Play Book Tag discussion

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides - 5 Stars

July Trim the TBR #23

On July 8, 1879 the USS Jeannette, 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. There was also a desire to either verify or invalidate the "Open Polar Sea" theory and to determine if the newly discovered Wrangel Land was part of much larger land mass, an unknown continent, stretching all the way to the North Pole.

Today it's almost impossible to believe how primitive the knowledge and technology of the day was a mere 150 years ago. Electricity and telecommunication were in their infancy and of little use to sailors. Alaska was only just opening up as a U.S. territory and the Arctic remained largely a mystery. So much that was confidently assumed about the Arctic was 100 percent wrong.

I really enjoyed this amazing book. It was engrossing, terrifying and impossible to put down. I would call it more of a historical narrative than a nonfiction book, which sometimes suffer from uninteresting facts and figures. Using newspaper accounts, personal logs, official documents and family letters, the author gives the reader an intimate look into the lives and adventures of these fearless explorers. The Jeannette was trapped in frozen sea-ice for over two years and her supplies of food and fresh water were running out and keeping warm was a constant struggle.

Some readers might complain about the slow pace at the beginning of the book because the actual voyage doesn't set sail until the middle of the book. I personally found the history of Arctic exploration and the set up to be quite interesting. Sure, I did fast forward through some of it, but not everything.

In The Kingdom Of Ice is a great read and I often had a hard time abandoning the book for something else that I had to do. I think that anyone with an interest in American history, Arctic exploration, or the early days of exploration would definitely enjoy reading it.

I also thought this book was fantastic! It is the only one I have red by Sides, but I keep saying I am going to get to other books by him. Some day...

Glad you enjoyed it and found it as fascinating as I did! I agree that it is so crazy to think that this was just 150 years ago. At the beginning when it saying that no one really knew was at the north pole and that many people thought it was a tropical ocean just surrounded by a rim of ice!

It makes me think what the world will look like in another 150 years!

I also loved this one!

This is on my TBR-good to see so many liked it!

I read Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission a couple years ago and then added In the Kingdom of Ice which has been languishing on my TBR for awhile. I'm so glad it was one of the Trim numbers drawn.

Olivermagnus wrote: "I read Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission a couple years ago and then added In the Kingdom of Ice which has been languishing on my TBR for awhil..."

This one is on the never ending list too!

This book is on my list of favorites. Glad you enjoyed it, too!

I have had Ghost Soldiers on my TBR for some time, I need to get to it! I have yet to read anything by sides but have seen many glowing reviews.