In the kingdom of ice

History

Print length: 454 pagesDoubleday, 2014

Description

In 1879, the USS Jeannette enters the Arctic on an ambitious attempt to reach the North Pole. Hampton Sides traces the ideas and personalities behind the expedition, including cartographer August Peterman, publisher James Gordon Bennett, and naval officer George Washington De Long, before turning to the crew’s ordeal in the polar ice. When the trapped ship must be abandoned, exploration becomes a desperate struggle across a landscape of crushing pressure, extreme cold, hunger, and isolation. The account follows the men through the expedition’s final years while examining the optimism and technological confidence that sent them north. Its central tension lies between grand theories of conquest and the Arctic’s indifference to human plans.

Reading profile

About this profile

Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).

Writing: How much attention the sentences and language require.
Ideas: How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
Structure: How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
Background knowledge: Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
Emotional intensity: Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.

Writing style

Atmospheric · Descriptive · Journalistic

Pace

Brisk

Tone

Atmospheric · Bleak · Suspenseful · Tense

Structure

Chronological nonfiction

Focus

Atmosphere · Character · Plot

Emotional intensity

5 / 5

Reading complexity

1–5 · higher means more demanding

Writing: 3 / 5
Ideas: 3 / 5
Structure: 3 / 5
Background knowledge: 2 / 5

Themes

AmbitionIsolationMortalityNature and environmentSurvivalTechnology and society

Book details

For the print edition listed above.

Publisher: Doubleday
Language: English
ISBN: 9780385535373

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