In the Kingdom of Ice

The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette

By: Hampton Sides

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides returns with a white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and survival in the Gilded Age

In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: The North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans.

James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald, had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to re-create that sensation on an even more epic scale. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of 32 men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever."

The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship. Less than an hour later, the Jeannette sank to the bottom, and the men found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies. Thus began their long march across the endless ice - a frozen hell in the most lonesome corner of the world. Facing everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and frosty labyrinths, the expedition battled madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.

With twists and turns worthy of a thriller, In the Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most unforgiving territory on Earth.

©2014 Hampton Sides (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Compelling....Sides spins a propulsive narrative from obscure documents, journals and his own firsthand visits to the Arctic regions visited by the Jeannette and its crew. In the Kingdom of Ice makes for harrowing reading as it recounts the grim aspects of the explorers' battle for survival: illness, crippling frostbite, snow-blindness and the prospect of starvation. As grisly as the details are, you keep turning pages to find out how DeLong and his men pull themselves past each setback - even though there's always another one looming ahead." (USA Today)

"First-rate polar history and adventure narrative...wonderfully evocative.... Sides vividly recounts the horrors [of the voyage]. In the Kingdom of Ice is a harrowing story, well told." (The New York Times Book Review)

“[A] stunningly vivid account....” (Mark Bowden, New York Times best-selling author of Black Hawk Down)

WOW!

Any additional comments?

A mesmerizing audible book! I couldn't wait to get back into the car for my commute each day to jump back into this well-read heartbreaking true story. I am now hooked on arctic non-fiction!

One of the best books of 2014

If you could sum up In the Kingdom of Ice in three words, what would they be?

Adventure. Disaster. Triumph.

What other book might you compare In the Kingdom of Ice to and why?

It's a bit like Unbroken in that you are amazed at what humans can endure, but there are no bad guys, only the elements. The human spirit shines and inspires.

Which character – as performed by Arthur Morey – was your favorite?

Hermann Melville.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes. I loved the cheerful attitude of the men when trekking across the ice. It made me think about adding more cheer to my life, even when things look bleak. You have to trek across the ice anyway, right? Might as well be laughing and singing.

Any additional comments?

I was impressed by the wealth of historical information. I didn't just learn about the Jeannette, but about life in the late 19th century.

Couldn't put it down

Would you listen to In the Kingdom of Ice again? Why?

yes, because there is so much history and geography involved I am learning as I listen and do my own research

What was one of the most memorable moments of In the Kingdom of Ice?

Leaving their loved ones was very emotional

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

this is too long for one sitting

A great true story

I had no previous knowledge of this bit of history, so I had no idea whether the crew would survive or not. This made the story even more captivating. If you like books such as The River of Doubt, Miracle in the Andes, and Unbroken, you'll enjoy this one just as much as the others.

An amazing epic

The setting was long but crucial to begin. The story was one of hope, the human spirit, commoraderie, and vigil. Just a phenomenon of human spirit in total adversay. Loved it. The research that went in to this tale is crazy. Hats off!

Amazing story but glacial narration

The Jeanette's story is chilling, thrilling, and disconcerting, but the narrator's pace is glacial. Fortunately, he is bearable and still easily comprehensible to 1.25X.

Riveting

Would you listen to In the Kingdom of Ice again? Why?

Yes. It tells an epic story full of courage, humanity, and tragedy.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it's 17 hours long. As good as it is, it worked best for me in half-hour to one-hour installations.

Captivating Story

So many of the aspects and characters are of interest it leaves room for further exploration.

Interesting but didn't keep my attention

I found the whole topic of the polar sea to be fascinating. It's started slow and got better. But even though it was well written and thoroughly researched, my interested waned. I struggled to finish it. I do suspect that is partly because I knew the fate of the expedition going in. If I had not, I probably would have been more eager to get to the end.

Hats off to people who can endure such hardship and danger for the sake of science.

"Grand and Terrible" indeed

Over the course of this narrative I felt myself being carried away by the characters. I grew to respect George De Long, the consummate leader, whose detailed planning and preparation set the stage for the hopefully successful journey to the North Pole. I found myself deeply moved by Emma De Long, her long-suffering faithfulness to her unseen husband. I was intrigued by Bennett, the eccentric sportsman and financier. While this story would have been intriguing regardless of the authorship, Sides' descriptive writing and remarkable research filled details in the story that sometimes too my breath away.

To summarize, for the adventure lover, this is a must read.