In 1845, British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer Sir John
Franklin (1786-1847) embarked on his third and final expedition into the
Canadian Arctic to force the Northwest Passage. After two years with no
word, a £20,000 reward was offered to anyone who could find the
expedition, leading to many rescue attempts. Two such attempts were
undertaken by Elisha Kent Kane (1820-1857), American explorer and United
States Navy medical officer. Despite contracting scurvy and suffering
greatly during his 1853 attempt, he continued on and went further north
than any other explorer had managed. Kane was eventually forced to
relinquish the icebound brig "Advance" on May 20, 1855 and spent the
next 83 days marching to Upernavik carrying the invalids--losing but one
man on the perilous journey. "Adrift in the Arctic Ice Pack" contains
Kane's personal account of his courageous but ill-fated rescue mission,
detailing the perilous conditions they had to endure and how they were
able to survive against all odds in the Arctic wasteland. Highly
recommended for those with an interest in Arctic exploration and history
in general. Read & Co. History is republishing this classic memoir now
in a brand new edition complete with an introductory biography by John
Knox Laughton.