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A review by fionafsw
Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
3.75
After Sancton's 'Madhouse' and Lansing's 'Endurance' in the Antarctic, I pivoted northward with this book to find familiar polar landscapes, albeit with distinctively Arctic characteristics.
Easily the most riveting part of 'Labyrinth Of Ice' is the terrible ordeal at Cape Sabine, the conditions of which were so dire I find them hard to even fathom, let alone understand how any human could have survived them. Chilling (no pun intended), shocking, and quite devastating to read.
I found the writing mildly sensationalist, especially the beginning and the end, and a bit too heavy on the praise of Greely. He was no doubt an extraordinary leader facing extreme challenges, but when 3/4 of the expedition die under your watch, maybe some mistakes were made. The writing was also occasionally slightly repetitive and with minor language issues that the editor should have caught. No biggie, and still very entertaining, but with a story already so sensational, it was unnecessary for the author to hype it up even more.
Easily the most riveting part of 'Labyrinth Of Ice' is the terrible ordeal at Cape Sabine, the conditions of which were so dire I find them hard to even fathom, let alone understand how any human could have survived them. Chilling (no pun intended), shocking, and quite devastating to read.
I found the writing mildly sensationalist, especially the beginning and the end, and a bit too heavy on the praise of Greely. He was no doubt an extraordinary leader facing extreme challenges, but when 3/4 of the expedition die under your watch, maybe some mistakes were made. The writing was also occasionally slightly repetitive and with minor language issues that the editor should have caught. No biggie, and still very entertaining, but with a story already so sensational, it was unnecessary for the author to hype it up even more.