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Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition
"Simply compelling."--Mordecai Richler. "A cautionary tale of scholarly merit."--William S. Burroughs. "Chilling...will keep you up nights turning pages."--Peter Gorner, The Chicago Tribune. In 1845, Sir John Franklin set off, determined to "penetrate the icy fastness" of the Arctic. But he and his 129 men never made it. For the next 35 years, more than 20 major rescue parties searched fruitlessly for the vanished expedition. In this updated version of a bestseller that sold over 118,000 copies, a top forensic anthropologist and a historian tell the dramatic tale of excavating three sailors from the Franklin party. The bodies, well preserved by the permafrost, gave up their secrets to 20th century science, and the researchers pieced together a story of horrific starvation, scurvy, and cannibalism...Absolutely unforgettable--with photos in both color and black and white. The authors both live in Alberta, Canada. 192 pages, 43 color illus., 5 x 7 3/4.
278 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1987
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May 8, 2023
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April 6, 2017
"Oh! Is that a zombie book?!"
- Millie, my five year-old daughter, when she saw the cover of Frozen in Time
My oldest daughter Millie has just started paying attention to my reading. Generally, this is a good thing. In terms of modeling behavior, reading a book is better than drinking a glass full of Yellow Tail chardonnay and ice cubes, or playing video games, or doing both at once.
It has also led to some interesting conversations.
A couple weeks ago, I was finishing a book called Scorpions, about FDR and four of his Supreme Court Justices. There’s nothing super fascinating about the cover, especially for a youngster. It is, in fact, sort of boring, adorned with the faces of five older white gentlemen staring off into space. Nevertheless, Millie picked it up and started spelling out the title: “S-C-O-R-P-I-O-N-S.”
“What does that spell?” she asked.
ME: Scorpions.
MILLIE: Like the bug.
ME: Yes.
MILLIE: Why is it called that?
ME: Because the men in this book didn't like each other very much, and they fought like scorpions.
MILLIE: How do scorpions fight.
ME: [I launch into a rather lengthy explanation of scorpions, their stingers, their attitudes, and what they do to each other when placed in close confinement].
MILLIE: I want to see!
So I pulled up some videos on YouTube. We spent ten minutes watching scorpions fight each other. After that, we watched a lengthy duel between a scorpion and a spider. It was time well spent. Another victory for literacy!
Flash forward to now. Things got a little more complicated with Owen Beattie and John Geiger’s Frozen in Time. The cover, you see, is a picture of John Hartnell, taken in 1984. The thing is, John Hartnell died in 1846. He’d been a member of the doomed Franklin Expedition that had attempted to map the Northwest Passage. Among the first of that crew to die, he was buried in the permafrost and essentially mummified by cold.
When Millie saw it, she shrieked in terror and interest. She immediately asked if I was reading about zombies.
ME: No, this isn’t a zombie. It’s a mummy.
MILLIE: What’s the difference.
ME: [I paused for a moment, to decide whether this was a conversation I wanted to have]. A zombie is undead. It can move around and eats –
MILLIE: Mummies can move.
ME: No they can’t.
MILLIE: Yes they can! [She then put her arms straight out and walked like a mummy out of Scooby Doo].
ME: Touché.
MILLIE: What’s that mean?
ME: It means you made a good point.
MILLIE: How?
ME: [I talk a bit about the French language, about fencing, and about debate. Eventually, I get us back on topic].
MILLIE: So that’s not a zombie?
ME: No, it’s a mummy. The difference between a zombie and a mummy is that mummies are real. This is a human being who died a long time ago. His name was John.
MILLIE: Oh.
At this point, Millie ran off. I assumed I’d lost her at some point during my digressionary discursion about competitive sword fighting. But then I heard the scamper of feet, and she was back at the couch, this time with a stuffed pony (I believe it’s called “Rainbow Dash”). She jumped up on the couch next to me.
“Tell me the story!” she demanded.
I’ll tell you what I told her. This is the tale of 129 men who went to the Arctic in 1845 and never came back. They sailed on two ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, both of which disappeared. None of the expedition survived. What we know of their fates has come to us in small, fleeting scraps of information that hint at an immeasurable horror. (Before you call child protective services, rest assured that the immeasurable horror went unmentioned during our talk).
Beattie and Geiger’s Frozen in Time is about the Franklin Expedition, but in a very focused and particular way. They have a theory about what happened, and most of this book is dedicated to how they derived a hypothesis, went into the field to test it, and then arrived at a conclusion. That conclusion – which for a time, gained pretty widespread credence – is that the men of the Franklin Expedition suffered from lead poisoning. According to Beattie and Geiger, the sailors ingested the lead from improperly soldered tins of preserved meats and vegetables. (There was a certain dark irony to this supposition, since the tinned food was relied upon to ward off the great scourge of sailors: scurvy).
If you’re starting from scratch vis-à-vis the Franklin Expedition, it’s important to note that Frozen in Time never attempts a reconstruction of Franklin’s last voyage. There is precious little space given over to the details of the trip, or the biographies of the men who made it. Frozen in Time starts with a survey of prior Polar expeditions that has a very particular aim. Specifically, the authors note the consistent emergence of a condition referred to as “debility” that afflicted many of the sailors on these journeys. The implication is that these Arctic missions were not only beset by cold and ice and scurvy, but on some malady as yet unnamed.
After this section, the authors move into a recounting of the various rescue expeditions launched to find Franklin. In this, the best part of the book, you learn about the clues (both frustratingly vague and fascinatingly open to interpretation) left in Franklin’s wake. These include three bodies of sailors who died early in the voyage (and who are the focal point of this book’s investigation); an official message left by the expedition in a cairn, written at two different points, which give only cursory information; and reports by the Inuit, long ignored, that tell of white men dying on the ice, and of cannibalism.
Taken together, it’s an unstable foundation for any hard theory, but that’s part of this story’s grim allure. Beattie and Geiger don’t spend much time on the expedition itself, though, because they are focused on the corpses at King William’s Island, and in proving their hunch that lead poisoning played a crucial role.
What I say next might be taken as a “spoiler” (I don’t believe historical realities are spoilers), but it’s more a PSA for potential readers. I enjoyed this in spite of its conclusions, rather than because of them. The exhumation of the three Franklin sailors, and the autopsies, were done in the early 1980s. Frozen in Time was first published in 1987. The paperback version I read is copyrighted 2004, and states that it is “substantially revised.” I wish I knew what that meant, because it’s never explained. I do know, however, that the story of Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated crew has kept going. Only recently, both Erebus and Terror were discovered beneath the sea. More to the point, more-modern scientific analyses of Beattie’s data (a professor of anthropology, co-author Beattie led the group that exhumed the Franklin sailors) cast a strongly negative light on this book’s findings. Turns out that lead poisoning might not have been a causal factor after all.
It’s important to know that Frozen in Time’s bottom-line findings are possibly – if not probably – incorrect. This can still be enjoyed, as I enjoyed it, as the work of dedicated seekers after one of the great maritime mysteries in history. It might be wrong, but it moved the argument forward.
Just hide the cover from your children.
- Millie, my five year-old daughter, when she saw the cover of Frozen in Time
My oldest daughter Millie has just started paying attention to my reading. Generally, this is a good thing. In terms of modeling behavior, reading a book is better than drinking a glass full of Yellow Tail chardonnay and ice cubes, or playing video games, or doing both at once.
It has also led to some interesting conversations.
A couple weeks ago, I was finishing a book called Scorpions, about FDR and four of his Supreme Court Justices. There’s nothing super fascinating about the cover, especially for a youngster. It is, in fact, sort of boring, adorned with the faces of five older white gentlemen staring off into space. Nevertheless, Millie picked it up and started spelling out the title: “S-C-O-R-P-I-O-N-S.”
“What does that spell?” she asked.
ME: Scorpions.
MILLIE: Like the bug.
ME: Yes.
MILLIE: Why is it called that?
ME: Because the men in this book didn't like each other very much, and they fought like scorpions.
MILLIE: How do scorpions fight.
ME: [I launch into a rather lengthy explanation of scorpions, their stingers, their attitudes, and what they do to each other when placed in close confinement].
MILLIE: I want to see!
So I pulled up some videos on YouTube. We spent ten minutes watching scorpions fight each other. After that, we watched a lengthy duel between a scorpion and a spider. It was time well spent. Another victory for literacy!
Flash forward to now. Things got a little more complicated with Owen Beattie and John Geiger’s Frozen in Time. The cover, you see, is a picture of John Hartnell, taken in 1984. The thing is, John Hartnell died in 1846. He’d been a member of the doomed Franklin Expedition that had attempted to map the Northwest Passage. Among the first of that crew to die, he was buried in the permafrost and essentially mummified by cold.
When Millie saw it, she shrieked in terror and interest. She immediately asked if I was reading about zombies.
ME: No, this isn’t a zombie. It’s a mummy.
MILLIE: What’s the difference.
ME: [I paused for a moment, to decide whether this was a conversation I wanted to have]. A zombie is undead. It can move around and eats –
MILLIE: Mummies can move.
ME: No they can’t.
MILLIE: Yes they can! [She then put her arms straight out and walked like a mummy out of Scooby Doo].
ME: Touché.
MILLIE: What’s that mean?
ME: It means you made a good point.
MILLIE: How?
ME: [I talk a bit about the French language, about fencing, and about debate. Eventually, I get us back on topic].
MILLIE: So that’s not a zombie?
ME: No, it’s a mummy. The difference between a zombie and a mummy is that mummies are real. This is a human being who died a long time ago. His name was John.
MILLIE: Oh.
At this point, Millie ran off. I assumed I’d lost her at some point during my digressionary discursion about competitive sword fighting. But then I heard the scamper of feet, and she was back at the couch, this time with a stuffed pony (I believe it’s called “Rainbow Dash”). She jumped up on the couch next to me.
“Tell me the story!” she demanded.
I’ll tell you what I told her. This is the tale of 129 men who went to the Arctic in 1845 and never came back. They sailed on two ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, both of which disappeared. None of the expedition survived. What we know of their fates has come to us in small, fleeting scraps of information that hint at an immeasurable horror. (Before you call child protective services, rest assured that the immeasurable horror went unmentioned during our talk).
Beattie and Geiger’s Frozen in Time is about the Franklin Expedition, but in a very focused and particular way. They have a theory about what happened, and most of this book is dedicated to how they derived a hypothesis, went into the field to test it, and then arrived at a conclusion. That conclusion – which for a time, gained pretty widespread credence – is that the men of the Franklin Expedition suffered from lead poisoning. According to Beattie and Geiger, the sailors ingested the lead from improperly soldered tins of preserved meats and vegetables. (There was a certain dark irony to this supposition, since the tinned food was relied upon to ward off the great scourge of sailors: scurvy).
If you’re starting from scratch vis-à-vis the Franklin Expedition, it’s important to note that Frozen in Time never attempts a reconstruction of Franklin’s last voyage. There is precious little space given over to the details of the trip, or the biographies of the men who made it. Frozen in Time starts with a survey of prior Polar expeditions that has a very particular aim. Specifically, the authors note the consistent emergence of a condition referred to as “debility” that afflicted many of the sailors on these journeys. The implication is that these Arctic missions were not only beset by cold and ice and scurvy, but on some malady as yet unnamed.
After this section, the authors move into a recounting of the various rescue expeditions launched to find Franklin. In this, the best part of the book, you learn about the clues (both frustratingly vague and fascinatingly open to interpretation) left in Franklin’s wake. These include three bodies of sailors who died early in the voyage (and who are the focal point of this book’s investigation); an official message left by the expedition in a cairn, written at two different points, which give only cursory information; and reports by the Inuit, long ignored, that tell of white men dying on the ice, and of cannibalism.
Taken together, it’s an unstable foundation for any hard theory, but that’s part of this story’s grim allure. Beattie and Geiger don’t spend much time on the expedition itself, though, because they are focused on the corpses at King William’s Island, and in proving their hunch that lead poisoning played a crucial role.
What I say next might be taken as a “spoiler” (I don’t believe historical realities are spoilers), but it’s more a PSA for potential readers. I enjoyed this in spite of its conclusions, rather than because of them. The exhumation of the three Franklin sailors, and the autopsies, were done in the early 1980s. Frozen in Time was first published in 1987. The paperback version I read is copyrighted 2004, and states that it is “substantially revised.” I wish I knew what that meant, because it’s never explained. I do know, however, that the story of Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated crew has kept going. Only recently, both Erebus and Terror were discovered beneath the sea. More to the point, more-modern scientific analyses of Beattie’s data (a professor of anthropology, co-author Beattie led the group that exhumed the Franklin sailors) cast a strongly negative light on this book’s findings. Turns out that lead poisoning might not have been a causal factor after all.
It’s important to know that Frozen in Time’s bottom-line findings are possibly – if not probably – incorrect. This can still be enjoyed, as I enjoyed it, as the work of dedicated seekers after one of the great maritime mysteries in history. It might be wrong, but it moved the argument forward.
Just hide the cover from your children.
June 29, 2009
Never, ever, ever go on an expedition in the arctic.....NEVER.
July 26, 2018
I finished this last night, and I can't believe how fast I read it. I could not put this down. Quite often books of this nature, where details are related in painstaking order, can end up being somewhat slow or dry. For me this was not at all the case with this book. I knew the basics about the expedition and the attempts to find Franklin, his ships, and his men, but I didn't know the specifics. The effort that went into solving the mystery of what happened to the Terror and Erebus in 1845-1848 was incredibly thorough and actually continues to this day. This book relates all of the attempts to at first save and then sadly salvage the bodies and artifacts from the expedition in order to figure out why Franklin and his crew disappeared during an expedition that was sure to succeed and would become a celebration of the discovery of the Northwest Passage.
The Terror and Erebus set out from England on May 19, 1845 to sail to Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound through to the Bering Strait and ultimately complete a Northwest Passage. The ships were outfitted with the most up-to-date technology (it was the one of the first voyages to carry a camera), and enough food and supplies to last three years. The bulk of the food was in tins, 8,000 to be precise, and the expedition was widely expected to be a great success. Sadly, Franklin could not know that the icy winters of 1845-1848 were to be some of the worst in the history of the area. Terrible weather and ice that beset the ships for almost the entire duration of their 3 years in the Arctic, combined with poorly made tins that not only poisoned the crew, but in many cases putrefied and become inedible, ultimately led to the demise of every man onboard. Weakened by scurvy and lead poisoning, and with diminishing rations, the men who didn't succumb in the early part of the expedition were finally forced to walk while dragging sledges of supplies to civilization. None of those men made it out.
For years the world speculated over the fate of the Franklin Expedition. Many ships were sent early in the following years, initially as rescue operations, but then after too many years had passed, simply as recovery expeditions to determine the fate of the men. Inuit people recounted seeing the ships and the white men dragging sledges across the barren landscape. Initially they tried to trade with the sailors, but then they started to encounter corpses and remains that suggested cannibalism. Victorian ideology refused to believe that the upstanding men or the Franklin expedition would ever resort to such heinous acts, and so the Inuit people were widely vilified in England. Years passed, and the search for Franklin and his crew eventually stopped.
However, in 1981 Owen Beattie and a group of other anthropologists decided to resume the search for Franklin and to finally discover what had caused the mission to fail. This book is his account of the years he spent following the trail left by earlier salvage expeditions and his eventual discovery of what really happened to the 129 men on that fateful journey. I was utterly captivated by these modern day expeditions and the clues that were collected that eventually told a heartbreaking tale of a mission that was doomed to fail before the ships even sailed up the Thames. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Franklin Expedition. I was instantly interested in this story the moment I finished the fictionalized account The Terror by Dan Simmons. Once I watched the AMC television series based off of Simmons' novel I was fully obsessed. This book was a natural progression of my obsession, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The Terror and Erebus set out from England on May 19, 1845 to sail to Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound through to the Bering Strait and ultimately complete a Northwest Passage. The ships were outfitted with the most up-to-date technology (it was the one of the first voyages to carry a camera), and enough food and supplies to last three years. The bulk of the food was in tins, 8,000 to be precise, and the expedition was widely expected to be a great success. Sadly, Franklin could not know that the icy winters of 1845-1848 were to be some of the worst in the history of the area. Terrible weather and ice that beset the ships for almost the entire duration of their 3 years in the Arctic, combined with poorly made tins that not only poisoned the crew, but in many cases putrefied and become inedible, ultimately led to the demise of every man onboard. Weakened by scurvy and lead poisoning, and with diminishing rations, the men who didn't succumb in the early part of the expedition were finally forced to walk while dragging sledges of supplies to civilization. None of those men made it out.
For years the world speculated over the fate of the Franklin Expedition. Many ships were sent early in the following years, initially as rescue operations, but then after too many years had passed, simply as recovery expeditions to determine the fate of the men. Inuit people recounted seeing the ships and the white men dragging sledges across the barren landscape. Initially they tried to trade with the sailors, but then they started to encounter corpses and remains that suggested cannibalism. Victorian ideology refused to believe that the upstanding men or the Franklin expedition would ever resort to such heinous acts, and so the Inuit people were widely vilified in England. Years passed, and the search for Franklin and his crew eventually stopped.
However, in 1981 Owen Beattie and a group of other anthropologists decided to resume the search for Franklin and to finally discover what had caused the mission to fail. This book is his account of the years he spent following the trail left by earlier salvage expeditions and his eventual discovery of what really happened to the 129 men on that fateful journey. I was utterly captivated by these modern day expeditions and the clues that were collected that eventually told a heartbreaking tale of a mission that was doomed to fail before the ships even sailed up the Thames. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Franklin Expedition. I was instantly interested in this story the moment I finished the fictionalized account The Terror by Dan Simmons. Once I watched the AMC television series based off of Simmons' novel I was fully obsessed. This book was a natural progression of my obsession, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
June 8, 2021
Two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, were launched by the Royal Navy in 1848 to find the Northwest passage through the Arctic seas and islands to the Pacific Coast. Sir John Franklin led the expedition, hence the name Franklin. The ships were both equipped with the latest technology.
Page 13-14 (my book)
The Erebus had a library of 1,700 volumes, while the Terror carried 1,200, including everything from narratives of earlier Arctic expeditions and geographical journals, to Charles Dickens “Nicholas Nickleby” and bound copies of Punch magazine.
The two boats with their 129 crew members disappeared in the vastness of the Arctic seas.
Over the years many expeditions were launched by the Royal Navy to attempt to find and determine what happened. Lady Franklin, the wife of Sir John Franklin, who was wealthy, launched her own expeditions. Some expeditions were also launched from the United States. There were findings on different islands of remnants of the ships and a few burial grounds.
In 1981 Owen Beattie and a research team, from the University of Alberta, started their own investigation. They visited campsites and gravesites from the Franklin expedition. They were scattered across islands in the Arctic (something I find rather puzzling – as in why did they breakup into so many different groups?).
They brought back bones that were thought to have belonged to a sailor of one of the two ships. When an analysis was done on the bones there was a toxic amount of lead found. This changed the nature of their investigation. Over the next few summers, they exhumed three bodies at Franklin expedition gravesites. They had to get innumerable permits to do this – it was not just a simple matter of arriving and let’s dig up the bodies.
Being buried in the permafrost the bodies were well-preserved.
Page 106 – the research team at the exhumation of petty officer John Torrington
All stood numbed and silent. Nothing could have prepared them for the face of John Torrington, framed and cradled in his ice-coffin. Despite all the intervening years, the young man’s life did not seem far away; in many ways it was as if Torrington had just died.
The result of these forensic examinations was sent back to the labs in Alberta – confirming the toxic amount of lead.
The other aspect found was with the tinned food – where the lead would have originated from. It was not sealed properly and could have led to food poisoning. So, these poor sailors were faced with both tainted food and the cumulative affects of lead poisoning.
This is a great scientific adventure story connecting past and present (well the 1980s since this book was published in 1988). It is amply illustrated with many pictures.
Page 13-14 (my book)
The Erebus had a library of 1,700 volumes, while the Terror carried 1,200, including everything from narratives of earlier Arctic expeditions and geographical journals, to Charles Dickens “Nicholas Nickleby” and bound copies of Punch magazine.
The two boats with their 129 crew members disappeared in the vastness of the Arctic seas.
Over the years many expeditions were launched by the Royal Navy to attempt to find and determine what happened. Lady Franklin, the wife of Sir John Franklin, who was wealthy, launched her own expeditions. Some expeditions were also launched from the United States. There were findings on different islands of remnants of the ships and a few burial grounds.
In 1981 Owen Beattie and a research team, from the University of Alberta, started their own investigation. They visited campsites and gravesites from the Franklin expedition. They were scattered across islands in the Arctic (something I find rather puzzling – as in why did they breakup into so many different groups?).
They brought back bones that were thought to have belonged to a sailor of one of the two ships. When an analysis was done on the bones there was a toxic amount of lead found. This changed the nature of their investigation. Over the next few summers, they exhumed three bodies at Franklin expedition gravesites. They had to get innumerable permits to do this – it was not just a simple matter of arriving and let’s dig up the bodies.
Being buried in the permafrost the bodies were well-preserved.
Page 106 – the research team at the exhumation of petty officer John Torrington
All stood numbed and silent. Nothing could have prepared them for the face of John Torrington, framed and cradled in his ice-coffin. Despite all the intervening years, the young man’s life did not seem far away; in many ways it was as if Torrington had just died.
The result of these forensic examinations was sent back to the labs in Alberta – confirming the toxic amount of lead.
The other aspect found was with the tinned food – where the lead would have originated from. It was not sealed properly and could have led to food poisoning. So, these poor sailors were faced with both tainted food and the cumulative affects of lead poisoning.
This is a great scientific adventure story connecting past and present (well the 1980s since this book was published in 1988). It is amply illustrated with many pictures.
February 24, 2025
Rewelacyjna książka! Bardzo podoba mi się jak dokładnie i rzetelnie zostały opisane badania, które przybliżyły nieco tajemnicę porażki wyprawy Franklina. Niezwykle szczegółowa i dokładna, a jednocześnie niepozbawiona emocji. Wciąż jest wiele białych plam, nic dziwnego, że losy wyprawy mimo upływu tylu lat są wciąż tak mocno fascynujące.
Myślę, że nie bez znaczenia jest to, że czytałam Terror Dana Simonsa, dzieki temu nie miałam poczucia, że czytam o obcych ludziach, eksponatach sprzed 150 lat, ale o realnych osobach. Zastanawiałam się na ile Terror jest adekwatny historycznie, a ile w nim fikcji, okazało się, że jest dość dokładny biorąc pod uwagę wiadome fakty, a białe plamy są wspaniale zagospodarowane fikcją. Polecam bardzo ten zestaw!
Myślę, że nie bez znaczenia jest to, że czytałam Terror Dana Simonsa, dzieki temu nie miałam poczucia, że czytam o obcych ludziach, eksponatach sprzed 150 lat, ale o realnych osobach. Zastanawiałam się na ile Terror jest adekwatny historycznie, a ile w nim fikcji, okazało się, że jest dość dokładny biorąc pod uwagę wiadome fakty, a białe plamy są wspaniale zagospodarowane fikcją. Polecam bardzo ten zestaw!
June 9, 2020
Haunting, distributing, atmospheric and educational - Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition is this and more.
From detailed source accounts comprising a bevy of topics (the nutritional value tinned cans as food aboard the ships, letters to the sailors from loved ones, and more), this chilling tale of the doomed Franklin Expedition to the Arctic to chart the North Passage is a historians and general interest readers' delight - despite the macabre and detailed exhumation of frozen corpses some 130years since being encased in ice.
Written in bite sized chunks, the authors maintain a constant and easy flowing narrative that takes the reader on a journey pre dating that of the 1845-48 expedition to provide context and depth to the troubles Franklin and co. faced during that ill-fated voyage to their icy graves. The later stages of the book detail the dangerous conditions of the Arctic in the 1980's, recreating that same bone chilling atmosphere that was prevalent throughout the 1840's and beyond.
While comprising a good amount of scientific terminology, Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition is easy to read and doesn't come across as heavy or cumbersome, that said - I did feel the need to read something lighter afterwards (the images of the frozen corpses on King William Island are graphic and could be quite confronting to the squeamish).
Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition has left me wanting to delve deeper into this solemn event and other expeditions like it.
Review first appeared on my blog: http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot...
From detailed source accounts comprising a bevy of topics (the nutritional value tinned cans as food aboard the ships, letters to the sailors from loved ones, and more), this chilling tale of the doomed Franklin Expedition to the Arctic to chart the North Passage is a historians and general interest readers' delight - despite the macabre and detailed exhumation of frozen corpses some 130years since being encased in ice.
Written in bite sized chunks, the authors maintain a constant and easy flowing narrative that takes the reader on a journey pre dating that of the 1845-48 expedition to provide context and depth to the troubles Franklin and co. faced during that ill-fated voyage to their icy graves. The later stages of the book detail the dangerous conditions of the Arctic in the 1980's, recreating that same bone chilling atmosphere that was prevalent throughout the 1840's and beyond.
While comprising a good amount of scientific terminology, Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition is easy to read and doesn't come across as heavy or cumbersome, that said - I did feel the need to read something lighter afterwards (the images of the frozen corpses on King William Island are graphic and could be quite confronting to the squeamish).
Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition has left me wanting to delve deeper into this solemn event and other expeditions like it.
Review first appeared on my blog: http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot...
September 27, 2024
Possible Trigger: Graphic photos
This is the account of the fate of the Franklin expedition in the frozen Arctic in 1845, almost 176 years ago. The story is told by forensic anthropologist and the coauthor, Owen Beattie. Beattie discovered that the role of lead poisoning played a large part in the disaster that struck the 1845-48 Franklin Arctic expedition.
Franklin's expedition was made up of over 100 men and 2 ships. The ships vanished, bringing out dozens of search parties to take on the formidable task of searching the Arctic looking for an answer to what had happened. Eventually, wrecked boats, scribbled notes, human remains, and Eskimo tales all combined to form a horrid tale of cold, starvation, cannibalism, that lead to the death of the entire crew...but what the exact cause of the disaster was, has never actually been discovered or agreed upon.
Along with recounting this event, the authors describe the two recent expeditions to Northern Canada to closely examine the recovered relics of the Franklin party. On King William Island in 1981, Beattie and his team found portions of a skeleton with knife marks that gave truth to the tales of cannibalism; also, they found that the bone fragments contained high levels of lead and evidence of scurvy. On Beechy Island in 1984, a team exhumed the bodies of three seamen buried in makeshift graves dated 1850. A graphic set of color photos, that...be aware...may be too much realism for some readers, show these really well-preserved bodies...130-year-old mummies...provided the strong supporting evidence, through autopsy and lab reports, for Owen Beattie's theory that poisoning from lead the dinnerware and the lead food tins contributed to the Franklin expedition's deaths.
This is a strange scientific detective story. The question remains, is this all the facts and is the mystery of the Franklin Expedition's disappearance truly resolved by modern scientific methods? Some say "yes" but others say the scientific knowledge of the day may not have been enough to support the given cause at that time. I found that some threatening polar bears added a bit of suspense. Please be warned again about the very graphic pictures that will have undeniable impact.
This detailed account of anthropological work will more than likely only really appeal those interested in true polar regional accounts.... or folks like me that needed an Arctic book to complete a challenge:)
This is the account of the fate of the Franklin expedition in the frozen Arctic in 1845, almost 176 years ago. The story is told by forensic anthropologist and the coauthor, Owen Beattie. Beattie discovered that the role of lead poisoning played a large part in the disaster that struck the 1845-48 Franklin Arctic expedition.
Franklin's expedition was made up of over 100 men and 2 ships. The ships vanished, bringing out dozens of search parties to take on the formidable task of searching the Arctic looking for an answer to what had happened. Eventually, wrecked boats, scribbled notes, human remains, and Eskimo tales all combined to form a horrid tale of cold, starvation, cannibalism, that lead to the death of the entire crew...but what the exact cause of the disaster was, has never actually been discovered or agreed upon.
Along with recounting this event, the authors describe the two recent expeditions to Northern Canada to closely examine the recovered relics of the Franklin party. On King William Island in 1981, Beattie and his team found portions of a skeleton with knife marks that gave truth to the tales of cannibalism; also, they found that the bone fragments contained high levels of lead and evidence of scurvy. On Beechy Island in 1984, a team exhumed the bodies of three seamen buried in makeshift graves dated 1850. A graphic set of color photos, that...be aware...may be too much realism for some readers, show these really well-preserved bodies...130-year-old mummies...provided the strong supporting evidence, through autopsy and lab reports, for Owen Beattie's theory that poisoning from lead the dinnerware and the lead food tins contributed to the Franklin expedition's deaths.
This is a strange scientific detective story. The question remains, is this all the facts and is the mystery of the Franklin Expedition's disappearance truly resolved by modern scientific methods? Some say "yes" but others say the scientific knowledge of the day may not have been enough to support the given cause at that time. I found that some threatening polar bears added a bit of suspense. Please be warned again about the very graphic pictures that will have undeniable impact.
This detailed account of anthropological work will more than likely only really appeal those interested in true polar regional accounts.... or folks like me that needed an Arctic book to complete a challenge:)
August 1, 2013
Non-Fiction. The Franklin Expedition left England in 1845, made a stop in Greenland, met up with some whalers by an iceberg, and then disappeared into the Canadian Arctic forever, leaving behind two message cylinders, hundreds of tin cans, and three marked graves.
I recently read Dan Simmons' The Terror, a fictional account of the Franklin expedition, and became fascinated by the subject. I wanted to learn more about the history of the expedition so I wouldn't leave the topic under the mistaken impression that Sir John Franklin was devoured by a demonic polar bear. This was one of the books Simmons used for his research.
The first part is like a delicious murder mystery, where you only have four clues to figure out who killed the 129 men aboard the HMSs Erebus and Terror. The feeling is heightened if you've read Simmons' book because you recognize all the tiny details he wove into his giant story. I found it very satisfying to know that he used as much information as we have, I mean, apart from the enormous polar bear. But you could even see where that came from! Beattie and Geiger repeatedly remark how odd it was that so many officers died so early in the expedition, and this, from Commander Inglefield's journal during a search expedition on Beechey Island in 1852:
The second half of the book is dedicated to exhuming the three sailors buried at Beechey Island and examining their bodies for clues to their demise, and for insight into the unprecedented and catastrophic failure of the entire expedition. Beattie and his team find compelling evidence that not only did Franklin's people have hypothermia and scurvy to contend with, but the tinned food they depended on was contaminated by the lead used to solder the cans shut. It's possible that lead poisoning was a major factor in the expedition's doomination. P.S. I lost track of how many times this book used the word DOOMED.
This is a good look at what little we know of what happened to the Franklin Expedition, presented in a straightforward way, and makes an excellent companion to Simmons' book. Highly recommended to people who enjoyed, or were even mildly interested in, The Terror. I have a much greater appreciation for it now that I've read this.
Four stars. It sticks to the facts, introduces some new theories, and only occasionally paints the ridiculous word picture based on nothing but conjecture. Has color plates, black and white illustrations, lists of officers and crew from both ships, a timeline of major search expeditions, bibliography, and index, but needed more commas.
I recently read Dan Simmons' The Terror, a fictional account of the Franklin expedition, and became fascinated by the subject. I wanted to learn more about the history of the expedition so I wouldn't leave the topic under the mistaken impression that Sir John Franklin was devoured by a demonic polar bear. This was one of the books Simmons used for his research.
The first part is like a delicious murder mystery, where you only have four clues to figure out who killed the 129 men aboard the HMSs Erebus and Terror. The feeling is heightened if you've read Simmons' book because you recognize all the tiny details he wove into his giant story. I found it very satisfying to know that he used as much information as we have, I mean, apart from the enormous polar bear. But you could even see where that came from! Beattie and Geiger repeatedly remark how odd it was that so many officers died so early in the expedition, and this, from Commander Inglefield's journal during a search expedition on Beechey Island in 1852:
The last resting place of three of Franklin's people was closely examined; but nothing that had not hitherto been observed could we detect. My companion told me that a huge bear was seen continually sitting on one of the graves, keeping a silent vigil over the dead.Giant polar bear!
The second half of the book is dedicated to exhuming the three sailors buried at Beechey Island and examining their bodies for clues to their demise, and for insight into the unprecedented and catastrophic failure of the entire expedition. Beattie and his team find compelling evidence that not only did Franklin's people have hypothermia and scurvy to contend with, but the tinned food they depended on was contaminated by the lead used to solder the cans shut. It's possible that lead poisoning was a major factor in the expedition's doomination. P.S. I lost track of how many times this book used the word DOOMED.
This is a good look at what little we know of what happened to the Franklin Expedition, presented in a straightforward way, and makes an excellent companion to Simmons' book. Highly recommended to people who enjoyed, or were even mildly interested in, The Terror. I have a much greater appreciation for it now that I've read this.
Four stars. It sticks to the facts, introduces some new theories, and only occasionally paints the ridiculous word picture based on nothing but conjecture. Has color plates, black and white illustrations, lists of officers and crew from both ships, a timeline of major search expeditions, bibliography, and index, but needed more commas.
July 17, 2018
Книжка, звідки береться теорія про те, що експедицію Франкліна погубив свинець і ботулізм у консервах – і, наскільки я розумію, одне з двох головних джерел для Дена Сіммонса (скажімо, опис розтину Гартнелла у “Терорі” детально списаний таки звідси – і про дивний розріз у формі перевернутого У, і про скинуті купкою нутрощі, і про впхану догори дригом грудну кістку; першим на невправність студента-анатома Г.Д.С. Гудсера це валить не Сіммонс, а ще Оуен Бітті).
Отже, 1980-ті, студент forensic anthropology Оуен Бітті вирішує застосувати найновіші методи цієї самої forensic anthropology до давньої історичної загадки і їде на північні території шукати, що там полишалося від експедиції Франкліна. Ясно: все, що лишалося на поверхні, або вже порозвіювалося, або зібрали до них. (Трошки якихось кісточок вони знаходять, нібито навіть зі слідами цинги і канібалізму, але це все відомо й до того.) Натомість є три відомі могили, які ще ніхто не ексгумував, то чого б не викопати собі морячка, ну?
Спойлер: на ексгумацію трупа у цій ситуації їм потрібен дозвіл трьох інстанцій (включно з можливими нащадками), й інстанції не поспішають. Мудакуватий студент (він же автор цієї книжки) каже: ну, взагалі-то, якщо от строго кажучи між нами, то дозвіл трьох інстанцій нам потрібен лише на те, щоб почати колупати, власне кажучи, труп. А на те, щоб його викопати, цілком вистачає й нашого нинішнього археологічного дозволу.
І так починається гра в те, у кого першого здадуть нерви: у студентів чи в інстанцій. У якісь моменти здається, що у студентів: табором ходять білі ведмеді; коли вони беруться відкривати могилу, починається страшна гроза; карочє, антураж, як у фільмах жахів. Але вони докопують до труни – стоїть розпал літа, себто температура таки трошки вище нуля, й тому могилу починає підтоплювати талими водами, безцінний історичний матеріал через мудакуватих студентів може пропасти ні за цапову душу. Себто вони таки заламують руку інстанціям, ті видають дозвіл. В результаті чого і проводять аналіз вмісту свинцю у волоссі (що відображає exposure саме на час експедиції) – й виявляється, що він перевищує середній у десяток разів. Наскільки я знаю, станом на зараз щодо ролі свинцю у загибелі експедиції тривають дискусії, але це був великий внесок у студії експедиції (що не перекриває мудакуватості всього іншого! І в мене є сумніви щодо етичності публікації облич цих мумій? І навіщо взагалі? Наукової цінності в публікації фото мертвих облич нема, це ж суто для shock value, і навіть якщо зняти етичні питання, мені не хотілося їх бачити, коли читаю за сніданком, а довелося.)
Отже, 1980-ті, студент forensic anthropology Оуен Бітті вирішує застосувати найновіші методи цієї самої forensic anthropology до давньої історичної загадки і їде на північні території шукати, що там полишалося від експедиції Франкліна. Ясно: все, що лишалося на поверхні, або вже порозвіювалося, або зібрали до них. (Трошки якихось кісточок вони знаходять, нібито навіть зі слідами цинги і канібалізму, але це все відомо й до того.) Натомість є три відомі могили, які ще ніхто не ексгумував, то чого б не викопати собі морячка, ну?
Спойлер: на ексгумацію трупа у цій ситуації їм потрібен дозвіл трьох інстанцій (включно з можливими нащадками), й інстанції не поспішають. Мудакуватий студент (він же автор цієї книжки) каже: ну, взагалі-то, якщо от строго кажучи між нами, то дозвіл трьох інстанцій нам потрібен лише на те, щоб почати колупати, власне кажучи, труп. А на те, щоб його викопати, цілком вистачає й нашого нинішнього археологічного дозволу.
І так починається гра в те, у кого першого здадуть нерви: у студентів чи в інстанцій. У якісь моменти здається, що у студентів: табором ходять білі ведмеді; коли вони беруться відкривати могилу, починається страшна гроза; карочє, антураж, як у фільмах жахів. Але вони докопують до труни – стоїть розпал літа, себто температура таки трошки вище нуля, й тому могилу починає підтоплювати талими водами, безцінний історичний матеріал через мудакуватих студентів може пропасти ні за цапову душу. Себто вони таки заламують руку інстанціям, ті видають дозвіл. В результаті чого і проводять аналіз вмісту свинцю у волоссі (що відображає exposure саме на час експедиції) – й виявляється, що він перевищує середній у десяток разів. Наскільки я знаю, станом на зараз щодо ролі свинцю у загибелі експедиції тривають дискусії, але це був великий внесок у студії експедиції (що не перекриває мудакуватості всього іншого! І в мене є сумніви щодо етичності публікації облич цих мумій? І навіщо взагалі? Наукової цінності в публікації фото мертвих облич нема, це ж суто для shock value, і навіть якщо зняти етичні питання, мені не хотілося їх бачити, коли читаю за сніданком, а довелося.)
April 13, 2017
FROZEN IN TIME:THE FATE OF THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION by Owen Beattie & John Geiger
This book with an Introduction by Margaret Atwood, maps at the front, pictures and illustrations throughout the book, an Epilogue followed by Appendix One - listing Officers and Crews in the Franklin expedition, Appendix Two, an extensive bibliography and a complete Index tells the amazing true story of a doomed Arctic voyage and the secrets preserved in ice.
Sir Franklin and the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in search for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic were last seen in August 1845.
In 1850 rescuers found three graves with markers, remains of tenting sites, an armourer's forge, a large storehouse and a few other structures giving proof that Franklin's expedition had spent their first winter there. Cairns were also found, one made from more than 600 discarded food tins filled with gravel, which they carelessly destroyed while looking for a message telling where Franklin and his crew had sailed.
More than thirty ship-based and overland expeditions searched for clues as to Franklin's fate...charting vast areas and mapping the completed route of the Northwest Passage in the process.
In 1854 Hudson Bay Company's John Rae reported that he learned from "Esquimaux" that white men had starved to death and 8 or 10 books found with the bodies were given to the Inuit children, "who had torn them up as playthings." Rae purchased monogrammed silver forks and spoons verifying they were from Franklin's expedition.
Lady Franklin purchased a steam yacht, the Fox, and Captain Francis Leopold M'Clintock and Lieutenant William Robert Hobson "sailed from Aberdeen, Scotland, on 1 July 1857. After spending the first winter trapped in ice in Baffin Bay, "by August 1858 the Fox had reached Beechey Island, where, at the site of Franklin's first winter quarters, M'Clintock erected a monument on behalf of Lady Franklin."
They wintered near Bellot Strait and travelled overland to King William Island, and then separated to explore both coasts. M'Clintock discovered that Inuit had seen two ships, one sank in deep water and one was forced onto shore by ice. He purchased silver plate taken from the ship. He found a skeleton and notebook from the Terror.
On 5 May, 1859 Hobson and his men discovered the most important artefact in a cairn near Victory Point - the only written record of the Franklin expedition. This note dated 25th April 1848 stated that "HM's Ships Terror and Erebus were deserted on 22nd April, 5 leagues NNW of this, having been beset since 12th Septr. 1846. The Officers and Crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the command of Captain F.R.M. Crozier landed here-in Lat.69 37' 42" Long.98 41'....Sir John Franklin died on 11th of June, 1847 and the total loss by deaths in the Expedition has been to this date 9 Officers and 15 Men.
James Fitzjames, Captain HMS Erebus.
F.R.M. Crozier Captain and Senior Offr. and start on tomorrow 26th for Backs Fish River." - page 83
The 105 souls were probably trying to walk "to a distant Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Resolution, which lay some 1,250 miles (2,210 km) away." - page 85
"M'Clintock found what appeared to have been a hospital established by Franklin's retreating crews only eighty miles into their trek. He suspected scurvy. Speculation also focused on the tinned food supply." - page 86
Skeletons and articles were found on King William Island, and Starvation Cove (Northeast on Adelaide Peninsula).
Through the ages there have been many searches for more evidence of the Franklin expedition. Some Inuit elders were interviewed and gave accounts of cannibalism among the dying crewmen.
"Owen Beattie, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta, believed King William Island might still hold secrets of the Franklin expedition disaster, information that could be exposed by the use of the latest equipment and methods employed in physical anthropology."-page 105
1981 was the first of several pilgrimages made by Beattie to uncover these secrets. Summer of 1984, John Torrington was exhumed and an autopsy performed. Arctic summer of 1986, John Hartnell and William Braine were exhumed, x-rayed and had autopsies performed and were then carefully returned to their graves.
Ships' Journals and Captains in the 1800s reported a "general debility" affecting the crew.
Tests performed on hair samples showing abnormally high amounts of lead and the lead solder inside tin can artifacts from the Franklin expedition explained the "general debility" referred to by the Captains of 1800s.
The officers and crews on these ships were suffering from lead poisoning. The Franklin expedition would probably have successfully succeeded if they hadn't been poisoned by their food supply, canned food accidentally tainted with lead.
"Frozen in Time tells the dramatic story of ....elite naval forces came within sight of the Northwest Passage, only to succumb to unimaginable horrors. A gripping tale of cannibalism, bureaucratic hubris, great courage, and groundbreaking science, it shows how the excavation of three sailors from the 1845-48 Franklin expedition, buried for 138 on the Arctic headland of Beechey Island, has shed new light on one of the world's great maritime mysteries."
- Quote from the back cover
"A remarkable piece of forensic deduction."
- Margaret Atwood
"Simply compelling." - Mordecai Richler
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Arctic, maritime history, anthropology, early explorers and a great story.
5*****
#################################
Edited April 12, 2017
Imagine my excitement when I discovered this magazine on an end table in a common area! The cover is all about the Franklin expedition and searches and discoveries.
Special Collector's Edition
CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC
December 2014, VOL. 134, NO. 6
This edition of Canadian Geographic magazine features many articles about the Franklin expedition and the 2014 Franklin search including 6+ pages of maps and pages of photos and illustrations.
This book with an Introduction by Margaret Atwood, maps at the front, pictures and illustrations throughout the book, an Epilogue followed by Appendix One - listing Officers and Crews in the Franklin expedition, Appendix Two, an extensive bibliography and a complete Index tells the amazing true story of a doomed Arctic voyage and the secrets preserved in ice.
Sir Franklin and the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in search for the Northwest Passage in the Arctic were last seen in August 1845.
In 1850 rescuers found three graves with markers, remains of tenting sites, an armourer's forge, a large storehouse and a few other structures giving proof that Franklin's expedition had spent their first winter there. Cairns were also found, one made from more than 600 discarded food tins filled with gravel, which they carelessly destroyed while looking for a message telling where Franklin and his crew had sailed.
More than thirty ship-based and overland expeditions searched for clues as to Franklin's fate...charting vast areas and mapping the completed route of the Northwest Passage in the process.
In 1854 Hudson Bay Company's John Rae reported that he learned from "Esquimaux" that white men had starved to death and 8 or 10 books found with the bodies were given to the Inuit children, "who had torn them up as playthings." Rae purchased monogrammed silver forks and spoons verifying they were from Franklin's expedition.
Lady Franklin purchased a steam yacht, the Fox, and Captain Francis Leopold M'Clintock and Lieutenant William Robert Hobson "sailed from Aberdeen, Scotland, on 1 July 1857. After spending the first winter trapped in ice in Baffin Bay, "by August 1858 the Fox had reached Beechey Island, where, at the site of Franklin's first winter quarters, M'Clintock erected a monument on behalf of Lady Franklin."
They wintered near Bellot Strait and travelled overland to King William Island, and then separated to explore both coasts. M'Clintock discovered that Inuit had seen two ships, one sank in deep water and one was forced onto shore by ice. He purchased silver plate taken from the ship. He found a skeleton and notebook from the Terror.
On 5 May, 1859 Hobson and his men discovered the most important artefact in a cairn near Victory Point - the only written record of the Franklin expedition. This note dated 25th April 1848 stated that "HM's Ships Terror and Erebus were deserted on 22nd April, 5 leagues NNW of this, having been beset since 12th Septr. 1846. The Officers and Crews, consisting of 105 souls, under the command of Captain F.R.M. Crozier landed here-in Lat.69 37' 42" Long.98 41'....Sir John Franklin died on 11th of June, 1847 and the total loss by deaths in the Expedition has been to this date 9 Officers and 15 Men.
James Fitzjames, Captain HMS Erebus.
F.R.M. Crozier Captain and Senior Offr. and start on tomorrow 26th for Backs Fish River." - page 83
The 105 souls were probably trying to walk "to a distant Hudson's Bay Company post, Fort Resolution, which lay some 1,250 miles (2,210 km) away." - page 85
"M'Clintock found what appeared to have been a hospital established by Franklin's retreating crews only eighty miles into their trek. He suspected scurvy. Speculation also focused on the tinned food supply." - page 86
Skeletons and articles were found on King William Island, and Starvation Cove (Northeast on Adelaide Peninsula).
Through the ages there have been many searches for more evidence of the Franklin expedition. Some Inuit elders were interviewed and gave accounts of cannibalism among the dying crewmen.
"Owen Beattie, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Alberta, believed King William Island might still hold secrets of the Franklin expedition disaster, information that could be exposed by the use of the latest equipment and methods employed in physical anthropology."-page 105
1981 was the first of several pilgrimages made by Beattie to uncover these secrets. Summer of 1984, John Torrington was exhumed and an autopsy performed. Arctic summer of 1986, John Hartnell and William Braine were exhumed, x-rayed and had autopsies performed and were then carefully returned to their graves.
Ships' Journals and Captains in the 1800s reported a "general debility" affecting the crew.
Tests performed on hair samples showing abnormally high amounts of lead and the lead solder inside tin can artifacts from the Franklin expedition explained the "general debility" referred to by the Captains of 1800s.
The officers and crews on these ships were suffering from lead poisoning. The Franklin expedition would probably have successfully succeeded if they hadn't been poisoned by their food supply, canned food accidentally tainted with lead.
"Frozen in Time tells the dramatic story of ....elite naval forces came within sight of the Northwest Passage, only to succumb to unimaginable horrors. A gripping tale of cannibalism, bureaucratic hubris, great courage, and groundbreaking science, it shows how the excavation of three sailors from the 1845-48 Franklin expedition, buried for 138 on the Arctic headland of Beechey Island, has shed new light on one of the world's great maritime mysteries."
- Quote from the back cover
"A remarkable piece of forensic deduction."
- Margaret Atwood
"Simply compelling." - Mordecai Richler
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Arctic, maritime history, anthropology, early explorers and a great story.
5*****
#################################
Edited April 12, 2017
Imagine my excitement when I discovered this magazine on an end table in a common area! The cover is all about the Franklin expedition and searches and discoveries.
Special Collector's Edition
CANADIAN GEOGRAPHIC
December 2014, VOL. 134, NO. 6
This edition of Canadian Geographic magazine features many articles about the Franklin expedition and the 2014 Franklin search including 6+ pages of maps and pages of photos and illustrations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2020
This book, written about 30 years ago before some really major discoveries concerning the Franklin Expedition were made, has aged really well! I was worried, but the book really focused towards the end on the exhumation of the bodies for study – the passage describing the unearthing (and dethawing of the site beforehand) was written in a way that had me on the edge of my seat before the coffin was even opened. There’s so much to contend with! There was also a lengthy explanation that largely de-bunked some of the lead poisoning ideas – that it couldn’t have been environmental exposure back in England, for example, but SOMETHING the crew had with them or were ingesting, and it was just fascinating.
There were enough different aspects in this book from the 3 or 4 other Franklin books I’ve recently devoured to make it interesting enough to finish. The fact that the ships were discovered just a few years ago gave this book an eerie aspect – modern readers know the ships were found a few years ago, and this book, having been written while they were still missing, isn’t completely deflated by our new knowledge. It focused instead on those remains, and what those could tell us – and let me tell you, with the amount of bears that walked into their camp, I don’t envy the researchers, but rather admire their grit and discoveries in the midst of still such a harsh environment that wants you dead.
There were enough different aspects in this book from the 3 or 4 other Franklin books I’ve recently devoured to make it interesting enough to finish. The fact that the ships were discovered just a few years ago gave this book an eerie aspect – modern readers know the ships were found a few years ago, and this book, having been written while they were still missing, isn’t completely deflated by our new knowledge. It focused instead on those remains, and what those could tell us – and let me tell you, with the amount of bears that walked into their camp, I don’t envy the researchers, but rather admire their grit and discoveries in the midst of still such a harsh environment that wants you dead.
July 8, 2021
Śladami tragicznej wyprawy sir Johna Franklina
Historia tragicznej wyprawy sir Johna Franklina już od przeszło stu siedemdziesięciu lat funkcjonuje w zbiorowej wyobraźni, jako symbol straszliwego rachunku wystawionego ludzkości przez naturę za brak pokory i zbytnią wiarę pokładaną w technikę. Nieznany los Erebusa i Terrora, statków, na pokładzie których Franklin wraz ze swoimi towarzyszami, pożeglował do Arktyki po sławę, przez całe dziewiętnaste i połowę dwudziestego stulecia rozpalał wyobraźnię śmiałków chcących rozwikłać tę jedną z większych zagadek epoki wiktoriańskiej - jak i dlaczego zginęli? Przecież nie była to pierwsza brytyjska wyprawa na daleką północ, sam Franklin zaś, był podróżnikiem niezwykle doświadczonym i z całą pewnością gotowym czekające go na lodowym piekle wyzwania - każde kolejne zadane pytanie rodziło następne.
Historia stawała się legendą, legenda zamieniała się w mit, aż do momentu, kiedy w połowie lat osiemdziesiątych dwudziestego wieku, kanadyjski antropolog Owen Beattie, nie postanowił rozwikłać tej zagadki raz na zawsze, a pomóc mu w tym miała to co zgubiło Franklina, czyli nowoczesna technika i medycyna. "Na zawsze w lodzie" jest zapisem wyprawy Beattiego i fantastycznych odkryć jakich wraz ze swoją ekipą udało mu się dokonać i zarazem pierwszą pozycją jaka ukazała się w serii "Mundus" Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Książkę jest podzielona na dwie części. Pierwsza - Szkielety - to cudownie lapidarna i konkretna historia ekspedycji sir Franklina i posłanych jej na ratunek licznych ekspedycji ratunkowych. Dowiadujemy się z niej sporo o historii brytyjskich ekspedycji polarnych, oraz o towarzyszącym im entuzjastycznym nastrojom i zbiorowej ciekawości potęgowanej przez zdobywającą coraz większą popularność prasę na relacjonującą wyprawy, zaś sami śmiałkowie, którzy odważyli się ruszyć na daleką, skutą lodem północ, mogli liczyć na wielką popularność i pieniądze, jeśliby ich podróż zakończyła się powodzeniem.
Nadto autorzy opisują zarejestrowany przebieg wyprawy Franklina oraz potencjalne przyczyny jej tragicznego końca. Warto podkreślić, że pierwsza część książki, jest doskonale udokumentowana (blisko pół setki stron przypisów i źródeł), nadto wartością dodaną są przypisy poczynione przez redaktora naukowego, tłumaczące różne techniczne aspekty ekspedycji arktycznych, jak kaliber broni, czy miary odległości używane przez brytyjską marynarkę wojenną.
Historyczne wprowadzenie dokonane w pierwszej części, jest niezbędne do zrozumienia części drugiej - Ludzi z lodu - która jest relacją z wyprawy profesora Beattiego. I w tym miejscu umieszczam ostrzeżenie: jeśli macie słabe nerwy, a na widok zdjęć (bardzo dokładnych zdjęć) ciał robi się wam słabo, nie jest to książka dla was, bo "Na zawsze w lodzie", to cytując słowa autorki przedmowy Margaret Atwood: "Kapitalny przykład dobrej roboty antropologa sądowego" i tak jest w istocie - jakbyśmy zaglądali przez ramię profesora, gdy ten robi sekcję zwłok.
Nie chcę przez to powiedzieć, że książka żeruje na niezdrowej ludzkiej ciekawości, bo tak nie jest, bez zdjęć, ciężko byłoby opisać to, na co natrafili naukowcy otwierając groby ludzi zmarłych ponad 170 lat temu ludzi, sposób w jaki wieczna zmarzlina zachowała ciała - niczym owady zatopione w bursztynie jest naprawdę niezwykły - nie ma w tym ani grama groteski, natomiast spojrzenie w twarz człowiekowi żyjącemu tak dawno temu, robi olbrzymie wrażenie. I choć w książce wiele jest technicznych aspektów samego procesu wydobywania nieboszczyków z miejsc ich wiecznego spoczynku, budził podziw z jakim szacunkiem zostały one potraktowane przez naukowców, czasami kosztem wielogodzinnej pracy ponad siły, aby tylko nie naruszyć szczątków ani mogił.
Jeśli zaś chodzi o wyniki badań ekipy profesora Beattiego, serdecznie zachęcam do sięgnięcia po Na zawsze w lodzie, gdyż jest to świetna, pouczająca lektura*.
Za możliwość przeczytania "Na zawsze w lodzie" dziękuję Klubowi Recenzenta portalu nakanapie.pl
*Wraki statków odnaleziono w 2014 roku, co wraz z wynikami badań profesora Beattiego, ostatecznie pozwoliło marynarzom sir Franklina zakończyć ich podróż, a ja oprócz oczywiście Na zawsze w lodzie, polecam "Terror" Deana Simmonsa, który niezwykle wiernie choć to beletrystyka, zdaje się odzwierciedlać realia ówczesnych wypraw arktycznych, a poza tym to świetna powieść.
Historia tragicznej wyprawy sir Johna Franklina już od przeszło stu siedemdziesięciu lat funkcjonuje w zbiorowej wyobraźni, jako symbol straszliwego rachunku wystawionego ludzkości przez naturę za brak pokory i zbytnią wiarę pokładaną w technikę. Nieznany los Erebusa i Terrora, statków, na pokładzie których Franklin wraz ze swoimi towarzyszami, pożeglował do Arktyki po sławę, przez całe dziewiętnaste i połowę dwudziestego stulecia rozpalał wyobraźnię śmiałków chcących rozwikłać tę jedną z większych zagadek epoki wiktoriańskiej - jak i dlaczego zginęli? Przecież nie była to pierwsza brytyjska wyprawa na daleką północ, sam Franklin zaś, był podróżnikiem niezwykle doświadczonym i z całą pewnością gotowym czekające go na lodowym piekle wyzwania - każde kolejne zadane pytanie rodziło następne.
Historia stawała się legendą, legenda zamieniała się w mit, aż do momentu, kiedy w połowie lat osiemdziesiątych dwudziestego wieku, kanadyjski antropolog Owen Beattie, nie postanowił rozwikłać tej zagadki raz na zawsze, a pomóc mu w tym miała to co zgubiło Franklina, czyli nowoczesna technika i medycyna. "Na zawsze w lodzie" jest zapisem wyprawy Beattiego i fantastycznych odkryć jakich wraz ze swoją ekipą udało mu się dokonać i zarazem pierwszą pozycją jaka ukazała się w serii "Mundus" Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Książkę jest podzielona na dwie części. Pierwsza - Szkielety - to cudownie lapidarna i konkretna historia ekspedycji sir Franklina i posłanych jej na ratunek licznych ekspedycji ratunkowych. Dowiadujemy się z niej sporo o historii brytyjskich ekspedycji polarnych, oraz o towarzyszącym im entuzjastycznym nastrojom i zbiorowej ciekawości potęgowanej przez zdobywającą coraz większą popularność prasę na relacjonującą wyprawy, zaś sami śmiałkowie, którzy odważyli się ruszyć na daleką, skutą lodem północ, mogli liczyć na wielką popularność i pieniądze, jeśliby ich podróż zakończyła się powodzeniem.
Nadto autorzy opisują zarejestrowany przebieg wyprawy Franklina oraz potencjalne przyczyny jej tragicznego końca. Warto podkreślić, że pierwsza część książki, jest doskonale udokumentowana (blisko pół setki stron przypisów i źródeł), nadto wartością dodaną są przypisy poczynione przez redaktora naukowego, tłumaczące różne techniczne aspekty ekspedycji arktycznych, jak kaliber broni, czy miary odległości używane przez brytyjską marynarkę wojenną.
Historyczne wprowadzenie dokonane w pierwszej części, jest niezbędne do zrozumienia części drugiej - Ludzi z lodu - która jest relacją z wyprawy profesora Beattiego. I w tym miejscu umieszczam ostrzeżenie: jeśli macie słabe nerwy, a na widok zdjęć (bardzo dokładnych zdjęć) ciał robi się wam słabo, nie jest to książka dla was, bo "Na zawsze w lodzie", to cytując słowa autorki przedmowy Margaret Atwood: "Kapitalny przykład dobrej roboty antropologa sądowego" i tak jest w istocie - jakbyśmy zaglądali przez ramię profesora, gdy ten robi sekcję zwłok.
Nie chcę przez to powiedzieć, że książka żeruje na niezdrowej ludzkiej ciekawości, bo tak nie jest, bez zdjęć, ciężko byłoby opisać to, na co natrafili naukowcy otwierając groby ludzi zmarłych ponad 170 lat temu ludzi, sposób w jaki wieczna zmarzlina zachowała ciała - niczym owady zatopione w bursztynie jest naprawdę niezwykły - nie ma w tym ani grama groteski, natomiast spojrzenie w twarz człowiekowi żyjącemu tak dawno temu, robi olbrzymie wrażenie. I choć w książce wiele jest technicznych aspektów samego procesu wydobywania nieboszczyków z miejsc ich wiecznego spoczynku, budził podziw z jakim szacunkiem zostały one potraktowane przez naukowców, czasami kosztem wielogodzinnej pracy ponad siły, aby tylko nie naruszyć szczątków ani mogił.
Jeśli zaś chodzi o wyniki badań ekipy profesora Beattiego, serdecznie zachęcam do sięgnięcia po Na zawsze w lodzie, gdyż jest to świetna, pouczająca lektura*.
Za możliwość przeczytania "Na zawsze w lodzie" dziękuję Klubowi Recenzenta portalu nakanapie.pl
*Wraki statków odnaleziono w 2014 roku, co wraz z wynikami badań profesora Beattiego, ostatecznie pozwoliło marynarzom sir Franklina zakończyć ich podróż, a ja oprócz oczywiście Na zawsze w lodzie, polecam "Terror" Deana Simmonsa, który niezwykle wiernie choć to beletrystyka, zdaje się odzwierciedlać realia ówczesnych wypraw arktycznych, a poza tym to świetna powieść.
February 20, 2025
Eh, some parts held my interest and some parts ( the science-y parts) had my brain going blah blah blah. To be fair to me, I was not expecting this scientific examination of the Franklin expedition but something along the lines of the expedition itself. My bad for not paying closer attention but rather like a hound after a bunny, i read the title about a fated expedition and bam! Bought and added to the library. So once I adjusted my expectations and paid attention I found it interesting. Sadly, the information gone over with such meticulous care is in fact outdated and believed incorrect. Not sorry to have read it though and despite the meh rating and outdated info it will remain part of my collection.
February 16, 2025
Nachdem 129 Seeleute im Jahr 1845 mit den zwei Schiffen Erebus und Terror in die Arktis aufgebrochen waren, verschwanden sie spurlos. Über Jahre hinweg haben sich Rettungsmissionen die Suche gemacht, bis schließlich klar war, dass niemand der Besatzung überlebt hat. Über die Jahre wurden immer wieder Überbleibsel und auch Leichen(teile) entdeckt, und auch drei Gräber der Franklin-Expedition wurden gefunden. In den 1980-Jahren macht sich dann über hundert Jahre später ein Forschungsteam auf, um diese drei Besatzungsmitglieder zu exhumieren und zu untersuchen, in der Hoffnung, so dem Rätsel um die Franklin-Expedition etwas näher zu kommen.
Mit gerade mal gut 200 Seiten beschränkt sich der Bericht der Forschungsgruppe auf das Wichtigste und liest sich echt "so weg". Ich fand es wahnsinnig spannend, mehr darüber zu lesen, wie sie vorgegangen waren und was sie an Details an den Leichen entdeckt haben. Aber Triggerwarnung: Natürlich ist das Buch (und auch schon das Cover) voll mit Bildern der drei Toten und das ist schon nicht so ein leicht verdaulicher Anblick. Auch sehr faszinierend, was alles über Jahre hinweg noch fast unberührt von der damaligen Expedition in der Arktis zu finden war. Da merkt man erst, wie unberührt dieser Fleck der Erde dort ist. Das gab schon Vibes ähnlich einer Mondmission.
Mit gerade mal gut 200 Seiten beschränkt sich der Bericht der Forschungsgruppe auf das Wichtigste und liest sich echt "so weg". Ich fand es wahnsinnig spannend, mehr darüber zu lesen, wie sie vorgegangen waren und was sie an Details an den Leichen entdeckt haben. Aber Triggerwarnung: Natürlich ist das Buch (und auch schon das Cover) voll mit Bildern der drei Toten und das ist schon nicht so ein leicht verdaulicher Anblick. Auch sehr faszinierend, was alles über Jahre hinweg noch fast unberührt von der damaligen Expedition in der Arktis zu finden war. Da merkt man erst, wie unberührt dieser Fleck der Erde dort ist. Das gab schon Vibes ähnlich einer Mondmission.
March 30, 2008
I recently rediscovered this fascinating book...
I happened upon it by chance way back in 1990, when it jumped out at me at a B. Dalton Bookseller. Morbid, I know, but the idea of frozen corpses from 1845 looking as if they'd died yesterday—or stranger still, as if they hadn't died at all—is incredibly intriguing. To me, at least. And apparently to the girl I was dating at the time, as she totally kept my copy.
I recently came across something about the Franklin expedition and began to recall how fascinating this account was, so I started looking for it. I couldn't quite remember the name, but it didn't take long to track it down.
This new (2004) expanded edition includes an introduction by Margaret Atwood, which sets the gripping tone perfectly.
The only complaint I have (and again, it's a bit morbid, I know) is that this version doesn't include the stunning color photos I vividly recall from the first edition. Here, they're incorporated into the text pages; paced throughout the book in black and white. The startling detail is still readily apparent in black and white, and I believe there may in fact be more images in this volume. But if you've ever seen the faces of John Torrington, John Hartnell, and William Braine in full color, it's quite a sight.
I happened upon it by chance way back in 1990, when it jumped out at me at a B. Dalton Bookseller. Morbid, I know, but the idea of frozen corpses from 1845 looking as if they'd died yesterday—or stranger still, as if they hadn't died at all—is incredibly intriguing. To me, at least. And apparently to the girl I was dating at the time, as she totally kept my copy.
I recently came across something about the Franklin expedition and began to recall how fascinating this account was, so I started looking for it. I couldn't quite remember the name, but it didn't take long to track it down.
This new (2004) expanded edition includes an introduction by Margaret Atwood, which sets the gripping tone perfectly.
The only complaint I have (and again, it's a bit morbid, I know) is that this version doesn't include the stunning color photos I vividly recall from the first edition. Here, they're incorporated into the text pages; paced throughout the book in black and white. The startling detail is still readily apparent in black and white, and I believe there may in fact be more images in this volume. But if you've ever seen the faces of John Torrington, John Hartnell, and William Braine in full color, it's quite a sight.
December 27, 2024
Wizja wyprawy Johna Franklina oraz Francisa Croziera, przedstawiona w powieści „Terror” Dana Simmonsa jest jedynie jednym z wielu spojrzeń na tragiczną historię, która rozegrała się na arktycznych wodach w XIX wieku. Odkrycia wraków HMS „Erebus” i HMS „Terror” rzuciły nowe światło na te wydarzenia, które przez dziesięciolecia pozostawały owiane tajemnicą.
W 2014 roku zespół badawczy, podążając za wskazówkami historycznymi i legendami, odnalazł wrak „Erebusa” na głębokości 11 metrów, co zaskoczyło wielu ekspertów, gdyż znajdował się on znacznie dalej na południe od wcześniej ustalonej lokalizacji. Dwa lata później, w 2016 roku, odkryto „Terrora” w Zatoce Wyspy Króla Williama, w znakomitym stanie zachowania, co dało naukowcom niepowtarzalną okazję do zbadania nie tylko okrętów, ale również losów ich załóg.
Badania nad szczątkami odnalezionymi w lodzie ujawniły nie tylko trudne warunki, w jakich żyli i umierali marynarze, ale także ich ostateczne losy, które były jeszcze bardziej dramatyczne niż dotychczas sądzono. Oprócz odnalezienia ciał mężczyzn niebywale dobrze zakonserwowanych i piorunująco sugestywnie oddających dramatyzm misji, jakiej się podjęli, przeprowadzono również sekcje zwłok, które ujawniły przyczyny śmierci wielu członków załogi. Niektóre z tych informacji wstrząsnęły opinią publiczną, ukazując brutalne realia przetrwania w ekstremalnych warunkach arktycznych.
Dzięki tym odkryciom historia Franklina i jego załogi przestała być jedynie legendą, a stała się rzeczywistością pełną cierpienia, odwagi i tragicznych wyborów. Publikacje dotyczące tych odkryć, szczegółowe analizy, przyciągnęły uwagę nie tylko badaczy, ale także szerokiego grona czytelników, pragnących poznać prawdę o jednej z najbardziej zagadkowych ekspedycji w historii. Prócz niepodważalnego waloru informacyjnego, jaki niesie za sobą niniejszy tytuł, autorzy oddają hołd uczestnikom tej wyprawy, podkreślając ich poświęcenie i zaangażowanie w naukowe badania. To nie tylko historia eksploracji, ale także refleksja nad losem ludzi, którzy ryzykowali życie dla postępu naukowego.
W 2014 roku zespół badawczy, podążając za wskazówkami historycznymi i legendami, odnalazł wrak „Erebusa” na głębokości 11 metrów, co zaskoczyło wielu ekspertów, gdyż znajdował się on znacznie dalej na południe od wcześniej ustalonej lokalizacji. Dwa lata później, w 2016 roku, odkryto „Terrora” w Zatoce Wyspy Króla Williama, w znakomitym stanie zachowania, co dało naukowcom niepowtarzalną okazję do zbadania nie tylko okrętów, ale również losów ich załóg.
Badania nad szczątkami odnalezionymi w lodzie ujawniły nie tylko trudne warunki, w jakich żyli i umierali marynarze, ale także ich ostateczne losy, które były jeszcze bardziej dramatyczne niż dotychczas sądzono. Oprócz odnalezienia ciał mężczyzn niebywale dobrze zakonserwowanych i piorunująco sugestywnie oddających dramatyzm misji, jakiej się podjęli, przeprowadzono również sekcje zwłok, które ujawniły przyczyny śmierci wielu członków załogi. Niektóre z tych informacji wstrząsnęły opinią publiczną, ukazując brutalne realia przetrwania w ekstremalnych warunkach arktycznych.
Dzięki tym odkryciom historia Franklina i jego załogi przestała być jedynie legendą, a stała się rzeczywistością pełną cierpienia, odwagi i tragicznych wyborów. Publikacje dotyczące tych odkryć, szczegółowe analizy, przyciągnęły uwagę nie tylko badaczy, ale także szerokiego grona czytelników, pragnących poznać prawdę o jednej z najbardziej zagadkowych ekspedycji w historii. Prócz niepodważalnego waloru informacyjnego, jaki niesie za sobą niniejszy tytuł, autorzy oddają hołd uczestnikom tej wyprawy, podkreślając ich poświęcenie i zaangażowanie w naukowe badania. To nie tylko historia eksploracji, ale także refleksja nad losem ludzi, którzy ryzykowali życie dla postępu naukowego.
April 26, 2020
*2.5 stars rounded up—Audio format* Started off great, but after the halfway mark I started losing interest. On loan via Hoopla, the book was returned before I could finish it. Due to the narration and flow of the story, I do not plan to check it out again. Perhaps the book format would have been better.
August 7, 2014
Three-and-a-half stars - four because I finally got to see the photographs of the Franklin mummies again after thirty years, three because the author writes in this weird third-person-semi-omniscient style that could have used some interviews with the scientists involved.
September 27, 2015
This is the study that re-define or "solved" the mystery of Franklin (you know, one of those stories where white men act like stupid white men). The introduction is by Atwood, and the thesis is proven pretty well. It is a good read, even with the science.
October 3, 2025
Nie czytajcie przedmowy! Lepiej opuścić je (2) zacząć od właściwej książki ponieważ zdradzają za dużo i później trochę znika napięcie. Jeśli nie znasz tej historii to popsułbyś sobie czytelniku napięcie. Przedmowy są dobre ale na podsumowanie całej historii.
Bardzo dobra książka. Niby coś tam kiedyś wiedziałem ale w gruncie rzeczy okazuje się że jest to niesamowita - przerażająca - ale znakomita historia. Okazuje się że ludzie nie uczą się za bardzo na własnych błędach.
Polecam. Mnie wciągnęła na tyle że zerwałem nockę żeby tylko skończyć.
Bardzo dobra książka. Niby coś tam kiedyś wiedziałem ale w gruncie rzeczy okazuje się że jest to niesamowita - przerażająca - ale znakomita historia. Okazuje się że ludzie nie uczą się za bardzo na własnych błędach.
Polecam. Mnie wciągnęła na tyle że zerwałem nockę żeby tylko skończyć.
May 17, 2021
Quite interesting and minute documentary regarding Sir John Franklin’s inglorious expedition from 1848, as one more quest for the Northwest Passage. A mere coincidence ordained sexagenarian Sir Franklin to be a captain of that expedition, held with two ships – Erebus and Terror. Nomen est omen couldn’t be more vividly explained than the titles of the ships – in Greek mythology, Erebus is the personification of the utmost darkness i.e. void and terror is its companion. “Franklin believed this route would eventually lead him to parts of the mainland coastline he had explored two decades earlier. His maps told him that, in the King William Island area, he had to complete the stretch along the west side of what was then called King William’s Land to be credited with completing the charting of a Northwest Passage. The northern extent of this unknown gap was a low point of land on the northwest coast of King William Island. The southern extent was to be found at Cape John Herschel on the south coast of King William Island.” Many strange occurrences emerged on their way, and the expedition was ceased due to almost unknown reason. The author of this book twice explored that area with his scientific team in 1984 and in 1986. In 1984 they located and exhumed two cadavers of the Franklin’s crew – vicenarian Petty Officer and tricenarian Able Seaman. On their return, in 1986 they discovered an additional coffin with the remains of late Private of the Royal Marines. All cadavers were deeply enshrouded in permafrost, and almost perfectly preserved albeit cachectic and of feeble Intra Vitam body condition. The team’s pathologist performed quite irregular field autopsies and the tissue samples were harvested for the further analyses. The scrutiny revealed that the first two emaciated cadavers probably succumbed due to lead intoxication (pneumoconiosis), for the crew’s victuals was consisted mostly of tins. The cause of death of the third member was tuberculosis. The author minutely explained the autopsies and the autopsy reports as well as the conditions under which were held and all the vicissitudes during the exhumation and scrutinisation of the bodies. Hence, this book is my cordial recommendations to those who enjoy in good medical-oriented, genuine forensic anthropology literature, for I was quite thrilled all the way from the first to the last page, as well as with Bea Uusma's excellent book The Expedition.
June 5, 2011
Interesting book. Just worth it for the photos of the frozen bodies alone. Wow. Maybe I should have read this book before I read The fictional Terror by Dan Simmons. Now I see how much he has taken from this book.
Anyways thanks to the reburial and examination of the 3 sailors of the lost Franklin expedition we have learned a little bit of what happened to them.
It is clear that the biggest reason is as always money. The Navy decided to go with a new provisioner for the food who offered it at cut rate prices. Stephen Goldner, who was awarded the contract on 1 April 1845, just seven weeks before Franklin set sail. Goldner worked in haste on the order of 8,000 tins, which were later found to have lead soldering that was "thick and sloppily done, and dripped like melted candle wax down the inside surface".
From the bodies they discovered all 3 had too much lead in them. lead poisoning.They concluded that the crew members whose graves had been found on Beechey Island most likely died of pneumonia and perhaps tuberculosis and that lead poisoning may have worsened their health, owing to badly soldered cans held in the ships' food stores. However, it was later suggested that the source of this lead may not have been tinned food, but the distilled water systems fitted to the expedition’s ships. Do not know about the latter but they also discovered cut marks on some human bones which lead them to believe that some of the men ate each other.
All in all what exactly happened to the Franklin expedition will still be a mystery but at least we did get some answers.
All
Anyways thanks to the reburial and examination of the 3 sailors of the lost Franklin expedition we have learned a little bit of what happened to them.
It is clear that the biggest reason is as always money. The Navy decided to go with a new provisioner for the food who offered it at cut rate prices. Stephen Goldner, who was awarded the contract on 1 April 1845, just seven weeks before Franklin set sail. Goldner worked in haste on the order of 8,000 tins, which were later found to have lead soldering that was "thick and sloppily done, and dripped like melted candle wax down the inside surface".
From the bodies they discovered all 3 had too much lead in them. lead poisoning.They concluded that the crew members whose graves had been found on Beechey Island most likely died of pneumonia and perhaps tuberculosis and that lead poisoning may have worsened their health, owing to badly soldered cans held in the ships' food stores. However, it was later suggested that the source of this lead may not have been tinned food, but the distilled water systems fitted to the expedition’s ships. Do not know about the latter but they also discovered cut marks on some human bones which lead them to believe that some of the men ate each other.
All in all what exactly happened to the Franklin expedition will still be a mystery but at least we did get some answers.
All
May 7, 2018
A sinopse promete mais que o livro em si. Relata a pesquisa de uma equipe que quer compreender por que uma expedição inglesa de meados do século XIX sucumbiu no Ártico da América do Norte ao tentar descobrir uma passagem específica em meio a várias ilhas da região. A narrativa é ok, mas às vezes você se sente enganado por artimanhas de folhetim como "o que viria a seguir seria mais assombroso". Ao final, você se pergunta o que era o "assombroso" que mencionavam, e é um tanto frustrante concluir que era somente uma ferramenta de escrita. Também há alguns momentos (como ursos se aproximando do acampamento) que parecem uma tentativa de inserir mais um ponto de tensão, mas que pelo desenrolar da ação a gente vê que não é pra tanto, serve somente como registro. Interessante para quem gosta do tema de expedições ou aventuras reais, mas poderia muito bem ser uma grande reportagem, não um livro.
October 9, 2018
Meh. The book focuses on the search for Franklin and the efforts to discover what happened. Parts are interesting but there is a lot of minutiae on the Beattie work in the 80’s. I did not find the details that Beattie’s team worked hard or a tent almost blew away, or a bear came by very interesting for an expedition with modern gear and equipment. The author missed a good opportunity to talk more about the science of archaeology in greater detail in this section. To me it felt like the book was getting stretched to fill length when it was already short.
The lack of maps throughout the text with so many references to geography and sailing routes is really inexcusable in a history volume.
I suggest you read the history in Wikipedia and then read Dan Simmons’ “The Terror” instead. That’s a great read!
The lack of maps throughout the text with so many references to geography and sailing routes is really inexcusable in a history volume.
I suggest you read the history in Wikipedia and then read Dan Simmons’ “The Terror” instead. That’s a great read!
January 20, 2022
Jeśli zaczyna się lekturę nie wiedząc, dlaczego ekspedycję Franklina spotkał ponury koniec, polecam darować sobie przedmowę Margaret Atwood - streszcza całą książkę i zdradza wszystkie tajemnice.
September 16, 2022
Ta książka bywała na mojej liście do przeczytania już jakiś czas. Dodawałam ją i usuwałam z mojej wirtualnej półeczki. Niby wydawała się czymś ciekawym dla mnie, ale z drugiej strony, czy ja naprawdę chcę czytać o wyprawie sprzed ponad 150 lat, która miała na celu wytyczenie przełęczy, przez którą mogłyby przepływać statki z Europy do Azji przez Ocean Arktyczny…? I pewnie to moje przerzucanie się samej ze sobą tą książką trwałoby nadal, gdyby nie moja koleżanka z pracy, która z taką pasją opowiadała o tym, co miało wówczas miejsce, że uznałam: okej, to ten czas – czytam!
Co to była za książka! Jeśli znajdziecie gdzieś opinię, że to reportaż, który czyta się jak doskonały thriller to mogę zapewnić, że nie są one wystawiane bezpodstawnie. Książka trzyma w napięciu od pierwszych do ostatnich stron. Historię tragedii Terroru i Erebusa poznajemy jakby z dwóch stron. Najpierw mamy opis głównodowodzących w tej wyprawie oraz obszerne wyjaśnienie, jak w XIX wieku przedstawiała się sytuacja Wielkiej Brytanii na podróżniczej arenie międzynarodowej oraz jaki był cel tej i innych wypraw morskich, a także jakie znaczenie dla handlu miałoby powodzenie ekspedycji. Później płynnie przechodzimy do prób wyjaśnienia przez im współczesnych tajemniczego zaginięcia okrętów oraz całej załogi. Dzięki licznym wyprawom mającym uratować zaginionych, do opinii publicznej zaczęły docierać coraz to nowsze, ale i przerażające relacje, jak choćby ten o znajdowaniu ugotowanych ludzkich kości, z których ktoś dramatycznie głody wyssał szpik.
Kolejna połowa książki to wyprawa w latach 80. Owena Beattie – profesora uniwersyteckiego i antropologa sądowego, który wraz z zespołem postanowił dowiedzieć się, co tak naprawdę zabiło, a w zasadzie zabijało marynarzy w tamtej epoce. Jego badania oraz możliwość dokonania sekcji trzech świetnie zachowanych zwłok ludzi z Terroru i Erebusa dają odpowiedź, co było główną przyczyną totalnego osłabienia, a w rezultacie i przyczyną – pośrednią lub bezpośrednią – śmierci 129 osób.
Książka jest napisana oraz przetłumaczona świetnie. W żadnym momencie nie nuży czytelnika. Choć sporo w niej geografii, profesjonalnego nazewnictwa oraz niuansów świata nauki i archeologii, wszystko jest wytłumaczone w tak przejrzysty sposób, że ktoś, kto nie zjadł zębów na tych dziedzinach i tak jest dobrze rozeznany w całej historii. Ciekawie czytało się o codzienności na statkach podczas tak dużych ekspedycji oraz o tym, jak marynarze radzili sobie spędzają czasem i po kilka zim z rzędu w warunkach wiecznej zmarzliny. Równie fascynująco prezentowały się opisy już z perspektywy XX wieku, kiedy Owen Beattie i jego zespół przeczesywali ten teren i wciąż znajdowali elementy wyposażenia statków, jakby od tragedii nie minęło kilkanaście dekad, ale może raptem kilka lat. Niuanse pracy antropologa sądowego w takich warunkach również były czymś, o czym czytałam wręcz z wypiekami na twarzy.
Dobrym wprowadzeniem do książki jest również przedmowa Margaret Atwood, która opisuje również wcześniejsze wydanie tego tytułu (polski czytelnik nie miał przyjemności się z nim zapoznać, wydanie wydawnictwa Bo.Wiem jest bowiem (sic!) pierwszym na polskim rynku i jest to już wersja uzupełniona przez autorów). Nie brak w jej słowach również pewnego „nienachalnego romantyzmu” (jakkolwiek dziwacznie to brzmi, ale jeśli przeczytacie, to chyba wyczujecie, co miałam na myśli) odnoszącego się do legendy, jakim zaginięcie Terroru i Erebusa obrosło na przestrzeni lat. Zachęcam Was, by nie pomijać tego fragmentu.
Całość okraszona jest licznymi rycinami i zdjęciami, co dodatkowo wpływa na…
Hm. Tu napisałam, że wpływa na „przyjemność płynącą z lektury”, ale to straszliwie nie na miejscu słowa.
Książka jest fenomenalna. Choćbym miała się przyczepić do czegokolwiek, to tutaj naprawdę nie mam do czego. Warto, warto, warto.
Co to była za książka! Jeśli znajdziecie gdzieś opinię, że to reportaż, który czyta się jak doskonały thriller to mogę zapewnić, że nie są one wystawiane bezpodstawnie. Książka trzyma w napięciu od pierwszych do ostatnich stron. Historię tragedii Terroru i Erebusa poznajemy jakby z dwóch stron. Najpierw mamy opis głównodowodzących w tej wyprawie oraz obszerne wyjaśnienie, jak w XIX wieku przedstawiała się sytuacja Wielkiej Brytanii na podróżniczej arenie międzynarodowej oraz jaki był cel tej i innych wypraw morskich, a także jakie znaczenie dla handlu miałoby powodzenie ekspedycji. Później płynnie przechodzimy do prób wyjaśnienia przez im współczesnych tajemniczego zaginięcia okrętów oraz całej załogi. Dzięki licznym wyprawom mającym uratować zaginionych, do opinii publicznej zaczęły docierać coraz to nowsze, ale i przerażające relacje, jak choćby ten o znajdowaniu ugotowanych ludzkich kości, z których ktoś dramatycznie głody wyssał szpik.
Kolejna połowa książki to wyprawa w latach 80. Owena Beattie – profesora uniwersyteckiego i antropologa sądowego, który wraz z zespołem postanowił dowiedzieć się, co tak naprawdę zabiło, a w zasadzie zabijało marynarzy w tamtej epoce. Jego badania oraz możliwość dokonania sekcji trzech świetnie zachowanych zwłok ludzi z Terroru i Erebusa dają odpowiedź, co było główną przyczyną totalnego osłabienia, a w rezultacie i przyczyną – pośrednią lub bezpośrednią – śmierci 129 osób.
Książka jest napisana oraz przetłumaczona świetnie. W żadnym momencie nie nuży czytelnika. Choć sporo w niej geografii, profesjonalnego nazewnictwa oraz niuansów świata nauki i archeologii, wszystko jest wytłumaczone w tak przejrzysty sposób, że ktoś, kto nie zjadł zębów na tych dziedzinach i tak jest dobrze rozeznany w całej historii. Ciekawie czytało się o codzienności na statkach podczas tak dużych ekspedycji oraz o tym, jak marynarze radzili sobie spędzają czasem i po kilka zim z rzędu w warunkach wiecznej zmarzliny. Równie fascynująco prezentowały się opisy już z perspektywy XX wieku, kiedy Owen Beattie i jego zespół przeczesywali ten teren i wciąż znajdowali elementy wyposażenia statków, jakby od tragedii nie minęło kilkanaście dekad, ale może raptem kilka lat. Niuanse pracy antropologa sądowego w takich warunkach również były czymś, o czym czytałam wręcz z wypiekami na twarzy.
Dobrym wprowadzeniem do książki jest również przedmowa Margaret Atwood, która opisuje również wcześniejsze wydanie tego tytułu (polski czytelnik nie miał przyjemności się z nim zapoznać, wydanie wydawnictwa Bo.Wiem jest bowiem (sic!) pierwszym na polskim rynku i jest to już wersja uzupełniona przez autorów). Nie brak w jej słowach również pewnego „nienachalnego romantyzmu” (jakkolwiek dziwacznie to brzmi, ale jeśli przeczytacie, to chyba wyczujecie, co miałam na myśli) odnoszącego się do legendy, jakim zaginięcie Terroru i Erebusa obrosło na przestrzeni lat. Zachęcam Was, by nie pomijać tego fragmentu.
Całość okraszona jest licznymi rycinami i zdjęciami, co dodatkowo wpływa na…
Hm. Tu napisałam, że wpływa na „przyjemność płynącą z lektury”, ale to straszliwie nie na miejscu słowa.
Książka jest fenomenalna. Choćbym miała się przyczepić do czegokolwiek, to tutaj naprawdę nie mam do czego. Warto, warto, warto.
November 3, 2024
I highly recommend reading this after reading The Terror. There is something surreal about learning of the real men in that expedition after reading Dan Simmons' fictional accounting of them. The instances of Beattie's expedition uncovering some of the perfectly preserved bodies of Franklin expedition members was harrowing.
Now I need to learn more about whoever actually found the ships, several decades after this book was written.
4/5
Now I need to learn more about whoever actually found the ships, several decades after this book was written.
4/5
January 31, 2025
lead poisoning （−＿−；）
January 23, 2025
Very readable and interesting. I am obsessed, now.
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