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Title: Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition by Leonard F. Guttridge ISBN: 0-425-17654-1 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: 07 November, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.37 (19 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Hurrah! for a book on the Lady Jane Franklin Bay expedition
Comment: If you're interested in the adventure literature of polar exploration you may already have noted that though intriguing references to the Lady Jane Franklin Bay expedition keep cropping up, nothing seems to be available in the literature to explain what it was -- how it came about -- what happened, and how the story survived to be told. Existing references were out of print or otherwise unavailable . . . until now!
The Ghosts of Cape Sabine tells the complete story of the Greely expedition to Lady Jane Franklin Bay. The ghastly mismanagement of the relief and rescue expeditions must be read to be believed, but it is all true. Guttridge's research uses previously unconsulted archival information to present a deeply affecting picture of the emotions and aspirations of the men of the expedition. Of particular interest to me was his exploration of the ways in which Greely's own perhaps over-careful instructions for relief and reprovisioning can be said to have contributed to the disaster that befell the expedition.
Under conditions of appalling stress and privation Greely's leadership was tested more severely than it had been even under fire, and it can be said that it was found wanting to an extent. Not every man can be a Shackleton. And still he brought every man in his command alive to Cape Sabine, and could have brought them all back home again -- if only, if only.
Guttridge is a fair and sympathetic historian who declines to either idolize or demonize, treating the personalities involved with compassion and respect. This book is an invaluable contribution to the literature of polar exploration. He writes well and with persuasive conviction, and does an altogether too effective job of communicating the horrors of Cape Sabine without stooping to sensationalism.
My thanks to Leonard Guttridge for making this story available one again -- and now I have to go look up his story about the Jeanette!
Rating: 5
Summary: The Ghosts of Cape Sabine - Major League Screw-up
Comment: I loved the book. If you enjoy adventure, history and reading about explorers and expeditions into extreme climates and dangerous places then this is a good book for you.
I have read many books dealing with both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions as well as exploration, mountain climbing and military history.
This is the story of an Army Signal Corp expedition and a series of screw-ups which left them stranded in the unforgiving climate of the Arctic. The extremes that these men were subjected to and the pressures brought to bear on them are mind boggling. We wonder what we would do under similar circumstances.
I came away thinking that there were really no "good guys" in this book, but lots of "bad guys" and just people who couldn't/wouldn't get along. Some had personality quirks that only magnified their plight and made things worse for everyone. No heroes in this account, only survivors. A good read.
Rating: 4
Summary: Cold Explorers and Cold Bureaucracy
Comment: In the 1880's Americans set the record for the farthest penetration north toward the pole.
The Greely Expedition set that record, from a camp established on far north Ellsworth Island in Canada. That was one of the few positives that saw an expedition of a dozen and a half men whittled down to six shoe eating survivors who were finally rescued two years and many tragedies later.
Greely's was an American military expedition -- though set off without the full or enthusiastic support of General Sherman or Sec. of War Lincoln (the President's son). In fact, Sec. of War Lincoln is one of the chief villains in the story -- the archetype cold bureaucrat who worries about everything but the lives of the men and their succor during their years of peril and while totally dependant on annual relief ships that never make their landing as agreed.
Although Greeley's first year went rather smoothly and the failure to find a relief ship worrisome thought not disastrous, the second absence forced the men to march through the frozen artic to an agreed upon rescue point some two hundred miles from their camp (Ft. Conger). Pre-positioned supplies were not there in quantities promised nor was an anticipated ship to take them home. The men had to winter in tents with few provisions, little game, and lessening hope. Most would die, cannibalism would become an element of survival and bureaucratic ineptitude would continue to prevent an organized and serious effort to help these men go forward.
The author has written a well researched and interesting book. He gives good concise backgrounds on Greely and the other principal players in the drama. Throughout the book she intersperses scenes from above the Arctic Circle with farcical scenes from Washington as the Army Department, Navy Department and the Army Department's Signal Bureau send memos, blame, investigations and poorly organized, manned and planned relief ships. Although sometimes the bureaucratic parts of the book drag, the glimpse it provides of an inept officialdom has to be told to be believed. And Greely's men suffered for it.
This is a good and exciting tale of arctic exploration and survival. The author uses the many diary entries the existed from men who were part of the expedition to recreate a believable first-person account of this strange and sad saga from our past.
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Title: Icebound: The Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole by Leonard F. Guttridge, Loenard F. Guttridge ISBN: 0425181782 Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group Pub. Date: 04 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Ice Master : The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk by Jennifer Niven ISBN: 0786884460 Publisher: Hyperion Pub. Date: 10 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909 by Pierre Berton ISBN: 1585741167 Publisher: The Lyons Press Pub. Date: August, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: In the Land of White Death by Valerian Albanov ISBN: 067978361X Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 17 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Weird and Tragic Shores: The Story of Charles Francis Hall, Explorer (Modern Library Exploration Series) by Chauncey C. Loomis, Andrea Barrett ISBN: 037575525X Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 04 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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