Reviews
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides
bellisk's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic book that properly deserves a six-star rating. With access to a huge trove of original material, Hampton Sides has reconstructed in fascinating detail the genesis, preparation, voyage and fate of the USS Jeannette and her crew. This is a story of heroic achievements and tragedy set against some of the grandest landscapes of the world, which vividly calls up the personalities of the people involves and is highly readable to boot. The one negative aspect of reading this book was the amount of sleep I lost staying up late to read 'just one more page...'
rosiecheeks's review against another edition
first 20% is all so rambly for seemingly no good reason. didn't even get into what the book is actually meant to be about :T
rmichno's review against another edition
5.0
Well written, fast-paced story of an amazing group of men. Unforgettable lessons in human survival despite all the obstacles thrown at them. Heartbreaking at times but well worth the read.
mjsteimle's review against another edition
4.0
Great book about the polar expedition of the USS Jeannette. In the late nineteenth century, many believed that there was a great polar sea surrounded by a ring of ice at the top of the world. If a ship could just get past the ice it could sail over the north pole and into the opposite hemisphere. Operating on this belief, newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett (the same publisher who sent Stanley to find Livingstone in Africa) financed an expedition led by George De Long. If you read the subtitle, you know that the voyage didn't turn out as planned. Well written and interesting.
adamschoenmaker's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps some superfluous information in the opening chapters, but still, a harrowing story beautifully written.
firerosearien's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Takes a little while to get going, but once itdoes it's hard to put down. All the more remarkable for being true.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
hekate24's review against another edition
4.0
Things go wrong out in nature all the time. People can go missing and die horribly just a mile from well-worn, popular hiking trails. So, needless to say, all that danger is magnified once you head out to some of the most extreme climates on the planet. It's kind of insane sailing to either of the poles now. Imagine doing it without any real knowledge of what you'd find out there.
This is a very good, exhaustive account of largely tragic Arctic voyage in the late 19th century. It's interesting but, right now, fresh off finishing it, I mostly just feel sadness about it. Hampton Sides is very good at making you understand all the various personalities of the highly competent Jeannette's crew. There was squabbling and resentment that built up over time but, for the most part, everyone did their best. One gets the sense that many of the people who died could have contributed a lot, had they not gone north under extremely faulty assumptions. Assumptions that most of educated society held to be true, sometimes to the point of sounding delusional. At one point, Emme De Long (I think) muses on how you can measure someone's life versus scientific achievement. This voyage definitely answered many questions about the north pole, but it's hard to read it without feeling a sense of loss.
This book is more like 4.5 for me, but I'm rounding down instead of up because the passages on Bennett felt interminable. He's quite the character; the quintessential wealthy Gilded Age man. But by the same token he's freaking insufferable and not that important to the actual voyage. AKA why people read this book. The book is 25% over before the Jeannette even sets sail, and it's because we have to linger over Bennett's failed courtship, and weird duel with his ex's brother. Amusing stuff, but not the most riveting or relevant material.
This is a very good, exhaustive account of largely tragic Arctic voyage in the late 19th century. It's interesting but, right now, fresh off finishing it, I mostly just feel sadness about it. Hampton Sides is very good at making you understand all the various personalities of the highly competent Jeannette's crew. There was squabbling and resentment that built up over time but, for the most part, everyone did their best. One gets the sense that many of the people who died could have contributed a lot, had they not gone north under extremely faulty assumptions. Assumptions that most of educated society held to be true, sometimes to the point of sounding delusional. At one point, Emme De Long (I think) muses on how you can measure someone's life versus scientific achievement. This voyage definitely answered many questions about the north pole, but it's hard to read it without feeling a sense of loss.
This book is more like 4.5 for me, but I'm rounding down instead of up because the passages on Bennett felt interminable. He's quite the character; the quintessential wealthy Gilded Age man. But by the same token he's freaking insufferable and not that important to the actual voyage. AKA why people read this book. The book is 25% over before the Jeannette even sets sail, and it's because we have to linger over Bennett's failed courtship, and weird duel with his ex's brother. Amusing stuff, but not the most riveting or relevant material.
altlovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
After I got past the first, maybe, third of the book that sets up the voyage and the expedition actually embarks, I had a problem putting it down. While the very beginning of the book sets up the people, the circumstances, and the history behind the voyage, it got a little dry and boring. The expedition, however, is another story entirely. From their high spirits the very first day to the conclusion I wasn't expecting, I absolutely loved the remaining 2/3rds of the book. Highly, highly recommend, even if you feel the need to skip the first third. I won't judge.
mark_lm's review against another edition
3.0
An entertaining and mostly thrilling account of this famous arctic adventure. Some of the preliminary and by the way material seemed gratuitous, but maybe I was just eager for the story to begin. The story of the idea of the open polar sea is another fascinating look at what we are willing to believe strongly despite all evidence to the contrary.
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It has occurred to me, since I wrote this review, and as Christmas approaches and I read Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express to my grandson, that the idea of a mystical place at the north pole where Santa Claus can work with his elves, might be somehow tied up not just with the north pole's remoteness, but also with these other 19th century ideas about what might be there (e.g. a hole into the center of the earth and prehistoric creatures).
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It has occurred to me, since I wrote this review, and as Christmas approaches and I read Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express to my grandson, that the idea of a mystical place at the north pole where Santa Claus can work with his elves, might be somehow tied up not just with the north pole's remoteness, but also with these other 19th century ideas about what might be there (e.g. a hole into the center of the earth and prehistoric creatures).