In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic (A Modern Library E-Book) (Modern Library Exploration)

In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic (A Modern Library E-Book) (Modern Library Exploration)
Valerian Albanov (Author), Linda Dubosson (Author), David Roberts (Introduction), Jon Krakauer (Preface), Alison Anderson (Translator)
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Arctic

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-a story that Jon Krakauer calls an "astounding, utterly compelling book," and David Roberts calls "as lean and taut as a good thriller"-is nearly miraculous.

First published in Russia in 1917, Albanov's narrative is here translated into English for the first time. Haunting, suspenseful, and told with gripping detail, In the Land of White Death can now rightfully take its place among the classic writings of Nansen, Scott, Cherry-Garrard, and Shackleton.

• Rank: #58183 in eBooks
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Released on: 2001-02-01
• Format: Kindle eBook
• Number of items: 1

Description #1 by Biblio.com:

Modern Library 2001. Trade Paperback. Very Good. Bright copy. 2001 Trade Paperback. In the early 20th-century era of daring polar exploration the less-trumpeted fishing and hunting expeditions went largely unrecorded. Except that is for a recently discovered tale about a Russian hunter and his shipmate. Valerian Albanov's account of his 18-month-long survival in the Siberian Arctic remained unknown until a group of polar-literature enthusiasts rediscovered it in 1997. Translated into English for the first time In the Land of White Death competes with the adventures of famed heroes Robert Falcon Scott Apsley Cherry-Garrard and Ernest Shackleton. And like Scott's and Cherry-Garrard's narratives Albanov's tale is penned from a diary he kept during his remarkable ordeal. Albanov's epic begins in 1914 after he leaves the Saint Anna a sailing vessel bound for Vladivostok and new hunting territory 7000 miles across dangerous water. Only a few months into the voyage the ship is trapped in pack ice where it drifts helplessly with the Kara Sea ice flow for nearly one and a half years. With supplies dwindling and no hope of rescue Albanov the ship's navigator and 13 of his colleagues leave the boat and the remaining crew to look for land. Outfitted with sleds and kayaks built from scavenged fragments of the Saint Anna Albanov begins his 18-month trek to Franz Josef Land with a broken chronometer scant supplies and a team of inexperienced men.

Description #2 by Biblio.com:

New York: Modern Library 2000. First English language edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/very good . light wear to tips; jacket price-clipped. From the journal of member of a Russian expedition stranded in the Arctic. Albanov and his companions made a ninety day trek across ice to reach land braving blizzards and walrus and polar bear attacks. Introduction by David Roberts preface by John Krakauer. 205 pp. map eps.

Description #3 by shopoin.info:

"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-a story that Jon Krakauer calls an "astounding, utterly compelling book," and David Roberts calls "as lean and taut as a good thriller"-is nearly miraculous.First published in Russia in 1917, Albanov's narrative is here translated into English for the first time. Haunting, suspenseful, and told with gripping detail, In the Land of White Death can now rightfully take its place among the classic writings of Nansen, Scott, Cherry-Garrard, and Shackleton.File Size: 380 KBPrint Length: 288 pages Publisher: Modern Library (February 1, 2001) Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.Language: EnglishASIN: B000FC1ISQ"