Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 1741-1742

by Georg Wilhelm Steller, O. W. Frost (Editor)

The European discovery of the northwest coast of America is fully and dramatically recorded in this journal, an invaluable historical and scientific source document. It is also a gripping narrative of human conflict, of nature as the overwhelming adversary, of terror and pain and death, and of final deliverance. In the service of the Russian tsarina, the German naturalist Steller accompanied the great Danish explorer Vitus Bering on a voyage that survived shipwreck and unimaginable hardship to mark the beginning of Alaska's recorded history. This book is a new translation and annotation of Steller's journal of that voyage and the first to be based completely upon a surviving copy of Steller's manuscript dated 1743 (previous translation had been based on a 1793 edition). The journal is the best known of Steller's writings, not so much because of events along the way, or its biological and anthropological observations, not even because of the momentous sight of the Alaskan coast and the subsequent landings, but because of the harrowing events of the return voyage. Thirty-two men of the 78 who set sail died, including Bering himself; 46 survived shipwreck in the winter of 1741-42 on a treeless, uninhabited island, and returned finally to home port on Kamchatka in a small vessel built from timbers of the wrecked ship. On the island, Bering and his lieutenant had become too ill to function and Steller found himself taking the lead in organizing work parties, finding antiscorbutic plant and animal food, nursing the six, and cheering the depressed―actions that kept all from perishing.

Genres: American History, Science, Travel

262 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

Reviews

[Hancock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. A real-life Robinson Crusoe adventure laced with a great deal of natural history, oceanography, layman’s meteorology, ….

[Jim Corson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Georg Steller was a physician & naturalist on this rather ill fated voyage to the Aleutian Chain in Alaska. He ultimately managed to save the ship-wrecked crew and at the same time make wonderful observations of the plants and animals he saw. Very interesting reading is actual journal. Have read two other books about this same trip. Great Read!

[David Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adventure to beat all adventures. Captain-commander Vitus Bering leads a fleet of two ships east from Kamchatka peninsula. And the going eastward was handled with haste but on the return the ships moved in closer to the Aleutian islands and made some landings.
This slows down their return passage and consequently ended with a great loss of life. Yes, scurvy.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoying this very much but it is slow going because I have to look up the footnotes in the back like 4 or 5 times per page.



Now that I've finished it my opinion is pretty much the same.A good story but the footnotes are a pain.

[Mills College Library]

910.09164 S8243 1988