The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909

The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909
by Pierre Berton

The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909
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Book Summary Information

Author: Pierre Berton
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2000-08
ISBN: 1585741167
Number of pages: 672
Publisher: The Lyons Press

Book Reviews of The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909

Book Review: A Lucky Find
Summary: 5 Stars

My husband was cleaning out one of our closets last week and came across this book. I can't remember buying it, but I'm so glad I did...it's my new 'desert island book'. To be read, re-read and savored every time. The subject is fascinating and the way the author weaves together the explorers journeys, various other personalities and the history of the day makes it seem like you were (almost) there with them. Not only is it a terrific read, but it has a fabulous bibliography that will make a great jumping off point for further reading.

Summary of The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and The North Pole, 1818-1909

Culled from extensive research of handwritten diaries and private journals, Arctic Grail is the definitive book on the age of arctic exploration and adventure.

Journey across the ice with a Who's Who of polar explorers, men of every temperament, including the pious and ambitious Edward Perry, the first explorer to probe deep into the Arctic labyrinth; Adolphus Greely, a Civil War veteran who had to watch his men starve to death on Ellesmere Island; Robert McClure, who claimed that he was the first to find the fabled Northwest Passage; and the flawed hero John Franklin, a meek naval officer whose expeditions were responsible for the deaths of more men than those of any other Arctic explorer. Travel with the adventurer Roald Amundsen, the cool Norwegian who completed a voyage in a tiny sloop that the British Navy failed to accomplish with its great three-masted ships; Frederick Cook, who lied about reaching the North Pole; and finally, the ruthless and paranoid Robert Peary, who claimed to have reached the North Pole in 1909.

As much about the explorers who braved impossible odds as it is about each expedition, Arctic Grail is an epic account of the Golden Age of Exploration at the top of the world.

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