible true story of some of the bravest men who ever lived, men who tried to take a ship to the North Pole in the 1870's, get trapped in the ice, have to abandon their ship when the vessel sinks, and attempt to travel over sea and land to Siberia in one of the coldest places on earth.

Yes, you say. I see. Now that's a story.

Yes. That's a story.

Magnificent, terrible, grand, fascinating.. This account of early American polar exploration is wonderfully written and told. Great adventure!

I never would have picked up this book to read, but it was sent to me as part of my First Editions Book Club and I trust the club's selections so thought I would give it a try. I have no interest in the North Pole or expeditions to the North Pole and I've never found the late 19th Century to hold my interest despite the fact I love history generally. Despite all that, I was caught up in the adventure and keep finding myself sharing tidbits from the story of the Jeanette with my husband, days after I finished the book. It's rather thick and I was almost finished with it when I had to leave for the airport for a short trip with only carry-on luggage. I hated to take the extra bulk and weight of the book knowing I'd probably finish it before the plane even took off, but I couldn't bear not to take it and know the end. So I did, and it was worth it.

These men a generation after the Civil War seemed to itch to find something glorious to do in light of the fact that many of their fathers had fought bravely in the war. And America was in an exciting time of invention, with the World's Fair in the US and inventors like Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison working on exciting projects. I still don't really understand the fascination with the North Pole and can't imagine venturing there in the conditions these men faced, knowing they'd be locked into ice packs for at least part of the trip, and taking themselves to a world where reaching safety would mean finding the northern most reaches of Siberia. For a place as forlorn as Siberia to be the place of safety is a scary thought, and to go into such cold, ice-bound, forbidding, unmapped regions holds no interest to me, but reading about the efforts of the men on the Jeanette did help me understand how others could want to seek out such adventures.

All in all, I highly recommend it!