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Summary: Incredible Tue Survival Story - well told!
Review: I haven't read a book from cover to cover in years. I picked this one up and could not put it down. The other reviews provide a nice summary of the story, so I won't repeat them, but I just wanted to "vote" here to give this my TOP rating. The haunting, cold, survival story has the added dimension that it is a true story - assembled from the diaries and interviews of the actual people who this happened to. This would make for a wonderful PBS movie, or a mini-series
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Summary: Great. Reads like fiction but it happened
Review: In 1913, highly regarded Vilhjalmur Stefansson organizes a trip to the Arctic to prove his theory that a great continent lies beneath the ice. The HMCS Karluck left British Columbia only to be trapped in a monster block of ice. When the ice finally ripped open the hull, a desperate Captain Bartlett trekked across the ice cap seeking help for his endangered crew. Over a year after they left Canada, Bartlett returned with a whaling ship to rescue the few survivors of the ill-fated journey. THE ICE MASTER is an incredible true adventure work that is more exciting than most epic fiction. Jennifer Niven uses accounts and diaries and even an interview of the remaining survivor to draw a vivid picture of what happened. The story almost seems fictional it so well developed although there are moments when it slows down (as real life normally does). This non-fiction book is a great telling of a tragic real life adventure. Harriet Klausner
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Summary: Cold just reading this one!!!!
Review: Ms. Niven has pulled together a wonderful account of the survivors of the Karkuk. This book is simply riveting from beginning to end and a must read for survivalist story fans. The sinking of the Karluk is proven to be just the beginning of the tale, but she never lets us miss a detail of the drifting along the ice for several months. The cracking and crushing of the ice as it works its crushing hands against the ship is described so well, you can almost hear it. These men, stranded on Wrangel Island as their brave captain + Eskimo, lived on mere rations more almost a year and still maintained a sense of hope. The fact that many survived showed that chracter and the will to live can sometimes be much stronger than the perils of starvation and frostbite (May I never find this to be true in my own life....) Each day, is lived in such agony, we the reader, are brought along the journeys with them, and feel as if we are leaving a group behind as the men move about the ice and land. A fascinating book, and well worth reading. After this, I promise you, saying "It's cold in here" will have a completely different meaning.
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Summary: An Impressive Story of the Will to Survive
Review: On June 17, 1913, the Canadian Arctic Expedition contingent headed by Vilhajalmur Stefansson on board the ship "Karluk" embarked on its mission to find an unknown continent thought to lie somewhere in the unexplored region between Alaska and the North Pole. In mid-August the "Karluk" amid increasingly worsening weather conditions became trapped in the Arctic ice floe and drifted helplessly with the winds and currents. Eventually Stefansson decided to leave the ship and with part of the crew and Eskimo guides work his way toward land. Under the command of Captain Robert Bartlett, the "Karluk" and her remaining crew continued to drift north and west until becomming hopelessly ice bound near Wangel Island north of Siberia. Here the ship was destroyed and sunk by the crush of ice leaving Bartlett and his crew stranded in the frozen wilderness. While the crew struggled for existence at their base camps, Bartlett, the Ice Master, undertook an incredible 700 mile trek through the icy wilderness of Siberia to seek rescue. Jennifer Niven has used diaries, letters, and interviews with survivors and descendants to construct the remarkable details of the crew's fight to live and Bartlett's amazing journey. The events depicted in this book are all the more remarkable because they are true. The ability to cope with suffering, the perseverance in the face of overwhelming hardship, the manifestations of human strengths and weaknesses under pressure, and the overpowering will to live shown by Bartlett and his crew are almost beyond belief. The story ebbs and flows with the fate of the men. Like their unwanted repetitious and monotonous existence, the narration sometimes tends to become somewhat tedous. However, those who like true stories of exploration, adventure and survival will savor this book.
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Summary: Classic Arctic tale
Review: QUICK REVIEW
This is a strong and well written account of the tragedy of the Karluk and it's men. We see and feel the struggle to cope and survive in the harsh environment of the Arctic. It is a good book, and makes a nice addition to Arctic adventure literature. FULL REVIEW
This is a wonderfully composed telling of the story of the Karluk. It is well written and nicely put together. The author draws from many different sources to give a full account of the story, including diaries and journals of the men, articles, books, newspaper clippings and interviews. The character development is superb - allowing us to really picture each person and their individual personalities. This is so important. The book centers around who these people were so that we can understand their actions and why tragedy befell them. Readers will be amazed at the strength and endurance of some men while being angered by the selfishness and ineptitude of others. The story is made richer by this, but the story is great on it's own. A ship-full of men surviving in terrible arctic conditions in desperate situations. Men struggling to travel to safety over torn-up ice and seemingly impassable ice walls and open leads of water between large ice floes. On top of this - the fight against starvation and disease. The beginning part of the book can seem semi-slow or boring if the reader is looking for adventure right away, but much of it sets up the story and develops characters so we get the full picture if the entire tragedy. Overall, though, it is a great book and will be enjoyed by anyone interested in Arctic adventure (sad though it may sometimes be).
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Summary: Suspenseful and well told arctic history
Review: This is a well told story of an ill-fated Canadian exploration effort in the Arctic regions just before World War I. Vilhjalmar Stefansson (a polar explorer, anthropologist and author) leads an ill fated attempt to survey the Arctic (1913-1918) in hopes of claiming an Arctic continent under the polar ice cap for the Dominion of Canada. In his rush to be first, Stefansson poorly organizes, proceeds with an ill fated plan (or no plan at all) and eventually abandons one of his three ships locked in the polar ice. This is the true story of the heroic efforts of Capt. Robert Bartlett of the doomed ship Karluk and his struggle to walk across seven hundred miles of polar ice from Wrangell Island to Siberia and his return by ship to rescue the abandoned survivors and crew. There is madness, murder malingering...starvation, frostbite and death. Although, in his time Stefansson somehow managed to receive praise and avoid criticism for the realities of his abandonment of the Karluk, the true story of heroism and leadership is exemplified by Capt Bartlett. This author has done an excellent job in presenting a very suspenseful and thorough factual account of an amazing true tale. Readers of the histories of Shackleton, Amundsen, Scott and other polar explorers will not be disappointed. Readers without any previous readings on Arctic exploration will also be pleased with this amazing history that is capably researched and well presented. Read it near an open hearth fireplace or wrapped in a blanket as you're likely to freeze to death once you become immersed in the book!
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