Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Arctic Labyrinth:
If at first you don’t succeed, keep sending people to freeze to death.
Quick synopsis:
The history of the quest for the Northwest Passage.
Fact for Non-History People:
I’ve read a lot about this. Why did people think the Northwest Passage existed? Because it would be convenient if it did. That was their evidence.
Fact for History Nerds:
Even back then, the Northwest Passage did exist… kind of. It entirely depended on the ice that year which sometimes allowed for travel and sometimes imprisoned people who died agonizing deaths. Guess which years people kept trying to find it.
My Take on Arctic Labyrinth:
I’d rather be lucky than good.
When searching for the Northwest Passage, I definitely want to be lucky. Some of the most accomplished Arctic explorers met their ends trying to find the elusive Northwest Passage. Very often, the difference between life and death depended on the ice that year, the time of the year they arrived, and how long they planned to be iced in.
Williams chronicles all of the major attempts and how they ended. Inevitably, he also has to chronicle the rescue attempts which ended in heartbreak.
It should not be forgotten that the existence of the Northwest Passage and the Open Polar Sea are two amazing examples of human delusion. Neither held up to scientific knowledge of the day, and the Northwest Passage claimed numerous lives in futile effort after futile effort. Come read about them!
Verdict:
Amazingly comprehensive. Buy it here!
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