Roberts, David. Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration. New York: Norton. 2013. Print.
First Sentences:
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It was a fitful start to the most ambitious venture ever launched in Antarctica.
Description:
There's something about a survival story that always grabs me. A true story that pits people against impossible conditions is definitely my cup of tea. David Roberts' Alone on the Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration is one of the best (and most aptly titled) in this genre.
The year 1912 took place during the last and greatest era of exploration. Expeditions were mounted to explore the Amazon as well as the North and South Poles. It seemed a last opportunity for personal and national glory for men like Scott, Admunsen, Perry, Shakelton, and Fawcett in the shrinking world of discovery and challenge.
Enter Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1912. His goal was not personal glory but to scientifically explore areas already discovered in the Antarctic but only briefly examined. To survey this wilderness properly, he divided his men into five teams with specific sections of the ice to map and gather information about the animals, temperature, and terrain of this mysterious continent.
Once they left their base camp, unbelievable hardship follows each group, from 100-mph bitter winds, ice chasms that open unexpectedly to swallow men, starvation, illness, and hopelessness. After a time all teams were forced to turn back. Some staggered into the base camp almost unrecognizable with frostbite and haggard features. Others were not so lucky. Mawson's party was the last team remaining on the ice. His team knew if they did not return to base camp by the time the supply ship arrived to take them home, they would be abandoned.
It is Mawson's story, a man who shines as a leader, encouraging his party to keep on walking, keep on, keep on. Pulling sledges with equipment over jagged outcroppings of ice, Mawson and his men faced exhaustion, hunger, and frigid conditions each minute. Bottomless ice crevasses open up to threaten them with certain death. Mawson himself fell into one and was saved only by the help of a line of poetry.
If survival stories are your thing, this is probably the best ever. Bravery, danger, cold, and perseverance fill every page. Who will make it? Who will succumb to one of the hazards out there? Can the survivors reach base camp before the ship departs?
Strongly narrated and illustrated with never-before-seen photos of the Antarctic and the expedition, Alone on the Ice is a top read. Highly recommended
The year 1912 took place during the last and greatest era of exploration. Expeditions were mounted to explore the Amazon as well as the North and South Poles. It seemed a last opportunity for personal and national glory for men like Scott, Admunsen, Perry, Shakelton, and Fawcett in the shrinking world of discovery and challenge.
Enter Douglas Mawson, leader of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1912. His goal was not personal glory but to scientifically explore areas already discovered in the Antarctic but only briefly examined. To survey this wilderness properly, he divided his men into five teams with specific sections of the ice to map and gather information about the animals, temperature, and terrain of this mysterious continent.
Once they left their base camp, unbelievable hardship follows each group, from 100-mph bitter winds, ice chasms that open unexpectedly to swallow men, starvation, illness, and hopelessness. After a time all teams were forced to turn back. Some staggered into the base camp almost unrecognizable with frostbite and haggard features. Others were not so lucky. Mawson's party was the last team remaining on the ice. His team knew if they did not return to base camp by the time the supply ship arrived to take them home, they would be abandoned.
It is Mawson's story, a man who shines as a leader, encouraging his party to keep on walking, keep on, keep on. Pulling sledges with equipment over jagged outcroppings of ice, Mawson and his men faced exhaustion, hunger, and frigid conditions each minute. Bottomless ice crevasses open up to threaten them with certain death. Mawson himself fell into one and was saved only by the help of a line of poetry.
If survival stories are your thing, this is probably the best ever. Bravery, danger, cold, and perseverance fill every page. Who will make it? Who will succumb to one of the hazards out there? Can the survivors reach base camp before the ship departs?
Strongly narrated and illustrated with never-before-seen photos of the Antarctic and the expedition, Alone on the Ice is a top read. Highly recommended
Happy reading.
Fred
Fred
www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
The incredible true history of Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated voyage to explore Antarctica in 1914 that ended with every disaster possible: shipwreck, starvation, open-water lifeboat voyage, desperate overland travel, and unbelievable hardships too numerous to mention. All was held together by the will and leadership of Shackleton, the commander. Absolutely the best survival history ever.
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