We see that javascript is disabled or not supported by your browser - javascript is needed for important actions on the site. Read more

What's New - Home - Login

Member $avings: $81,773,469.96 | Books Available: 721,585 | Members Online: 232

Swap Used Books - Buy New Books at Great Prices!

How To Swap Books Sign Up Search submenu

PBS Market (New Books)

Gift Buying Guide

Book Browser Advanced Search Books Posted Today Member Book Reviews Award Winning Books NYT Best Sellers Amazon Best Sellers Most Traveled Copies Club Wish List

Discussion Forums Book Lists

Club Lists My Book Lists My Watched Lists Create a List

Blog Donations

School Donation Program In Memory of... Military Donation Program Friends of PBS

Box-O-Books Maps The Eclectic Pen Fun Stuff

20 Questions Sudoku Bookmark Creator

Top 100

Requests Posts Swappers Referrers Reviewers

Pulse of PBS Spread The Word

Invite Friends Bookmarks Facebook Page Facebook App More Ways...

Photo Gallery Recipes Club Tag Cloud Member Testimonials

Help Center submenu

How To Swap Books Browse Help Docs Ask the Librarian PBS Member Icons Live Help

Kiosk

PBS Market (New Books) Go Shopping Buy Credits Buy PBS Money Upgrade Membership Gift Certificates Transfer Credits

Need Help?

Search - Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night

Madhouse at the End of the Earth The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night
Author: Julian Sancton

The harrowing true survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly awry -- with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter. — In August 1897, thirty-one-year-old commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail aboard the Belgica, fueled by a profound sense of adventure and dreams of claiming ... more »glory for his native Belgium. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica. But the commandant's plans for a three-year expedition to reach the magnetic South Pole would be thwarted at each turn. Before the ship cleared South America, it had already broken down, run aground, and lost several key crew members, leaving behind a group with dubious experience for such an ambitious voyage.

As the ship progressed into the freezing waters, the captain had to make a choice: turn back and spare his men the potentially devastating consequences of getting stuck, or recklessly sail deeper into the ice pack to chase glory and fame. He sailed on, and the Belgica soon found itself stuck fast in the icy hold of the Antarctic continent. The ship would winter on the ice. Plagued by a mysterious, debilitating illness and besieged by the monotony of their days, the crew deteriorated as their confinement in suffocating close quarters wore on and their hope of escape dwindled daily. As winter approached the days grew shorter, until the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, condemning the ship's occupants to months of quarantine in an endless night.

Forged in fire and carved by ice, Antarctica proved a formidable opponent for the motley crew. Among them was Frederick Cook, an American doctor -- part scientist, part adventurer, part P.T. Barnum -- whose unorthodox methods delivered many of the crew from the gruesome symptoms of scurvy and whose relentless optimism buoyed their spirits through the long, dark polar night. Then there was Roald Amundsen, a young Norwegian who went on to become a storied polar explorer in his own right, exceeding de Gerlache's wildest dreams by leading the first expeditions to traverse the Northwest Passage and reach the South Pole.

Drawing on firsthand accounts of the Belgica's voyage and exclusive access to the ship's logbook, Sancton tells the tale of its long, isolated imprisonment on the ice -- a story that NASA studies today in its research on isolation for missions to Mars. In vivid, hair-raising prose, Sancton recounts the myriad forces that drove these men right up to and over the brink of madness.

ISBN-13: 9781984824332
ISBN-10: 1984824333
Publication Date: 5/4/2021
Pages: 368
Rating:

Currently 3.3/5 Stars.

3.3 stars, based on 2 ratings

Publisher: Crown
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Members Wishing: 15
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Read All 1 Book Reviews of "Madhouse at the End of the Earth The Belgicas Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Betty O. (wvflatlander) reviewed Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night on 8/24/2022 + 86 more book reviews

Quite intense book about the expedition to Antarctica and the harrowing (especially mentally) experiences of the crew. Was maybe a bit slow at times, but still quite insightful.

Share/Like this Review?

Read All Book Reviews of "Madhouse at the End of the Earth The Belgicas Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night"

Genres:

Biographies & Memoirs >> Travelers & Explorers
Biographies & Memoirs >> Survival
History >> World >> 19th Century
History >> Arctic & Antarctica

Back to the Top ↑

Search - Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

Loading...