In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

I am related on my mother's side of the family (the California DeLongs) to George W. DeLong. Since we had no idea this book project was underway, we were extremely surprised and delighted to see a wonderful review of Mr. Sides' new book featured in our local newspaper. We immediately downloaded a copy of “In The Kingdom of Ice” to our Kindle and started reading it that very night. I must say we are all very pleased with the wonderful book Mr. Sides has authored, and not just because it is about g-g-Great Uncle George of whom we were already very proud. The quality of the research for this book was outstanding, and Mr. Sides has given full credit where credit is most richly deserved to the members of the team who assisted him. The quality of the written work itself was stellar as well, and it will be a good novel for anyone to pick up to read and enjoy. It did seem to take quite a while to develop the characters. However, while developing the characters, Mr. Sides was also exploring the myriad reasons for undertaking this perilous journey, many of which found their roots in the specious beliefs of the "arctic experts" of the day. To understand this journey, and the brave men who undertook it, it was necessary to meet and understand these complex characters and their motivations. I did find the book extremely hard to put it down once the characters were developed and the voyage was actually underway. Thank you Mr. Sides for writing a novel that brought me much closer to understanding a man I never knew, but have always have admired for the mark he left upon the world of Arctic exploring. Our entire family is very grateful for the wonderful book you have written, and we hope you continue to be successful as you move forward in your career.

I had just finished the authors recent book The Wide Wide Sea and couldn’t get enough of his incredible storytelling. This book, however, left me more gripped than the last. What an unbelievable story but it’s the authors attention to painstaking detail who made it so engaging and truly brought it to life. I loved this book, cried at the end knowing the fate of the brave explorers, and absolutely in awe of the power and will to live.

This is a harrowing tale, well told by the author. In a world where we are connected all the time, every where, it is hard to imagine the complete isolation these sailors endured. In a world of instant gratification, it is impossible for us to understand being on a ship in the arctic that was stuck in the ice over two years, not to mention their stunning efforts to get back to civilization. This book was pretty easy to read and brought the time period (1879-1881) to life quite effectively. Even though the voyage was a fools errand as we look back at it from over a century later, it is completely amazing to read about the courage, fortitude and determination of this group of explorers who left their own unique imprint on exploration and demonstrated incredible grace under the most difficult conditions. It is a perfect example of incredible teamwork and selfless dedication. I can feel a movie coming ... :)

On July 8, 1879 the USS Jeanñette, under the command of George W. De Long, sailed from San Francisco Harbor bound for the Bering Strait and the Polar Ocean north of the Arctic Circle. Her mission was to explore and chart the little known waters north the Siberian Coast in order to verify, or invalidate, the "Open Polar Sea" theory and to determine if the newly discovered Wrangle Island was, in fact, part of much larger land mass, an unknown continent, stretching all the way to the North Pole. I really enjoyed this amazing book, it was by turn; engrossing, terrifying and impossible to put down! "In The Kingdom Of Ice" is my first book by historian Hampton Sides and he does not disappoint. Not a History Text Book but an "Historical Narrative" that is both well written and well researched. Using newspaper accounts, personal logs, official documents and family letters, Sides gives the reader an intimate look into the lives and adventures of these intrepid explorers. The first part of the book is mostly background material on the principle characters and the society that they lived in. Besides De Long and his team you will meet the famous scientist and newspaper men of the mid 19th Century. While the expedition was under US Navy command it was mostly funded by the wealthy newspaper mogul Gordon Bennett who had previously backed the Stanley and Livingston rescues mission. You will also get to know De Long's wife and her point of view as expressed in her personal letters written to her husband during his harrowing expedition. More than a sea adventure this amazing book documents what men will go through just to survive in one of the harshest environments on Earth. The Jeanñette was trapped in frozen sea-ice for over two years and her supplies of food and fresh water were running out. Keeping warm was a never ending struggle as the stores of coal, heating oil and even wood to burn were slowly being exhausted. Then, an unexpected turn of events changed everything and suddenly the good Captain and crew were out of options. Now, to survive, they must somehow get away from the ice-pack, fight their way through treacherous sea-ice and navigate over a thousand miles of storm tossed Arctic Ocean before they could make landfall on one of the planet's coldest and most hostile coastlines: Siberia. For this final voyage they would need The Jeanñette's three surviving "life boats" and all the supplies they could carry. From here on out there would be no turning back, no second chances. But, even if they did somehow manage to make landfall, their prospects for survival would still be bleak. Just finding human settlements in this sparsely populated land would be hard enough and living "off the land" would also prove difficult. "In The Kingdom Of Ice" is a great read and a real "page turner". I think that anyone with an interest in American History and the early days of exploration should get a kick outta reading it. I know I did! I had no technical or downloading problems with this Kindle Edition. I also compared the print edition to the e-reader format and found them equitable. The book's maps and archival photos are included on the Kindle, in fact there are several "bonus" pictures added in. The only negative I could see was that both editions lacked a "cross reference index". Last Ranger

A sadly beautiful saga of This epic journey. Wonderful and respectful treatment of the main players. The author clearly had great respect 4The.e crew members of the Jennett

Learned a lot and was throughly entertained by the great story telling What more can you ask for

Very well written account of an amazing story. I find it fascinating the bravery of the early Arctic exploders with very basic equipment and navigation

This is a brilliant book. It is a fascinating account of an heroic Artic rescue attempt and of the astonishing resilience of the participants. The writing style is first class, combining a huge amount of background information with a momentum that never lets up. The best book I have read in a long time.

Hampton Sides’ storytelling genius and journalistic flair shine through on every page. The U.S.S. Jeannette Polar Expedition may be largely forgotten today outside circles of polar enthusiasts, but Sides does his best to set that right. This is a classic tale from the age of exploration — filled with dreams, hardship, courage, suffering, and the sheer strength of human endurance. Despite having read my share of exploration narratives, this one was new territory for me, and I plowed through it in genuine suspense. In short: a damn good read.

Storia e lavoro di ricerca eccezionale!