Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for In the Kingdom of Ice:
Nobody wants to be king of this kingdom.
Quick synopsis:
An account of the U.S Arctic Expedition of 1879-1881. It…. didn’t go great.
Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:
As late as this expedition, people still believed there was an open polar sea. Yes, in the 1880s, people thought it would get really cold, they would hit ice, and then open sea because reasons.
Fun Fact for History Nerds:
3 crewmen made a 1,000-mile round-trip to come back for their mates after they made it to safety.
My Take on In the Kingdom of Ice:
I love everything about the Arctic and Antarctic. It has so many harrowing stories of hardship, survival, death, and triumph. This story has all those things.
Hampton Sides does not spare any detail when writing his books. For anyone used to polar exploration stories, Sides seems to take a lot of time detailing the business aspect of the story. At first, it seems like a strange diversion for an adventure story but is quite integral.
The book then seamlessly slips to the expedition and the unbelievable hardships it faced. The hits are all here. Meticulous planning which constantly runs into competing interests and money issues. Additional tasks being added to the mission. A major question of whether all of these personalities will mix when locked into the ice. What makes this story different from many is the desperate attempt to survive at the end and the fact there was a real chance to save the entire crew. As I said, this story has it all.
If you don’t like the cold, read it in front of a fire.
Verdict:
Great book about an incredible story. Buy it here!
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