Bibliograph

In the land of white death, an epic story of survival in the Siberian Arctic, Valerian Albanov ; preface by Jon Krakauer ; introduction and epilogue by David Roberts ; Alison Anderson, translator

Type

Label

In the land of white death, an epic story of survival in the Siberian Arctic, Valerian Albanov ; preface by Jon Krakauer ; introduction and epilogue by David Roberts ; Alison Anderson, translator

Language

eng

resource.biographical

contains biographical information

Illustrations

portraitsmapsillustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

In the land of white death

Responsibility statement

Valerian Albanov ; preface by Jon Krakauer ; introduction and epilogue by David Roberts ; Alison Anderson, translator

Series statement

Modern Library exploration

Sub title

an epic story of survival in the Siberian Arctic

Summary

"In 1912, six months after Robert Falcon Scott and four of his men came to grief in Antarctica, a thirty-two-year-old Russian navigator named Valerian Albanov embarked on an expedition that would prove even more disastrous. In search of new Arctic hunting grounds, Albanov's ship, the Saint Anna, was frozen fast in the pack ice of the treacherous Kara Sea--a misfortune grievously compounded by an incompetent commander, the absence of crucial nautical charts, insufficient fuel, and inadequate provisions that left the crew weak and debilitated by scurvy. For nearly a year and a half, the twenty-five men and one woman aboard the Saint Anna endured terrible hardships and danger as the icebound ship drifted helplessly north. Convinced that the Saint Anna would never free herself from the ice, Albanov and thirteen crewmen left the ship in January 1914, hauling makeshift sledges and kayaks behind them across the frozen sea, hoping to reach the distant coast of Franz Josef Land. With only a shockingly inaccurate map to guide him, Albanov led his men on a 235-mile journey of continuous peril, enduring blizzards, disintegrating ice floes, attacks by polar bears and walrus, starvation, sickness, snowblindness, and mutiny. That any of the team survived is a wonder. That Albanov kept a diary of his ninety-day ordeal ... is nearly miraculous. First published in Russia in 1917, Albanov's narrative is here translated into English ..."--Publisher's website

Table Of Contents

Why I left the Saint Anna -- Preparations for the sledge expedition -- Last day on board the Saint Anna -- Over the polar ice pack -- Death of sailor Bayev, futher discouragement, exhaustion -- Drifting southward -- Land ho! -- Alexandra Land -- The fateful journey to Cape Flora -- Cape Flora, Jackson and Ziegler's camp -- Preparing to winter over at Cape Flora -- Ship ahoy! -- Leaving Franz Josef Land

Classification