Product Description

"Absorbing.artfully narrat[es] a possible course of events in the expedition′s demise, based on the one official note and bits of debris (including evidence of cannibalism) found by searchers sent to look for Franklin in the 1850s. Adventure readers will flock to this fine regaling of the enduring mystery surrounding the best–known disaster in Arctic exploration."––Booklist

"A great Victorian adventure story rediscovered and re–presented for a more enquiring time."––The Scotsman

"A vivid, sometimes harrowing chronicle of miscalculation and overweening Victorian pride in untried technology.a work of great compassion."––The Australian

It has been called the greatest disaster in the history of polar exploration. Led by Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, two state–of–the–art ships and 128 hand–picked men––––the best and the brightest of the British empire––––sailed from Greenland on July 12, 1845 in search of the elusive Northwest Passage. Fourteen days later, they were spotted for the last time by two whalers in Baffin Bay. What happened to these ships––––and to the 129 men on board––––has remained one of the most enduring mysteries in the annals of exploration. Drawing upon original research, Scott Cookman provides an unforgettable account of the ill–fated Franklin expedition, vividly reconstructing the lives of those touched by the voyage and its disaster. But, more importantly, he suggests a human culprit and presents a terrifying new explanation for what triggered the deaths of Franklin and all 128 of his men. This is a remarkable and shocking historical account of true–life suspense and intrigue.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292515 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"A great Victorian adventure story rediscovered and re–presented for a more enquiring time." (The Scotsman, 26th August 2000)

From the Inside Flap
The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin’s Lost Polar Expedition

What turned the greatest Arctic expedition of the nineteenth century into the worst Arctic tragedy in history? Ice Blink (the name sailors gave the haunting mirages formed by reflections off pack ice) probes one of the most enduring mysteries in the annals of exploration–the baffling disappearance of the largest, best–equipped expedition of its day. Led by veteran Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, two ships and 129 handpicked officers and men sailed from Greenland on July 12, 1845, seeking a navigable shortcut to link the Atlantic and Pacific. It was the most technologically advanced mission of the nineteenth century–the Apollo program of its day. The ships were revolutionary: iron–plated, locomotive–powered, and steam–heated. They were equipped with desalinators, canned food–a recent innovation–the world’s first cameras, and other equally sophisticated gear. On July 26, Franklin’s ships were spotted by two whaling ships in Baffin Bay. They were never seen again.

Over the next fourteen years, more than fifty expeditions scoured the Arctic in search of Franklin and his men. In 1859, on desolate King William Island in the heart of the Arctic archipelago, searchers found evidence of catastrophe: a mountain of abandoned equipment, two skeletons, and a chilling message. Signed by the expedition’s second–in–command, it reported that Franklin’s ships, trapped in monstrous ice for nearly two years, had been deserted in April 1848. A total of twenty–four officers and men, including Franklin, were already dead, virtually all of them in the ten months before the vessels were abandoned. The 105 survivors had embarked on a desperate 900–mile march inland in an attempt to reach safety. Maddeningly, the message gave no clue as to what had caused the deaths and prompted the expedition to desert its still–sound ships and take its chances on the ice. In the years that followed, the skeletal remains of twenty or more Franklin crewmen were found scattered along their line of march, with gruesome evidence that they had resorted to wholesale cannibalism in order to survive. The rest of the party had vanished in the Arctic.

Whatever–or, more intriguingly, who–ever–was responsible for the Franklin tragedy will always be open to debate. In Ice Blink, Scott Cookman provides an unforgettable account of the ill–fated expedition, vividly reconstructing the lives and events of a voyage that began with the certainty of success and led instead into oblivion. Drawing upon original research, he also suggests a human culprit and reveals a terrifying new explanation for what triggered the expedition’s doom.

Ice Blink is a gripping adventure tale of an "infallible" voyage that failed monumetally, illustrating how mankind’s technology is mocked by Nature’s menace–and showing the best and worst in men.

From the Back Cover
"Absorbing…artfully narrat[es] a possible course of events in the expedition’s demise, based on the one official note and bits of debris (including evidence of cannibalism) found by searchers sent to look for Franklin in the 1850s. Adventure readers will flock to this fine regaling of the enduring mystery surrounding the best–known disaster in Arctic exploration."––Booklist

"A great Victorian adventure story rediscovered and re–presented for a more enquiring time."––The Scotsman

"A vivid, sometimes harrowing chronicle of miscalculation and overweening Victorian pride in untried technology…a work of great compassion."––The Australian

It has been called the greatest disaster in the history of polar exploration. Led by Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, two state–of–the–art ships and 128 hand–picked men——the best and the brightest of the British empire——sailed from Greenland on July 12, 1845 in search of the elusive Northwest Passage. Fourteen days later, they were spotted for the last time by two whalers in Baffin Bay. What happened to these ships——and to the 129 men on board——has remained one of the most enduring mysteries in the annals of exploration. Drawing upon original research, Scott Cookman provides an unforgettable account of the ill–fated Franklin expedition, vividly reconstructing the lives of those touched by the voyage and its disaster. But, more importantly, he suggests a human culprit and presents a terrifying new explanation for what triggered the deaths of Franklin and all 128 of his men. This is a remarkable and shocking historical account of true–life suspense and intrigue.

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
This is a melodramatic and sensationlist account of Sir John Franklin's last expedition. The brief biography of Franklin contains inaccuracies and paints him as a kind of bumbling oaf, which he was not. The account of the 'evil' Stephen Goldner heaps speculation on top of conjecture presented as fact. It is an entertaining read but certainly not the most informative or reliable work on Franklin and his fate.

An excellent introduction to Franklin's fated expedition.
As an introduction to the tragedy of Franklin's Arctic expedition to find the fabled North-West passage I don't think you could find a better book.

As well as providing a splendid 'potted' biography of Sir John Franklin, the book also paints a picture of the society and attitudes of the day which are all integral elements in the ultimate fate of Franklin's crews.

Scott Cookman has compiled an excellent commentary on the events that led up to the expedition, and has used all the available evidence to piece together a possible account of the events that took place once the ships left Greenland. The author's conclusions are of course his own, but provide a very convincing argument as to the underlying cause of this tragedy.

Throughout the book is peppered with tantilising tit-bits regarding other polar explorations of the day which will no doubt wet the appetite of anyone interested in this fascinating area of exploration.

A Poor Account
Sir John Franklin's expedition was new to me in all but the most cursory details. I thought this book might be an easy way into the subject, but it was not.

Plagued by two tiny maps which were such poor quality as to be illegible and with Sir John Franklin portrayed as some sort of hapless clown, desperate to prove himself following a lifetime of failure, the worst part of this book for me was the way that it 'revealed the plot' through the captions underneath the poorly-reproduced photographs. I already knew the entire story by the time I was a few pages in owing to this inept piece of publishing.

The account was biased in the extreme, most of it being taken up by a vilification of Stephen Goldner, the "facts" of which seem to be based on speculation rather than evidence. Contrary to what the other reviewers have said, I didn't even find this book engagingly readable.

Overall, I am still left looking for an unbiased and thought-out account of Franklin's expedition. This certainly wasn't it.