The Ice Master

This is a story of a disasterous expedition, treacherous crew members and extraordinary bravery. Drawing on previously unpublished letters of journals of crew members, their decendants and interviews with survivors, this book is the account of one of the most ambitious - and disasterous - Artic expeditions ever mounted. The Karluk set of in September 1913 and the ship and its crew were soon imprisoned in ice, abandoned by the expedition's leader. For five months those left behind eked out an existence on board, until they were forced to leave the ship when she was crushed by powerful ice floes. The ship went down in january 1914, and for two more months the ship's company lived on the polar icepack. Finally, the captain left his crew and walked seven hundred miles across the Artic to search for help. He reached civilization in May 1914 and the handful of survivors were finally rescued by a tiny schooner in September 1914. This is their story.