by Laird William Mckinley (Author)
William Laird McKinlay was a twenty-five-year-old Scottish schoolteacher when he set out as meteorologist on this 1913 expedition to the Arctic. Barely before the expedition had begun Karluk, their ship, was crushed and sunk in ice. He narrates the story of the crew's nightmare struggle for survival in the face of ignorance, lack of leadership and appalling conditions. No attempt had been made to select the crew for compatibility or strength of character, and they were untrained in any skills essential to survival in the Arctic. So they were left stranded in the Arctic ice while their leader continued his northern exploration, not returning for five years. Eight men died moving across the heaving ice floes, one man shot himself, two died of malnutrition and the rest barely managed to keep alive until rescue came. The account of their ordeal is a deeply moving tribute to human courage and endurance and, above all, to man's overpowering will to live.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Edition: New
Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 03 Jul 2003
ISBN 10: 0753811014
ISBN 13: 9780753811016
Book Overview: Following on from the success of the Women in History promotion, the Voyages promotion includes: advertising special discount incentives presenter, poster and dumpbin special series-style jackets Extraordinary story of survival and human endurance which taps into The Perfect Storm, Endurance, Into Thin Air market. Film rights have been optioned. 'This is a notable addition to the annals of Arctic exploration, a story of real heroism under appalling conditions, a noble epitaph for men who gave their lives to the quest for knowledge. Even if that a quest was ill-conceived, it does not diminish their courage, nor their contribution to the story of mankind.' Magnus Magnusson