An astonishing narrative of disaster and perseverance; The Last Voyage of the Karluk will thrill readers of adventure classics like Into Thin Air and The Climb. In 1913; explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson hired William McKinlay to join the crew of the Karluk; the leading ship of his new Arctic expedition. Stefansson's mission was to chart the waters north of Alaska; yet the Karluk's crew was untrained; the ship was ill-suited to the icy conditions; and almost at once the Karluk was crushed-at which point Stefansson abandoned his crew to continue his journey on another ship. This is the only firsthand account of what followed: a nightmare struggle in which half the crew perished; one was mysteriously shot; and the rest were near death by the time of their rescue twelve months later.Written some sixty years after the fact; and drawing extensively on his own daily log; McKinlay's narrative of this doomed expedition is rendered with remarkable clarity of recollection; and with a combination of horror and a level of self-possession that; to modern eyes; may seem incredible. Like most of his companions; McKinlay was inexperienced; without a day's training in the skills essential to survival in the Arctic. Yet he and many of his fellow crewmen; with the help of an Eskimo family accustomed to such conditions; survived a year under the harshest of conditions; enduring 80-mile-per-hour gales and temperatures well below zero with only the barest of provisions and almost no hope of contact with civilization.Nearly a century later; this remains one of the most compelling survival stories ever written-an extraordinary testament to man's overpowering will to live.
#331816 in Books 1995-03-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.24 x .37 x 5.49l; .44 #File Name: 0312096704182 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. EnlighteningBy Allison VeselkaWhen I receive my book; my intentions were to just read it for class as well as a supplement to working on my paper. However; the book is very insightful and entertaining; especially to those interest in the period of English colonization. The great thing about the book is the inclusion of several primary documents from that time.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy CustomerGreat book; great service.11 of 26 people found the following review helpful. Another book of the early Americas written by EuropeansBy A Customeri read this for a class in early-modern British History. The study of tracing Americas colonial roots in England is not common and this book attempts to give a start. I found the book amazingly repetitive in ideas and concerns and felt better research on the primary documents could have been done to find a wider range of views. There is also a historical error in calculating the number of Native Americans before contact (the book states 1 million and modern estimates are more like 2 million). It is a short read but take a lot of time to wade through the antiquated language of the Puritans.
