Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic
by Jennifer Niven
List Price:
Our Price: $4.67
You Save: $10.28 (69%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.89 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Jennifer NivenEdition: Paperback
Published: 2004-11-03
ISBN: 078688746X
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: Hyperion
Book Reviews of Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic
Book Review: Fools in the Arctic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very interesting true story, of four young men lured to their deaths in the polar regions by V. Steffanson's tales of the "Friendly Arctic" where survival was easy. With minimal arctic experience, the four undertake an expedition to "claim" Wrangel Island for Canada (even though Canada did not want it and the island was known by all to belong to Russia.) Poorly planned, poorly equipped, and poorly executed, the fumbling expedition establishes a camp on Wrangel Island, raises the Canadian and British flags, and hunkers down to a slow demise of abandonment by V. Steffanson.
Ada Blackjack, a young Eskimo woman hired by the four to serve as seamstress, is recruited from Nome Alaska. Though descended from Eskimo people, she knows more of the "white men's" culture than her own, being able to read and write, etc. At first reluctant to undertake her responsibilities, as the privations of the expedition set in she becomes a stalwart support to the others, cooking, making arctic clothing from skins, etc. After three of the men sled off across the frozen sea on a hopeless gambit to get to Siberia for help, never to be seen again, Ada is left alone with the remaining member of the expedition, who is dying of scurvy. Left to her own resources, Ada teaches herself to hunt, trap, shoot, and build boats, recalling techniques and skills observed during childhood from observing her forebears. Ada faces her greatest fear, the dread "Nanook" (polar bears) that roam the island. Fighting starvation, hopelessness, and sickness, Ada valiantly strives to keep the remaining expedition member alive, only to see him slowly waste away from his sickness and die. Ada sojourns another two months before a rescue ship finally arrives, finding her to be the sole survivor of the expedition after over two years.
Returning to civilization, Ada is exploited by her rescuer and by V. Steffanson, who also exploit the memories, diaries, and belongings of the doomed expedition members. The book recounts Ada's subsequent life, trying to raise her sons and make a living in a world no less harsh and unforgiving than the one she had known in the arctic.
This book was a fascinating, well-written read and I intend to read the author's other book.
Summary of Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic
Now in paperback, the gripping and inspiring tale of a woman's survival alone in the Arctic.In 1921, four men and one woman ventured deep into the Arctic. Two years later, only one returned.When 23-year-old Inuit Ada Blackjack signed on as a seamstress for a top-secret Arctic expedition, her goal was simple: earn money and find a husband. But her terrifying experiences -- both in the wild and back in civilization -- comprise one of the most amazing untold adventures of the 20th century. Based on a wealth of unpublished materials, including Ada's never-before-seen diaries, bestselling author Jennifer Niven narrates this true story of an unheralded woman who became an unlikely hero.Women Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Take me away...
Sage Francis - A Healthy DistrustRelease date: 2005-02-08; Music CD
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops:
1208 - Feedback Is PaybackRelease date: 2002-02-26; Music CD
Best price: $7.54
Price in other shops:
Deviates - Time Is the DistanceRelease date: 2001-05-08; Music CD
Best price: $8.35
Price in other shops:
Descendents - Everything SucksRelease date: 1996-09-24; Music CD
Best price: $7.84
Price in other shops:
Sublime - SublimeRelease date: 1996-07-30; Music CD
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
Rise Against - The Sufferer & the WitnessRelease date: 2006-07-04; Music CD
Best price: $7.08
Price in other shops:
Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes FirstBAD RELIGION; Release date: 2004-06-08; Music CD
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
Pennywise - From the AshesRelease date: 2003-09-09; Music CD
Best price: $7.91
Price in other shops:
Pennywise - PennywiseRelease date: 1992-04-07; Music CD
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Dragonfly (Widescreen)Release date: 2002-07-30; DVD
Best price: $4.19
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Arctic Homestead: The True Story of One Family's Survival and Courage in the Alaskan Wildsby Norma Cobb, Charles W. Sasser, Charles Sasser
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2003-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.01
Price in other shops:
Fatal Passage: The Story of John Rae, the Arctic Hero Time Forgotby Ken McGoogan
Published: 2003-03-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.04
The Final Frontiersman: Heimo Korth and His Family, Alone in Alaska's Arctic Wildernessby James Campbell
Atria; Published: 2005-09-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.84
Price in other shops:
Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Polar Expeditionby Scott Cookman
Wiley; Published: 2001-02-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Two Old Women : An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survivalby Velma Wallis
Published: 2004-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.93
Mawson's Will: The Greatest Polar Survival Story Ever Writtenby Lennard Bickel
Steerforth; Published: 2000-02-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.27
Price in other shops:
Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wildernessby Robert Specht, Anne Purdy
Bantam; Published: 1984-07-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.34
Price in other shops:
A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska: The Story of Hannah Breeceby Hannah Breece
Vintage; Published: 1997-01-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arcticby Valerian Albanov
Modern Library; Published: 2000-10-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.18
Price in other shops:
Ice Master, The: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karlukby Jennifer Niven
Hyperion; Published: 2001-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.47
Price in other shops: