In the Kingdom of Ice (Sides)

In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
Hampton Sides, 2014
Knopf Doubleday
480 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385535373


Summary
A white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and survival in the Gilded Age.

In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: the North Pole. No one knew what existed beyond the fortress of ice rimming the northern oceans, although theories abounded.

The foremost cartographer in the world, a German named August Petermann, believed that warm currents sustained a verdant island at the top of the world. National glory would fall to whoever could plant his flag upon its shores.

James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of the New York Herald, had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. Now he was keen to re-create that sensation on an even more epic scale.

So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. De Long led a team of 32 men deep into uncharted Arctic waters, carrying the aspirations of a young country burning to become a world power. On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds in the grip of "Arctic Fever."

The ship sailed into uncharted seas, but soon was trapped in pack ice. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the hull was breached. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew abandoned the ship. Less than an hour later, the Jeannette sank to the bottom, and the men found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies.

Thus began their long march across the endless ice—a frozen hell in the most lonesome corner of the world. Facing everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and frosty labyrinths, the expedition battled madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.

With twists and turns worthy of a thriller, In The Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most unforgiving territory on Earth. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1962
• Where—Memphis, Tennessee, USA
• Education—B.A., Yale University
• Awards—PEN USA Award
• Currently—lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico


Hampton Sides is an American historian and journalist—author of several bestselling works of narrative history and literary non-fiction.

In addition to being a book author, Sides is editor-at-large for Outside magazine and has written for such periodicals as National Geographic, The New Yorker, Esquire, Men's Journal, and the Washington Post. His magazine work, collected in numerous published anthologies, has been twice nominated for National Magazine Awards for feature writing.

Sides has appeared as a guest on such national broadcasts as American Experience, the Today show, Book TV, History Channel, Fresh Air, All Things Considered, CNN, CBS Sunday Morning, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, The Colbert Report, and Imus in the Morning.

Books
His Ghost Soldiers (2001), a World War II narrative about the rescue of Bataan Death March survivors, has sold slightly over a million copies worldwide and been translated into a dozen foreign languages. Esquire called it "the greatest World War II story never told." The book was the subject of documentaries on PBS and The History Channel, and was partially the basis for the 2005 Miramax film, The Great Raid (along with William Breuer's The Great Raid on Cabanatuan). Ghost Soldiers won the 2002 PEN USA Award for non-fiction. The book's success led Sides to create The Ghost Soldiers Endowment Fund, a non-profit foundation dedicated to preserving the memory of the sacrifices made by Bataan and Corregidor veterans by funding relevant archives, museums, and memorials.

Blood and Thunder (2006) focuses on controversial frontiersman Kit Carson and his role in the conquest of the American West. It was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2006 by Time magazine, and selected as that year's best history title by the History Book Club and the Western Writers of America. The book was the subject of a major documentary on the PBS program American Experience and is currently under development for the screen.

Hellhound on His Trail (2010) is about the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the largest manhunt in American history to capture James Earl Ray. Ray pled guilty in 1969 and served the rest of his life in prison. Sides, a native of Memphis, is the first historian to make use of a new digital archive in that city (the B. Venson Hughes Collection), which contains more than 20,000 documents and photos, many of them rare or never before published. Sides’ research forms much of the basis for PBS’s documentary episode "Roads to Memphis", which originally aired May 3, 2010, on American Experience.

Personal
A native of Memphis with a BA in history from Yale, Sides lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife Anne Goodwin Sides, a journalist and former NPR editor, and their three boys, all soccer players. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/3/2014.)

Book Reviews
This first-rate polar history and adventure narrative…is a harrowing story well told, but it is more than just that. Sides illuminates Gilded Age society, offering droll anecdotes of [James Gordon] Bennett's escapades in New York, Newport and Europe. The author also convincingly portrays what it was like to survive in northern Siberia and provides an engaging account of the voyage of the Corwin, a kind of mail and police steamer that searched for the Jeannette and carried John Muir as a supernumerary.
Robert R. Harris - New York Times Book Review


As our knowledge of the world increases, it must be difficult for audacious explorers to find terra incognita to match their passion. Surely the same frustration holds true for writers in that worthy genre, exploration literature: Haven’t all great stories been told? Never underestimate the ingenuity of a first-rate author. Hampton Sides’s In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette, which recounts the astonishing tribulations of a group of seafarers determined to be the first men to reach and reconnoiter the North Pole, is a splendid book in every way… It would be malicious to ruin the suspense about the fate of the Jeannette’s crew… The book is a marvelous nonfiction thriller.
Wall Street Journal


America’s own brush with epic polar tragedy, the subject of Hampton Sides’ phenomenally gripping new book, is a less well-known affair…What ensued—a struggle to survive and a nearly 1,000-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean and into the vastness of Siberia—stands as one of the most perilous journeys ever. Sides works story-telling magic as he evokes the pathos and suffering of what unfolded: De Long and his crew endured hardships that boggle the mind. But there is also beauty here… [Sides] writes superbly on the geography of Siberia and the Arctic, and the abundant bird and animal life the explorers encountered on their travels, which took them across ice, storm-tossed seas, treacherous tundra, rocky seacoasts, and volcanic islands.
Boston Globe


Unforgettable…a pulse-racing epic of endurance set against an exceedingly bizarre Arctic backdrop…[Sides’] descriptions of the physical challenges the men face and the eerie landscape that surrounds them are masterful. As De Long and his crew attempt to save themselves, the story grows in suspense and psychological complexity…More strange and fantastic turns follow, involving uncharted and uninhabited lands, and it pains me that I cannot describe them without spoiling the pleasure of those who have not yet read In the Kingdom of Ice. Sides’ book is a masterful work of history and storytelling.
Los Angeles Times


There is enough humor, wonder, scandal and romance in these pages to make for good reading even if the ship never sets sail. It is well to be buoyed up by the first act because the Jeannette’s voyage is a disastrous one…The book’s final act is a stunning story of courage, loyalty and determination, at times horrifying, but not without moments of wonder… Exhaustively researched and brilliantly written, In the Kingdom of the Ice is the work of a top-notch historian and storyteller. Readers braced for its hardships are in for a great read.
Minneapolis Star Tribune


Compelling....Sides spins a propulsive narrative from obscure documents, journals and his own firsthand visits to the Arctic regions visited by the Jeannette and its crew. In the Kingdom of Ice makes for harrowing reading as it recounts the grim aspects of the explorers' battle for survival: illness, crippling frostbite, snow-blindness and the prospect of starvation. As grisly as the details are, you keep turning pages to find out how DeLong and his men pull themselves past each setback—even though there's always another one looming ahead.
USA Today


[Sides] brings vividness to In the Kingdom of Ice, and in the tragedy of the Jeannette he’s found a story that epitomizes both the heroism and the ghastly expense of life that characterized the entire Arctic enterprise…With an eye for the telling detail, he sketches the crew members as individuals…The bare facts of what happened to the Jeannette’s crew are easily Googleable, but if you don’t already know the story, In the Kingdom of Ice reads like a first-class epic thriller. De Long and his companions became explorers of not only unknown geographical territory but also extremes of suffering and despair. In his stoic endurance of disappointment and pain, De Long rivals Louis Zamperini, the hero of Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken.
Lev Grossman - Time Magazine


(Starred review.) In a masterful retelling, Sides chronicles American naval officer George Washington De Long’s harrowing 1879 expedition to the North Pole, an account as frightening as it is fascinating.... Impeccable writing, a vivid re-creation of the expedition and the Victorian era, and a taut conclusion make this an exciting gem.
Publishers Weekly


[A] lengthy, gripping, and well-written account.... Suspenseful and well grounded with biographical and historical context, Sides's work skillfully captures the passionate essence of determined explorer De Long, his indomitable compatriots, and the public's fascination with his quest .—Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI
Library Journal


(Starred review.) Another crackling tale of adventure from journalist/explorer Sides, this one focusing on a frigid disaster nearly 150 years ago.... A grand and grim narrative of thrilling exploration for fans of Into Thin Air, Mountains of the Moon and the like.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
(The following questions were submitted by Conrad Beattie and developed for the Men's Reading Group of Douglasville, Georgia. Many thanks, Conrad.)

1. What conditions in America and Europe had developed to set the stage for the “heroic age of exploration”? Is this the typical flow of history?

2. Had the British found the elusive Northwest Passage with their numerous Arctic expeditions, how might that have impacted the economies of America and Europe?

3. What was the allure of the Arctic to men like DeLong?

4. Aboard the Little Juanita, while searching for the Polaris crew, DeLong wrote that he felt a responsibility for his crew that “I do not desire to have again.” What caused him to change his mind?

5. How would you describe the character of James Gordon Bennett? Which of his antics seems the most bizarre?

6. What, do you think, was foremost in Bennett’s mind when he decided to underwrite the expedition?

7. In spite of the previous experience of all Arctic adventurers who had been thwarted by the ice and of the skepticism of men like Sir Clements R. Markham, the secretary of the Royal Geographical Society who scoffed at the idea of the Open Polar Sea and called it a “mischievous” idea whose arguments in favor of it were “all so obviously fabulous that it is astonishing how any sane man could be found to give credit to them”, the notion of the Open Polar Sea was a collective obsession. Why do you think that was the case?

8. Silas Bent (who had conducted extensive hydrographic surveys in the Pacific for the U.S. Navy) based many of his assumptions about the Kuro Siwo current in the Pacific Ocean on the work of Matthew Maury of the U.S. Naval Observatory who was a well-respected oceanographer, astronomer and meteorologist. Maury, in turn, based much of his belief in the Open Polar Sea on anecdotal evidence. What can be learned about the process of investigation and discovery from the experience of these two men?

9. Ancient legends of the Vikings spoke of Ultima Thule in the far north and the Greeks of Hyperboria. How much and in what way do you think these ancient legends affected the thinking of the proponents of the Open Polar Sea?

10. August Petermann, the eccentric German mapmaker, held stubbornly to his opinions in the face of contrary evidence provided by men who had actually been to the Arctic. In what way did his opinions and ideas negatively affect Arctic exploration?

11. As DeLong selected his crew for the Jeannette, did you have any misgivings about any particular crew members? If so, what and why?

12. Shortly before the Jeannette’s departure for the Bering Straits, the U.S. Coast Guard and Geodetic Survey schooner made its way out of the Arctic with findings that refuted the previously held assumptions regarding the Kuro Siwo current. Why do you suppose that raw data wasn’t shared with DeLong, knowing that he was about to embark for the Arctic? Note—the final report wasn’t issued until four years later!

13. Once entrapped in the ice they soon found that Bell’s telephones and Edison’s arc lights didn’t work and the chemicals for developing photographs hadn’t made it aboard the ship. The blame for all of this seemed to fall on Collins, the Jeannette’s scientist. How do you think that affected his disposition towards DeLong?

14. There seems to have been a sense of relief among the crew when the ship’s hull was finally breached by ice and it sank, casting them onto the ice. How would one account for such optimism in the face of disaster?

15. The rescue ship Corwin landed on St. Lawrence Island and discovered frightful conditions among the surviving populace of the Yupiks. Several explanations are given for the conditions they found on the island. Do you think the fault lay predominantly with the white man’s incursion into their world and if so, why? What can be learned from that episode?

16. As DeLong and his party made their way across the ice he gives fascinating insights into the nature of the ice itself. How did his insights differ from your own perceptions of the ice?

17. Once the party finally reached open waters, it became clear that the three boats differed significantly in their ocean going abilities. Was that an oversight on DeLong’s part when equipping the Jeannette for her journey? If so, what might he have done differently?

18. Once the crews of the boats (that survived the crossing) made it to the Siberian mainland progress seemed to slow almost to a standstill. What, in your opinion, was the most frustrating part of that section of the narrative?

19. It seemed, time and again, that Providence was on their side at the worst possible moments of their journey and that they were bound to make it to safety, yet DeLong and his boat crew ultimately perished. How do you reconcile that?

20. What, ultimately, was the legacy of the Jeannette?  Did their ordeal and sacrifice contribute much to the understanding of the Arctic or was it a fool’s errand?
(Questions courtesy of Conrad Beattie. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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