I had a hard time getting through this. Too many side stories made it easy to lose the narrative.

I’ve read several books about arctic exploration, but none more engrossing than Sides’ telling of the journey of the USS Jeannette. A combination of journal entries, letters and official logs of the exploration allow the reader to get to know some of the main players in getting the expedition funded and the Jeannette crew itself. Sides describes the arctic environment incredibly vividly. I couldn’t put the book down!

This book was gripping from page one to the very end. Excellent read!

Fascinating story. Excellently written.

This was one polar expedition I had never heard about. An epic tale of courage and naiveté, combined with adventurers choosing to believe the “science” that backed their hopes (much like today). Dumb mistakes, bad timing, great passion, and hard effort combined to create a doomed but heroic adventure. I have been to the arctic, and spent many years conducting field work in some tough conditions, but this makes me really admire what those early explorers went through to discover the unknown.

Thoroughly researched, this was a fascinating read. I happened to finish the book the night I arrived in Annapolis and found that there is a memorial to the exploration on the grounds of the Naval Academy.

I love reading about polar expeditions, and this is one of the very best. Sat up too late, couldn't put it down!

It took me few pages to settle in but when I did I could not put it down.

Starts ok, a bit slow in the middle, gets strong toward the end. I recommend it for readers interested in emotional, historic adventure stories.

This is by far the most incredible survival story I have ever read. It is well researched and documented with colorful accounts of all involved.