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Icebound
Long before Bering or Amundsen, long before Franklin or Shackleton, there was William Barents, in many ways the greatest polar explorer of them all. In this engrossing narrative of the Far North, enriched by her own adventurous sojourns in the Arctic, Andrea Pitzer brings Barents' three harrowing expeditions to vivid life--while giving us fascinating insights into one of history's most intrepid navigators.
302 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 2021
487 people are currently reading
12937 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Pitzer
6 books224 followersI'm the author of Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World (2021), One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps (2017), and The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov (2013).
My writing has appeared many places in print and online, from the Washington Post and New York Review of Books to Outside, Slate, Vox, USA Today, and GQ. I founded Nieman Storyboard, the narrative nonfiction site for the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
I've spoken about my work at the 92nd Street Y, Smithsonian Associates, Yale, Dartmouth, and many other places. I live in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.
My writing has appeared many places in print and online, from the Washington Post and New York Review of Books to Outside, Slate, Vox, USA Today, and GQ. I founded Nieman Storyboard, the narrative nonfiction site for the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.
I've spoken about my work at the 92nd Street Y, Smithsonian Associates, Yale, Dartmouth, and many other places. I live in Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 430 reviews
April 12, 2021
A delightful account of exploration in the Polar region very early on by the Dutch. It was very interesting. Quite a shock about all the polar bear attacks, but maybe they had more stock then? Such beautiful creatures. So sad to see their decline due to climate change. Floating on ice. Trying to survive...so sad...what has become of us...
But I digress, if you like to read about adrenaline junkies that put their lives on the line, go for it...read this book...
I could never do these things, but I love to read about those that want to...and can...
3.5 out of 5 stars
But I digress, if you like to read about adrenaline junkies that put their lives on the line, go for it...read this book...
I could never do these things, but I love to read about those that want to...and can...
3.5 out of 5 stars
May 29, 2021
I'm always up for a book on polar exploration, so naturally I was keen to read this new book about William Barents (Willem Barentz), namesake of the Barents Sea and one of the earliest Europeans to venture deep into these remote areas. The chronology is what makes this story unique.
Pitzer begins by describing the Dutch political situation in the 1500's. She explains how events, including an ongoing war with Spain, had unfolded such that the new Dutch republic was, at the end of the 16th century, primed and eager to establish themselves on the world stage through international trade. Prior to his three journeys into the arctic Barents had decades of experience sailing the Mediterranean and had, in fact, participated in the production of an atlas of that area. He was committed to the idea, floating around since the Greek explorer Pytheas first broached it, that there was an open sea in the Northern Polar regions.
She then fairly briskly describes his first two voyages, including his disagreements with other captains and navigators as to whether hugging the the Russian coast or venturing directly north made more sense. The chief obstacle to travel eastward in these regions was the large island of Novaya Zemlya (or Nova Zembla). There was much speculation as to whether this was actually an island that could be circumnavigated or a larger land mass that would prohibit the completion of a West to East northern passage and it was Barents’ ambition to resolve that question.
On the third voyage, Barents convinced his captain (his role on these trips was as navigator) to separate from their companion ship to travel east, back to Nova Zembla. It was there that this ship became icebound, with the crew wintering over in a windowless cabin they built from driftwood and pieces of the ship they deemed non-essential.
And it is there that the book becomes most interesting. Using logbooks and diaries of key members of the crew, the author reconstructs events of the long arctic night. She describes rare atmospheric phenomena related to the aurora borealis; the causes, symptoms and treatments for scurvy; seemingly endless attacks by polar bears; and other fascinating experiences and events. And whenever they were on the water, the bergs and other forms of ice that impeded their progress or altered their routes.
I was particularly struck by the polar bear encounters, not something I'd read about in descriptions of expeditions set later in time, and the fact that these sailors, without any concrete understanding of what caused scurvy intuitively knew that eating grasses high in vitamin C, once they stumbled on them, would be helpful.
Most of all I was impressed by the creativity of these men, sailing without navigational tools that were taken for granted in later years and in vessels that were, by comparison, tiny. Barents himself did not survive the trip home, and without his skills the other crew members struggled to find their way. After much travail they did manage to stumble on the Russian coast where they met up with other ships and local residents who provided much needed food and directions.
The book might have been more engaging if Pitzer had focused more on the personalities of the principal players, Barents especially. But since very little is actually known about him, she would have needed to speculate - and we can't know whether her imaginings would have been accurate. The facts alone make this an intriguing story.
Pitzer begins by describing the Dutch political situation in the 1500's. She explains how events, including an ongoing war with Spain, had unfolded such that the new Dutch republic was, at the end of the 16th century, primed and eager to establish themselves on the world stage through international trade. Prior to his three journeys into the arctic Barents had decades of experience sailing the Mediterranean and had, in fact, participated in the production of an atlas of that area. He was committed to the idea, floating around since the Greek explorer Pytheas first broached it, that there was an open sea in the Northern Polar regions.
She then fairly briskly describes his first two voyages, including his disagreements with other captains and navigators as to whether hugging the the Russian coast or venturing directly north made more sense. The chief obstacle to travel eastward in these regions was the large island of Novaya Zemlya (or Nova Zembla). There was much speculation as to whether this was actually an island that could be circumnavigated or a larger land mass that would prohibit the completion of a West to East northern passage and it was Barents’ ambition to resolve that question.
On the third voyage, Barents convinced his captain (his role on these trips was as navigator) to separate from their companion ship to travel east, back to Nova Zembla. It was there that this ship became icebound, with the crew wintering over in a windowless cabin they built from driftwood and pieces of the ship they deemed non-essential.
And it is there that the book becomes most interesting. Using logbooks and diaries of key members of the crew, the author reconstructs events of the long arctic night. She describes rare atmospheric phenomena related to the aurora borealis; the causes, symptoms and treatments for scurvy; seemingly endless attacks by polar bears; and other fascinating experiences and events. And whenever they were on the water, the bergs and other forms of ice that impeded their progress or altered their routes.
I was particularly struck by the polar bear encounters, not something I'd read about in descriptions of expeditions set later in time, and the fact that these sailors, without any concrete understanding of what caused scurvy intuitively knew that eating grasses high in vitamin C, once they stumbled on them, would be helpful.
Most of all I was impressed by the creativity of these men, sailing without navigational tools that were taken for granted in later years and in vessels that were, by comparison, tiny. Barents himself did not survive the trip home, and without his skills the other crew members struggled to find their way. After much travail they did manage to stumble on the Russian coast where they met up with other ships and local residents who provided much needed food and directions.
The book might have been more engaging if Pitzer had focused more on the personalities of the principal players, Barents especially. But since very little is actually known about him, she would have needed to speculate - and we can't know whether her imaginings would have been accurate. The facts alone make this an intriguing story.
April 30, 2021
This takes some time to read. It is filled with detailed maps upon each of the 3 journeys. They helped me understand the various logistics immensely and they were 5 stars.
Overall I think this non-fiction study of the explorations by Berants from these last years of the 16 century was a full 4 stars. But that doesn't mean that reading it was a clear flow. There are 100's of minutia details about people, history of their emerging nations (especially the Dutch) and other navigating criteria per section. So to understand even portions of their goals and context mindset upon ships meetings and various time spans is difficult in the extreme. This book took me about 5 times longer to do for its length than an "average" non-fiction read for me.
The challenge was worth the effort. I knew about other explorers far, far more than this era, far North location, or this crew. I can't imagine the intrepid factors or bravery in their records. With such lacks of knowledge in not only location and distances but in "normal" weather patterns.
But I did get real sick of reading about polar bear attacks and killing various species with/while a shipmate was being eaten. And also the clothing! I can't imagine wearing such clothes in this environment. Be warned- the violence to survive and dominate is HERE. Sami descriptions to real quoted copy- it's harsh reading.
There are some remarks at the end of this book that I have researched and which are slanted- not at all entirely correct. A recent ship reality, just within the last 2 to 3 years of icebound disasters have occurred. Not only in this region either.
This book will not be for most 2021 readers, IMHO. The sensibilities are not close to the period we live within now. But you can very well comprehend why, how the Dutch created an economic and world dominate hegemony following this exact period. Not only trade and money domination either but huge technical advancements and not only within ship building help accomplish one of the few economic hegemonies world history has experienced.
Overall I think this non-fiction study of the explorations by Berants from these last years of the 16 century was a full 4 stars. But that doesn't mean that reading it was a clear flow. There are 100's of minutia details about people, history of their emerging nations (especially the Dutch) and other navigating criteria per section. So to understand even portions of their goals and context mindset upon ships meetings and various time spans is difficult in the extreme. This book took me about 5 times longer to do for its length than an "average" non-fiction read for me.
The challenge was worth the effort. I knew about other explorers far, far more than this era, far North location, or this crew. I can't imagine the intrepid factors or bravery in their records. With such lacks of knowledge in not only location and distances but in "normal" weather patterns.
But I did get real sick of reading about polar bear attacks and killing various species with/while a shipmate was being eaten. And also the clothing! I can't imagine wearing such clothes in this environment. Be warned- the violence to survive and dominate is HERE. Sami descriptions to real quoted copy- it's harsh reading.
There are some remarks at the end of this book that I have researched and which are slanted- not at all entirely correct. A recent ship reality, just within the last 2 to 3 years of icebound disasters have occurred. Not only in this region either.
This book will not be for most 2021 readers, IMHO. The sensibilities are not close to the period we live within now. But you can very well comprehend why, how the Dutch created an economic and world dominate hegemony following this exact period. Not only trade and money domination either but huge technical advancements and not only within ship building help accomplish one of the few economic hegemonies world history has experienced.
August 22, 2021
A book about a Polar explorer at its best. I'm not in good place to write a better review at the moment
April 13, 2021
One creepy book and I am not kidding.
Won this book in the Goodreads giveaway program - thank you, Goodreads!
This book was more intense than many a horror novel I've read. More suspenseful. More OMG what's next? Historical non-fiction, this was a true tale, which only added to the tension. To know what they went through...
In 1596, Willem Barents sets out north, from Holland, to find a passage way to China by sailing up Europe, then going east around Norway. (The maps were quite helpful here!) I'd read a few books about explorers looking for the Northwest Passage, resulting in large sailing vessels stuck in ice for weeks, months, years, and even forever. I've always enjoyed these and find myself rooting for the men to make it, or live, or get the heck out of there! But this one is a search in the other direction, a search for the Northeast Passage.
This is the late 16th century, just before Holland erupts into a world power based on its success in trading with the 'Orient,' or the East, or China. (And just around the time the horrible African slave trade is getting started.) There's fortunes to be made if someone can find a quicker, easier route to the East, and due to some very old writings, it's believed that just above Norway and Russia is a 'hidden' warm ocean. Sail through that and China's on the other side!
Well, China is over there, but that's hardly the route to take. Barents doesn't know this, neither do his financial backers and off he sails with two ships full of goods to trade or sell. Does he carry what's really needed to survive in those icy waters? Nope. No warm clothing, for one thing. Seriously, that bothered me and I'll return to it in a minute...
Their journey is meticulously recorded, every iceberg sited, indigenous people seen from afar, rocks and waves, the wind and weather, the setting sun getting lower as the seasons change. Eventually, they are locked in ice, in the winter, have to make it to the nearest land, build a house, find fuel - in a region with very few trees - and try to live through cold, deprivation, scurvy, and to top it off - polar bears!
Yes, and the bears are kind of everywhere and have absolutely no fear of humans. Why would they? At this time guns aren't the technological marvels they are today. They're primitive, hard to aim, and sometimes don't shoot when they're supposed to! They are able to kill some of the bears or scare them off, but they keep a'coming! Those they kill they skin and drag back to their ice-encased ship. They're 'novelties' which they plan to bring home to Holland. Meanwhile, they're wearing leather or woolen clothes and soggy leather shoes.
The writer does point out how ill-equipped this group was - for everything! Food. Clothes. Weapons. Just about everything that could go wrong, does. Scurvy - they had no idea at this time that it was due to a Vitamin C deficiency. And clothes? Why did not one of them say let's use these bearskins as blankets, coats, beds? They do kill some foxes and turn them into hats. (They ate the foxes, too.) But bear liver is toxic to humans; I don't know if bear meat is as well, but there's no mention of them eating it.
Anyhow, for anyone who loves an 'Arctic tale,' and this is a true one, it's a great read. Scary, too. About a group of brave men who made some terrible choices - a story I knew nothing about until I read this remarkable book.
Five stars.
Won this book in the Goodreads giveaway program - thank you, Goodreads!
This book was more intense than many a horror novel I've read. More suspenseful. More OMG what's next? Historical non-fiction, this was a true tale, which only added to the tension. To know what they went through...
In 1596, Willem Barents sets out north, from Holland, to find a passage way to China by sailing up Europe, then going east around Norway. (The maps were quite helpful here!) I'd read a few books about explorers looking for the Northwest Passage, resulting in large sailing vessels stuck in ice for weeks, months, years, and even forever. I've always enjoyed these and find myself rooting for the men to make it, or live, or get the heck out of there! But this one is a search in the other direction, a search for the Northeast Passage.
This is the late 16th century, just before Holland erupts into a world power based on its success in trading with the 'Orient,' or the East, or China. (And just around the time the horrible African slave trade is getting started.) There's fortunes to be made if someone can find a quicker, easier route to the East, and due to some very old writings, it's believed that just above Norway and Russia is a 'hidden' warm ocean. Sail through that and China's on the other side!
Well, China is over there, but that's hardly the route to take. Barents doesn't know this, neither do his financial backers and off he sails with two ships full of goods to trade or sell. Does he carry what's really needed to survive in those icy waters? Nope. No warm clothing, for one thing. Seriously, that bothered me and I'll return to it in a minute...
Their journey is meticulously recorded, every iceberg sited, indigenous people seen from afar, rocks and waves, the wind and weather, the setting sun getting lower as the seasons change. Eventually, they are locked in ice, in the winter, have to make it to the nearest land, build a house, find fuel - in a region with very few trees - and try to live through cold, deprivation, scurvy, and to top it off - polar bears!
Yes, and the bears are kind of everywhere and have absolutely no fear of humans. Why would they? At this time guns aren't the technological marvels they are today. They're primitive, hard to aim, and sometimes don't shoot when they're supposed to! They are able to kill some of the bears or scare them off, but they keep a'coming! Those they kill they skin and drag back to their ice-encased ship. They're 'novelties' which they plan to bring home to Holland. Meanwhile, they're wearing leather or woolen clothes and soggy leather shoes.
The writer does point out how ill-equipped this group was - for everything! Food. Clothes. Weapons. Just about everything that could go wrong, does. Scurvy - they had no idea at this time that it was due to a Vitamin C deficiency. And clothes? Why did not one of them say let's use these bearskins as blankets, coats, beds? They do kill some foxes and turn them into hats. (They ate the foxes, too.) But bear liver is toxic to humans; I don't know if bear meat is as well, but there's no mention of them eating it.
Anyhow, for anyone who loves an 'Arctic tale,' and this is a true one, it's a great read. Scary, too. About a group of brave men who made some terrible choices - a story I knew nothing about until I read this remarkable book.
Five stars.
January 26, 2021
I've read quite a few arctic explorer works lately. Most manage to evoke a sense of the emotions behind the events, the desire to find a new route to the riches of the East, to make a name for oneself, the fear and suffering of being trapped in ice for a year or more, the suffering of slow death by starvation and disease. Somehow, Pitzer misses all this while delivering the facts.
To me, it seems clear that the author had access to firsthand recollections of the three arctic voyages Barents participated in as navigator. Her text could easily have been a chronological bullet point list transliterated from surviving documentation. All the facts would be present stripped of emotion . . . much as her prose presents things.
Yes, the voyages are here. Yes, the tragedy and hardship of being stranded in an Arctic winter. Yes, the hardships of scurvy, being hunted by polar bears, nearly freezing to death, and Vitamin A poisoning are all here, faithfully reported, listed, enumerated.
What I find missing is the human element. A personality clash between Barents and the commander of the third exploratory fleet that eventually results in splitting the fleet and nearly killing all of the men under Barents is merely "reported" but not examined. There is no "why," no feeling of the tension the building arguments must have created. Even the mutiny during the second voyage and the resulting punishments and deaths seem to be glossed over, enumerated but not "felt."
Ultimately, the facts are here. We know what these men did but we don't know why, really. The human aspect is, I feel, missing. Maybe it's just me.
To me, it seems clear that the author had access to firsthand recollections of the three arctic voyages Barents participated in as navigator. Her text could easily have been a chronological bullet point list transliterated from surviving documentation. All the facts would be present stripped of emotion . . . much as her prose presents things.
Yes, the voyages are here. Yes, the tragedy and hardship of being stranded in an Arctic winter. Yes, the hardships of scurvy, being hunted by polar bears, nearly freezing to death, and Vitamin A poisoning are all here, faithfully reported, listed, enumerated.
What I find missing is the human element. A personality clash between Barents and the commander of the third exploratory fleet that eventually results in splitting the fleet and nearly killing all of the men under Barents is merely "reported" but not examined. There is no "why," no feeling of the tension the building arguments must have created. Even the mutiny during the second voyage and the resulting punishments and deaths seem to be glossed over, enumerated but not "felt."
Ultimately, the facts are here. We know what these men did but we don't know why, really. The human aspect is, I feel, missing. Maybe it's just me.
August 23, 2020
320 pages
5 stars
In 1594, William Barents, a Dutchman, was to undertake the first of his three voyages North to search for a passage to China. The Dutch hoped to establish trade with the Chinese and looked for a shorter route than was currently available.
The first and second voyages, while essentially failing to find a route, were relatively short when compared to later Arctic expeditions. However, during the third voyage a dispute broke out among the two captains and they split. Barents continued North, while Riip went his own way. Each was still looking for a shorter northern route to China.
But Barents and his men were to run into trouble and they were forced to winter over when their ship became trapped in the ice. Things did not go well. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
This is the story of the sheer determination and will to survive that these men possessed. I marvelled at their tenacity and refusal to give in to despair. The times were very difficult and depressing. While I enjoy reading stories about Arctic and Antarctic explorations, I do so from the comfort and warmth of my chair. I cannot even begin to entertain the idea of joining such an expedition myself. (Nebraska winters are harsh enough, thank you.)
This book is very well researched and footnoted. There is an extensive bibliography for those who wish to further explore Barents' adventures and other Arctic expeditions. The book is well written. I really appreciate it when the author of such a work makes history interesting. It is not dry reading and Ms. Pitzer makes it enjoyable to read this work.
I want to thank NetGalley and Scribner for forwarding to me a copy of this most accessible and remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review.
5 stars
In 1594, William Barents, a Dutchman, was to undertake the first of his three voyages North to search for a passage to China. The Dutch hoped to establish trade with the Chinese and looked for a shorter route than was currently available.
The first and second voyages, while essentially failing to find a route, were relatively short when compared to later Arctic expeditions. However, during the third voyage a dispute broke out among the two captains and they split. Barents continued North, while Riip went his own way. Each was still looking for a shorter northern route to China.
But Barents and his men were to run into trouble and they were forced to winter over when their ship became trapped in the ice. Things did not go well. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
This is the story of the sheer determination and will to survive that these men possessed. I marvelled at their tenacity and refusal to give in to despair. The times were very difficult and depressing. While I enjoy reading stories about Arctic and Antarctic explorations, I do so from the comfort and warmth of my chair. I cannot even begin to entertain the idea of joining such an expedition myself. (Nebraska winters are harsh enough, thank you.)
This book is very well researched and footnoted. There is an extensive bibliography for those who wish to further explore Barents' adventures and other Arctic expeditions. The book is well written. I really appreciate it when the author of such a work makes history interesting. It is not dry reading and Ms. Pitzer makes it enjoyable to read this work.
I want to thank NetGalley and Scribner for forwarding to me a copy of this most accessible and remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review.
August 28, 2020
ARC received through Netgalley
This is an interesting story that I was unfamiliar with. Sadly failed Dutch expeditions of the 1500s just don't seem to make it into school curriculum. The book was very informative and it's a good story. However, Pitzer's writing style drove me nuts. She meanders into tangents so frequently and I found myself growing impatient. It felt like she did a lot of research, but wasn't willing to cut out the extraneous information. As an example, multiple pages discussing the diverse makeshift shelters left behind by other explorers just isn't really within the scope of this book. You know what would have been in the scope of this book? A discussion of when and how "the Safe House" as our protagonists called their shelter was re-discovered three centuries after they left it. We repeatedly hear in passing that it remained unfound for three centuries but she never really follows up on that information. On a related note, Pitzer needed a better outline. After on the trip home, Pitzer then spends the rest of the chapter talking about how the legend of the voyage developed and changed over time before then getting back to the story of how the journey ended. Then she spends the latter half of the last chapter talking about the longterm cultural effects of the expedition. It would have worked much better to have gone through the journey in one continuous piece and saved the analysis of the mythos of Barents and his expedition for the last chapter. That's just one example of how the book just doesn't feel like it proceeds in a natural order. Also, many many typos that I can only hope will be fixed before the final publication.
This book is getting 3 stars mainly because I did enjoy learning about this historical event but it's not very well written.
This is an interesting story that I was unfamiliar with. Sadly failed Dutch expeditions of the 1500s just don't seem to make it into school curriculum. The book was very informative and it's a good story. However, Pitzer's writing style drove me nuts. She meanders into tangents so frequently and I found myself growing impatient. It felt like she did a lot of research, but wasn't willing to cut out the extraneous information. As an example, multiple pages discussing the diverse makeshift shelters left behind by other explorers just isn't really within the scope of this book. You know what would have been in the scope of this book? A discussion of when and how "the Safe House" as our protagonists called their shelter was re-discovered three centuries after they left it. We repeatedly hear in passing that it remained unfound for three centuries but she never really follows up on that information. On a related note, Pitzer needed a better outline. After on the trip home, Pitzer then spends the rest of the chapter talking about how the legend of the voyage developed and changed over time before then getting back to the story of how the journey ended. Then she spends the latter half of the last chapter talking about the longterm cultural effects of the expedition. It would have worked much better to have gone through the journey in one continuous piece and saved the analysis of the mythos of Barents and his expedition for the last chapter. That's just one example of how the book just doesn't feel like it proceeds in a natural order. Also, many many typos that I can only hope will be fixed before the final publication.
This book is getting 3 stars mainly because I did enjoy learning about this historical event but it's not very well written.
November 16, 2022
There's a LOT of bears in this book. And a ton of stubborn men. I feel like I could def leave the review at that, haha.
Author Andrea Pitzer has done a TON of research to bring Arctic Voyage adventures to this book. I bet the research was fascinating. However, I do think that some of the chapters could have been a bit more condensed, as a few got so dry, I starting skim reading.
I LOVED the tie in to the bears, even if there was a lot of hard passages in the treatment of them. I began rooting for the bears to win in their hijinks.
The stubbornness in men comes from both a perseverance and inability to give up and in the competitive spirit in "KNOWING" that a theory just "couldn't be wrong." A lot of lives and ships were lost in this endeavor to find a trade route to China through the Arctic.
While this book is revolving around William Barents, it became more of an ode to the Arctic and the Ice. I actually think it could have been about any of these voyages, and Barents could have easily been lost in the background.
This was a plethora of knowledge. The chapters are laid our chronologically, which I like. If you were using this book for research purposes, you would need to go through an entire chapter for what you needed, as it wouldn't be an easy reference pull chapter layout. But read it for the POLAR BEARS!
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4.
Author Andrea Pitzer has done a TON of research to bring Arctic Voyage adventures to this book. I bet the research was fascinating. However, I do think that some of the chapters could have been a bit more condensed, as a few got so dry, I starting skim reading.
I LOVED the tie in to the bears, even if there was a lot of hard passages in the treatment of them. I began rooting for the bears to win in their hijinks.
The stubbornness in men comes from both a perseverance and inability to give up and in the competitive spirit in "KNOWING" that a theory just "couldn't be wrong." A lot of lives and ships were lost in this endeavor to find a trade route to China through the Arctic.
While this book is revolving around William Barents, it became more of an ode to the Arctic and the Ice. I actually think it could have been about any of these voyages, and Barents could have easily been lost in the background.
This was a plethora of knowledge. The chapters are laid our chronologically, which I like. If you were using this book for research purposes, you would need to go through an entire chapter for what you needed, as it wouldn't be an easy reference pull chapter layout. But read it for the POLAR BEARS!
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4.
April 4, 2021
I was really underwhelmed by this book, even though it's one of my favorite genres, "sea voyage gone horribly wrong." The author hews very closely to what must have been the journals from the sailors, so there's almost a diary-like recounting that gets very monotonous; it would have been better to synthesized more at some points. She also barely mentions by name any of the sailors--they're all just undifferentiated, even though she cites a document they all signed at the end where it's clear their name were known. In general, there's very little characterization of anyone, and not really any assessment of the principals' personalities or actions. Were they right to set out to the northeast coast of Zembla? Foolhardy? Cruel and dictatorial? She also uses too much passive voice, which is a real pet peeve of mine--these are people making decisions, there are power dynamics, etc.--show this!
Like most books in the genre, it needs some diagrams of ships, etc.--the author describes things but they're so far removed from daily life in the 21st century, one needs images to help visualize, especially for comparative size. I don't really know where/what a foremast, main mast, topsail, etc. are. (Again, this is a general problem with these books, assuming overfamiliarity with 16th century ships.) The lack of such images is particularly galling since the author mentions in the coda that shipbuilders have built reconstructions of Barents' ship using diagrams of the original ships!
At some point I decided to power through to finish it, but wouldn't recommend.
Like most books in the genre, it needs some diagrams of ships, etc.--the author describes things but they're so far removed from daily life in the 21st century, one needs images to help visualize, especially for comparative size. I don't really know where/what a foremast, main mast, topsail, etc. are. (Again, this is a general problem with these books, assuming overfamiliarity with 16th century ships.) The lack of such images is particularly galling since the author mentions in the coda that shipbuilders have built reconstructions of Barents' ship using diagrams of the original ships!
At some point I decided to power through to finish it, but wouldn't recommend.
October 4, 2022
This covered the earliest polar journey I've read about, so that was impressive. But that brings its own issues, mainly a lack of information and primary sources. As such it was largely monotonous and I think a significant portion had to be conjecture? The content was portrayed very dryly for a large part of the book, exhibiting not-great creative nonfiction writing.
At some point it became comical as the men fought off polar bears that crept up on them, shooed them from their icebound ship decks, resulting in a Scooby Doo vibe at times. Just pictured people running cartoonishly all over playing whack a mole with polar bears.
I was pleasantly surprised at the survivor count at the end, and also learned that consuming arctic fox staves off scurvy. That was a new one, like penguins at the other end of the globe.
At some point it became comical as the men fought off polar bears that crept up on them, shooed them from their icebound ship decks, resulting in a Scooby Doo vibe at times. Just pictured people running cartoonishly all over playing whack a mole with polar bears.
I was pleasantly surprised at the survivor count at the end, and also learned that consuming arctic fox staves off scurvy. That was a new one, like penguins at the other end of the globe.
January 25, 2021
“Though Barents never gained fame in battle and never found a trade route to China, he had planted a seed for a new kind of explorer, one whose fame lay in a combination of knowledge and endurance rather than martial glory.”
I’ve read a lot of polar adventure tales, almost always in the throes of winter. Remember last week I mentioned leaning in to the darkness of the season; this is along those same lines. It’s cold and snowy outside, so why not read some epic tales of guys who’ve been much colder than me and far more miserable? Plus, stories of daring and survival are always fun, and it doesn’t get more daring or tense than the coldest cold you can imagine (and then some).
Andrea Pitzer’s Icebound, which tells the story of William Barents’ ur-expedition to the northern reaches of the world, adds to the upper echelon of polar adventure books.
Back in the late 1500s, ocean journeys were all about commerce. Finding a quicker route from Europe to East Asia was the goal—a mythical passage over the top of the world. There was even an idea that perhaps the north pole was actually a warm weather ocean. They really just had no idea what was up there.
So Barents set out on three expeditions. The first two were successful enough (he got farther north than any human possibly ever had), but no passage was found. On the third trip, Barents and his crew made it even further, but were then hemmed in by ice and forced to “overwinter,” or make camp for the long, cold, sunless season until the ice abated and allowed them to return home.
What happened next involved a driftwood hut for 18 men, numerous polar bears, nasty cases of scurvy and hypervitaminosis A (which makes your skin peel off!), and a trek home in what were functionally a couple of large row boats.
Pitzer quickly captured not only the bleak brutality of the surroundings and the arctic ocean-going experience, but also, perhaps most interestingly to me, the changing philosophy of the spirit of adventure in that time. Barents was celebrated as a hero, despite his failure to find a passable trade route.
His intrepid acts of endurance, leadership, and survival in a harrowing environment were enough. From then on, the ships that set out for the poles were more about sheer exploration than business pursuits. Though Barents isn’t a well-known name like Robert Falcon Scott or Roald Amundsen or Ernest Shackleton, he set the stage for all that came after him:
“every famous Arctic explorer who endured horrifying ordeals, every adventurer to the North whose story became a bestselling book, every voyager vowing to fill in the map for national glory, every polar adventurer whose exploits were recorded with the newest technologies—from books to telegrams to photos to radio broadcasts to phones to satellite links—has walked in the path first blazed by William Barents.”
I’ve read a lot of polar adventure tales, almost always in the throes of winter. Remember last week I mentioned leaning in to the darkness of the season; this is along those same lines. It’s cold and snowy outside, so why not read some epic tales of guys who’ve been much colder than me and far more miserable? Plus, stories of daring and survival are always fun, and it doesn’t get more daring or tense than the coldest cold you can imagine (and then some).
Andrea Pitzer’s Icebound, which tells the story of William Barents’ ur-expedition to the northern reaches of the world, adds to the upper echelon of polar adventure books.
Back in the late 1500s, ocean journeys were all about commerce. Finding a quicker route from Europe to East Asia was the goal—a mythical passage over the top of the world. There was even an idea that perhaps the north pole was actually a warm weather ocean. They really just had no idea what was up there.
So Barents set out on three expeditions. The first two were successful enough (he got farther north than any human possibly ever had), but no passage was found. On the third trip, Barents and his crew made it even further, but were then hemmed in by ice and forced to “overwinter,” or make camp for the long, cold, sunless season until the ice abated and allowed them to return home.
What happened next involved a driftwood hut for 18 men, numerous polar bears, nasty cases of scurvy and hypervitaminosis A (which makes your skin peel off!), and a trek home in what were functionally a couple of large row boats.
Pitzer quickly captured not only the bleak brutality of the surroundings and the arctic ocean-going experience, but also, perhaps most interestingly to me, the changing philosophy of the spirit of adventure in that time. Barents was celebrated as a hero, despite his failure to find a passable trade route.
His intrepid acts of endurance, leadership, and survival in a harrowing environment were enough. From then on, the ships that set out for the poles were more about sheer exploration than business pursuits. Though Barents isn’t a well-known name like Robert Falcon Scott or Roald Amundsen or Ernest Shackleton, he set the stage for all that came after him:
“every famous Arctic explorer who endured horrifying ordeals, every adventurer to the North whose story became a bestselling book, every voyager vowing to fill in the map for national glory, every polar adventurer whose exploits were recorded with the newest technologies—from books to telegrams to photos to radio broadcasts to phones to satellite links—has walked in the path first blazed by William Barents.”
October 27, 2021
ICEBOUND: Shipwrecked At The Edge Of The World by Andrea Pitzer is a riveting, deeply immersive tale of sixteenth-century Dutch polar explorer William Barents and his three harrowing Arctic expeditions - the last of which resulted in a relentlessly challenging yearlong fight for survival.
I agree with this quote by Mitchell Zuckoff, author of Frozen in Time and Fall and Rise.
"The bone-chilling tale of a legendary journey in which survival depended on leadership, teamwork, and superhuman endurance – as well as the ability to outpace and outbattle icebergs and polar bears… A masterwork of narrative nonfiction."
4.5 stars
I agree with this quote by Mitchell Zuckoff, author of Frozen in Time and Fall and Rise.
"The bone-chilling tale of a legendary journey in which survival depended on leadership, teamwork, and superhuman endurance – as well as the ability to outpace and outbattle icebergs and polar bears… A masterwork of narrative nonfiction."
4.5 stars
January 24, 2021
What an interesting book! I did enjoy reading ICEBOUND: SHIPWRECKED AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. It was fascinating how courageous these men were and how they continued on. What an enjoyable book!
September 9, 2020
Ever since I stumbled upon an article on “Wired”, in which Andrea Pitzer described her travel to the Far North, I knew I have to read the whole book. Her writing was fresh, clear, and beautiful, so I was hungry for more. The ARC made me joyous and I devoured it as soon as I could.
While I expected a travelog with a bit of history, this was something different, but I was not disappointed at all. In the book, Pitzer turned out to be a very humble author - she is an invisible presence until the last chapter. But you can feel her wisdom, knowledge, and impressing research in almost every sentence, in all little remarks and comparisons. Instead of writing about herself, she gives full attention to her heroes and the result is compelling.
The story itself is fascinating. Though of course, I heard about Barents before, I didn’t really realize till now that he was a true pioneer and that he was centuries ahead of other heroes of polar exploration. I always marvel at the courage and endurance of people from the past who dared to venture into the unknown, without proper equipment nor technology, and managed to survive. And it’s hard to find a better tale of survival that this one. Pitzer managed to show her characters as real people. She doesn’t cut corners, she resists the temptation to fast forward less adventurous events. Thanks to a detailed description of daily struggles, no matter how monotonous and mundane it could be, you feel transported to that world.
Her focus is on history and she doesn’t use it as a cheap excuse to preach about contemporary issues, but in a very subtle way, she puts it in a broader context and makes you think.
Many thanks to the publisher, Scribner, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.
While I expected a travelog with a bit of history, this was something different, but I was not disappointed at all. In the book, Pitzer turned out to be a very humble author - she is an invisible presence until the last chapter. But you can feel her wisdom, knowledge, and impressing research in almost every sentence, in all little remarks and comparisons. Instead of writing about herself, she gives full attention to her heroes and the result is compelling.
The story itself is fascinating. Though of course, I heard about Barents before, I didn’t really realize till now that he was a true pioneer and that he was centuries ahead of other heroes of polar exploration. I always marvel at the courage and endurance of people from the past who dared to venture into the unknown, without proper equipment nor technology, and managed to survive. And it’s hard to find a better tale of survival that this one. Pitzer managed to show her characters as real people. She doesn’t cut corners, she resists the temptation to fast forward less adventurous events. Thanks to a detailed description of daily struggles, no matter how monotonous and mundane it could be, you feel transported to that world.
Her focus is on history and she doesn’t use it as a cheap excuse to preach about contemporary issues, but in a very subtle way, she puts it in a broader context and makes you think.
Many thanks to the publisher, Scribner, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.
November 26, 2024
I enjoy books about polar exploration, so I was very interested to read this account of an early expedition that sailed further north than anyone had ever gone before, centuries before the so-called golden age of polar exploration of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dutchman William Barents made three expeditions to the Arctic in search of a northern route to China. On his first two expeditions he reached Nova Zembla (Novaya Zemlya) but was forced to turn back due to heavy sea ice. His third expedition, in 1596, headed more directly north with two ships, captained by Jacob van Heemskerk and Jan Cornelis Rijp. After discovering Spitsbergen, there was disagreement about where to go next. Barents, van Heemskerk, and their crew of 15 others opted to continue on to Nova Zembla, parting ways with Rijp and his ship.
After rounding the northern tip of Nova Zembla, Barents's ship became mired in ice, forcing the 17 men to overwinter on the island's barren shore. The story of this harrowing ordeal, for which they were woefully unprepared, makes up the bulk of Andrea Pitzer's book. Marooned far from any chance of rescue, the crew faced the long dark of an Arctic winter, a constant struggle to find food, terrible sickness due to scurvy, and frequent threats from polar bears. It's an adventure worth reading about, yet despite all its inherent drama, I often found the story curiously flat. It's not necessarily the author's fault--she writes well and has clearly done extensive research, although her digressions into later polar exploration and other tangentially related topics sometimes felt a bit like padding to make the book longer (it's under 300 pages anyway). I think the main problem with the book is that there are no personalities. With the exception of Barents, van Heemskerk, Rijp, and crew member Gerrit de Veer, whose diary of the expedition is one of Pitzer's main sources, no one is mentioned by name. I am sure this is because their names have not been recorded in history, but this unfortunate fact means that much of the story simply reads as "They did this" and "Then this happened." As a result, Pitzer's story lacks the compelling characters and interpersonal drama that makes books about later polar explorers so fascinating.
There's also a lot of repetition, simply because the crew's lives while stranded on Nova Zembla were so monotonous. They starved, got lucky and managed to kill a fox for food, struggled to keep warm, killed a polar bear, trekked to their stranded ship for supplies, went looking for wood to burn or build with, killed another polar bear, etc. From a modern perspective, the number of polar bears they killed is horrifying. Some of them were a direct threat, but others were shot just because that was what the crew did when they saw an animal. At one point Pitzer quotes a modern researcher saying something like, "It's a miracle there's any wildlife left in the Arctic at all."
I'm torn between two or three stars for this one, but I'll round up. This was worth reading to learn about early Arctic exploration and an extraordinary saga of survival under the harshest of conditions, but it dragged on a bit despite Pitzer's best efforts. The anonymity and repetition aren't her fault, but there's only so much you can do with limited source material.
---------------
UPDATE: Upon further contemplation, I'm changing my rating to two stars. Goodreads defines two stars as "it was ok" and that's really what it was. Just okay.
After rounding the northern tip of Nova Zembla, Barents's ship became mired in ice, forcing the 17 men to overwinter on the island's barren shore. The story of this harrowing ordeal, for which they were woefully unprepared, makes up the bulk of Andrea Pitzer's book. Marooned far from any chance of rescue, the crew faced the long dark of an Arctic winter, a constant struggle to find food, terrible sickness due to scurvy, and frequent threats from polar bears. It's an adventure worth reading about, yet despite all its inherent drama, I often found the story curiously flat. It's not necessarily the author's fault--she writes well and has clearly done extensive research, although her digressions into later polar exploration and other tangentially related topics sometimes felt a bit like padding to make the book longer (it's under 300 pages anyway). I think the main problem with the book is that there are no personalities. With the exception of Barents, van Heemskerk, Rijp, and crew member Gerrit de Veer, whose diary of the expedition is one of Pitzer's main sources, no one is mentioned by name. I am sure this is because their names have not been recorded in history, but this unfortunate fact means that much of the story simply reads as "They did this" and "Then this happened." As a result, Pitzer's story lacks the compelling characters and interpersonal drama that makes books about later polar explorers so fascinating.
There's also a lot of repetition, simply because the crew's lives while stranded on Nova Zembla were so monotonous. They starved, got lucky and managed to kill a fox for food, struggled to keep warm, killed a polar bear, trekked to their stranded ship for supplies, went looking for wood to burn or build with, killed another polar bear, etc. From a modern perspective, the number of polar bears they killed is horrifying. Some of them were a direct threat, but others were shot just because that was what the crew did when they saw an animal. At one point Pitzer quotes a modern researcher saying something like, "It's a miracle there's any wildlife left in the Arctic at all."
I'm torn between two or three stars for this one, but I'll round up. This was worth reading to learn about early Arctic exploration and an extraordinary saga of survival under the harshest of conditions, but it dragged on a bit despite Pitzer's best efforts. The anonymity and repetition aren't her fault, but there's only so much you can do with limited source material.
---------------
UPDATE: Upon further contemplation, I'm changing my rating to two stars. Goodreads defines two stars as "it was ok" and that's really what it was. Just okay.
May 11, 2021
A new independent bookstore opened up downtown and had a soft opening for Independent Bookstore Day! I bought a couple of books (plus a few for my kids) to let them know I am glad they’re there, but when I saw this book on their shelves, I decided to pick it up from my library instead.
William Barents was a Dutch explorer in the late 16th century. This is just before the Netherlands became the exploring powerhouse they became just a little while later. But as with the Northwest Passage in the Western Hemisphere, it was thought that a route to China existed across a warm polar sea, above the Arctic Circle. It was Barents’s job as navigator in his third expedition to Nova Zembla, above Russia, to find such a sea. Unfortunately, he and his crew couldn’t fight past the ice that seemed to just keep coming the farther north they traveled, and eventually his ship became fast in the ice at Ice Harbor, on the east side of Nova Zembla. Barents and his men abandoned the ship finally and spent a polar night in a makeshift home called the Safe House that they constructed on Nova Zembla. Completely unprepared for the winter in terms of clothing, food, and construction materials, they nevertheless made it through the winter, though they suffered terribly from malnutrition and scurvy. Eventually the crew, under the command of Jacob van Heemskerck, made ready two smaller boats they’d brought with them for the return voyage, and they staggered toward civilization, hugging the coastline, as their small boats would be lost on the open ocean.
It’s amazing to me how little prepared these men were. Pitzer mentions that the sailors didn’t even have good winter gear, and the pelts of the polar bears they killed were so valuable it was impossible to even think about making them into clothes to keep warm. It’s also mind-blowing that the men killed so many polar bears and then just left the meat, taking only the pelt. I understand that the men didn’t care for the taste of it, but when you’re starving and you’re suffering from scurvy and desperate for vitamin C? You’d think they’d be a little less finicky. As soon as Pitzer writes that the crew one time decided to try to eat a polar bear’s liver, I groaned aloud, knowing how poisonous it is to humans. I did learn, however, that vitamin A poisoning (which is what eating polar bear liver will do to you) leads to one’s skin sloughing off in sheets. Yikes. I also learned that scurvy isn’t just one’s teeth becoming loose in the gums, but that one can die from it. It also loosens all the connective tissues in the body. It really sounds like something terrible to suffer from. Thank goodness for all the fresh food in modern day America.
My only complaint with this book is that it reads like a newspaper account of the third voyage to Nova Zembla. On this day, the crew did this. On that day, the crew did this other thing. Then on this day, the crew rested. It’s hard to make a connection with these men suffering past the edge of civilization because Pitzer refers to them constantly as simply this sailor or that; she only names Barents, Gerrit de Veer, and Jacob van Heemskerck for the most part. There were only 15 men on that expedition; I would have assumed we’d get more information on them. There was also no real discussion on how the men felt, other than the fact they knew they were staring death in the face. It was a bit of a letdown.
But for fans of the history of Arctic exploration, this is an interesting book, and a good addition to one’s knowledge of the subject.
William Barents was a Dutch explorer in the late 16th century. This is just before the Netherlands became the exploring powerhouse they became just a little while later. But as with the Northwest Passage in the Western Hemisphere, it was thought that a route to China existed across a warm polar sea, above the Arctic Circle. It was Barents’s job as navigator in his third expedition to Nova Zembla, above Russia, to find such a sea. Unfortunately, he and his crew couldn’t fight past the ice that seemed to just keep coming the farther north they traveled, and eventually his ship became fast in the ice at Ice Harbor, on the east side of Nova Zembla. Barents and his men abandoned the ship finally and spent a polar night in a makeshift home called the Safe House that they constructed on Nova Zembla. Completely unprepared for the winter in terms of clothing, food, and construction materials, they nevertheless made it through the winter, though they suffered terribly from malnutrition and scurvy. Eventually the crew, under the command of Jacob van Heemskerck, made ready two smaller boats they’d brought with them for the return voyage, and they staggered toward civilization, hugging the coastline, as their small boats would be lost on the open ocean.
It’s amazing to me how little prepared these men were. Pitzer mentions that the sailors didn’t even have good winter gear, and the pelts of the polar bears they killed were so valuable it was impossible to even think about making them into clothes to keep warm. It’s also mind-blowing that the men killed so many polar bears and then just left the meat, taking only the pelt. I understand that the men didn’t care for the taste of it, but when you’re starving and you’re suffering from scurvy and desperate for vitamin C? You’d think they’d be a little less finicky. As soon as Pitzer writes that the crew one time decided to try to eat a polar bear’s liver, I groaned aloud, knowing how poisonous it is to humans. I did learn, however, that vitamin A poisoning (which is what eating polar bear liver will do to you) leads to one’s skin sloughing off in sheets. Yikes. I also learned that scurvy isn’t just one’s teeth becoming loose in the gums, but that one can die from it. It also loosens all the connective tissues in the body. It really sounds like something terrible to suffer from. Thank goodness for all the fresh food in modern day America.
My only complaint with this book is that it reads like a newspaper account of the third voyage to Nova Zembla. On this day, the crew did this. On that day, the crew did this other thing. Then on this day, the crew rested. It’s hard to make a connection with these men suffering past the edge of civilization because Pitzer refers to them constantly as simply this sailor or that; she only names Barents, Gerrit de Veer, and Jacob van Heemskerck for the most part. There were only 15 men on that expedition; I would have assumed we’d get more information on them. There was also no real discussion on how the men felt, other than the fact they knew they were staring death in the face. It was a bit of a letdown.
But for fans of the history of Arctic exploration, this is an interesting book, and a good addition to one’s knowledge of the subject.
January 16, 2021
Icebound: Shipwrecked at The Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer is a one part quest for a trade route from Europe to China through the north, and is one part survival story of the nature. This nonfiction account of William Barents three journey's to find a passage through the north pole and his last journey where he was trapped for a year with a crew of 15 in no mans land with ice, snow and polar bears. The story is filled with history and personal accounts, through letters making the situation very real. This book shows just how vicious polar bears can be, and how hard they are to kill. The weather is the constant enemy snow, ice, and rain with extreme cold thrown in for good measure. It's hard to imagine anyone in current time surviving, not to mention people living in the late 1500's. The writing was straight forward with little or no emotion, as reader my imagination took over about the mutiny and dealing with below freezing temperatures. I read Icebound: Shipwrecked at The Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer for free thanks to Netgalley and Scribner it was published on 1-12-21.
The Plot: In 1590's the Dutch Republic wanted a quicker trade route to China, with the current route taking to long and losing ships to pirates. They hired William Barents to find a route through the North, he takes 3 voyages to find a pass, but the elements don't let him the final voyage he and his crew are left stranded in the ice until the next summer. His journey notes and observations lead to many discoveries in science and exploration.
What I Liked: The tale of survival and the descriptions of isolation and the extreme weather are pretty terrifying. Polar bears are scary and stealth. The polar bear attacks are brutal and really frightening. I liked learning about the navigational tools at the time and how genius Barents was to navigate it. I liked learning the legacy after Barents death.
What I Disliked: There was a part of the story where it seemed that Barents and the other officer didn't do anything, it explained they were the most valuable so the other crew members took the risk, but it's almost as the characters go missing 30 pages until something that happens that needs leadership. it was sad that most of the crew did not have names, or any description of what most of the crew looked like.
Recommendations: I will recommend this nonfiction, the history is not to boring and the treat of death is everywhere and you feel that tension. This book reads like a horror in some places, the biggest fiction I could compare it Dan Simmons' The Terror which is fictional based on the true Story of the HMS Terror where explorers were trying to get the North Pole. The actual journey of the HMS. Terror was influenced by Barents. I rated Icebound: Shipwrecked at The Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer 4 out of 5 stars.
The Plot: In 1590's the Dutch Republic wanted a quicker trade route to China, with the current route taking to long and losing ships to pirates. They hired William Barents to find a route through the North, he takes 3 voyages to find a pass, but the elements don't let him the final voyage he and his crew are left stranded in the ice until the next summer. His journey notes and observations lead to many discoveries in science and exploration.
What I Liked: The tale of survival and the descriptions of isolation and the extreme weather are pretty terrifying. Polar bears are scary and stealth. The polar bear attacks are brutal and really frightening. I liked learning about the navigational tools at the time and how genius Barents was to navigate it. I liked learning the legacy after Barents death.
What I Disliked: There was a part of the story where it seemed that Barents and the other officer didn't do anything, it explained they were the most valuable so the other crew members took the risk, but it's almost as the characters go missing 30 pages until something that happens that needs leadership. it was sad that most of the crew did not have names, or any description of what most of the crew looked like.
Recommendations: I will recommend this nonfiction, the history is not to boring and the treat of death is everywhere and you feel that tension. This book reads like a horror in some places, the biggest fiction I could compare it Dan Simmons' The Terror which is fictional based on the true Story of the HMS Terror where explorers were trying to get the North Pole. The actual journey of the HMS. Terror was influenced by Barents. I rated Icebound: Shipwrecked at The Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer 4 out of 5 stars.
August 21, 2021
This book in a nutshell: ice, more ice, a lot more ice, polar bear, who knew there could be so much ice?, shit...three polar bears, let's try to kill the polar bear, oh shit the polar bear killed two of us, scurvy, so much scurvy, dead sailors, more polar bears, more dead sailors, more ice, less ice (but still a helluva lot of ice)...
Kidding...kind of.
Andrea Pitzer gives a pretty good recounting of the final voyage of William Barents to find a route to the East through the polar North. It's a disaster by all accounts but managed to put Barents's name in the history books and get a sea named after him. The book dragged in parts, but there was plenty I enjoyed, particularly when I yelled the exploits of the woefully unprepared crew out to my Dutch partner with a little "not the brightest your country had to offer, eh?"
And, though these exploits have been interred in a heroic guise in history and lit, Pitzer points out the future these expeditions unleashed - a future of exploitation, destruction, colonilaism, etc.
Though they returned with a dramatic take of uninhabited lands and scientific insights, their ships still rode the wave of a tide that would unleash destruction as powerful and enduring as any force in human history
Kidding...kind of.
Andrea Pitzer gives a pretty good recounting of the final voyage of William Barents to find a route to the East through the polar North. It's a disaster by all accounts but managed to put Barents's name in the history books and get a sea named after him. The book dragged in parts, but there was plenty I enjoyed, particularly when I yelled the exploits of the woefully unprepared crew out to my Dutch partner with a little "not the brightest your country had to offer, eh?"
And, though these exploits have been interred in a heroic guise in history and lit, Pitzer points out the future these expeditions unleashed - a future of exploitation, destruction, colonilaism, etc.
Though they returned with a dramatic take of uninhabited lands and scientific insights, their ships still rode the wave of a tide that would unleash destruction as powerful and enduring as any force in human history
November 1, 2021
This book, beautifully narrated by Fred Sanders, surprised me.
It is non-fiction history and describes the voyage of William Barents and his crew to find a Northwest passage to China. He made three voyages, always turned back because of ice and bitter cold. In the third voyage, he and his crew had to over-winter in the Arctic.
Beset by scurvy and polar bears, they almost did not make it.
My library website provided this summary:
The human story has always been one of perseverance-often against remarkable odds. The most astonishing survival tale of all might be that of 16th-century Dutch explorer William Barents and his crew of sixteen, who ventured farther north than any Europeans before and, on their third polar exploration, lost their ship off the frozen coast of Nova Zembla to unforgiving ice. The men would spend the next year fighting off ravenous polar bears, gnawing hunger, and endless winter.
Listen to and read this book. It is well worth the effort.
5 stars
It is non-fiction history and describes the voyage of William Barents and his crew to find a Northwest passage to China. He made three voyages, always turned back because of ice and bitter cold. In the third voyage, he and his crew had to over-winter in the Arctic.
Beset by scurvy and polar bears, they almost did not make it.
My library website provided this summary:
The human story has always been one of perseverance-often against remarkable odds. The most astonishing survival tale of all might be that of 16th-century Dutch explorer William Barents and his crew of sixteen, who ventured farther north than any Europeans before and, on their third polar exploration, lost their ship off the frozen coast of Nova Zembla to unforgiving ice. The men would spend the next year fighting off ravenous polar bears, gnawing hunger, and endless winter.
Listen to and read this book. It is well worth the effort.
5 stars
July 5, 2024
If I could give this book zero stars I would. I have never written a review before, but this book was so painfully bad I couldn't NOT write a review.
I'm a huge fan of maritime writing, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as of arctic and antarctic non-fiction. I have read much on the subject, from "Trial by Ice', to"Frozen in Time" to "Labyrinth of Ice" to Hampton Side's 2014 masterpiece, "In the Kingdom of Ice". These books all show diligent research on the subject, attention to historical detail, proper scientific, arctic and maritime terminology, and a general knowledge of ships, the polar regions, and the historical backdrop.
Ms. Pitzer shows none of these. It appeared to me, at every new page, that this was a book written by a third grade teacher, for third graders. Awkwardly written, with inept, incorrect terminology, it appears to be lazily researched. She clearly has never foot on a ship, which is in and of itself no crime, but she didn't take the time or effort to learn a single correct nautical term.
To write a book about the age of sail and not bother to learn proper terminology for the working of a square-rig vessel, to write about the arctic and not grasp the vast difference between an ice floe and an iceberg, to me shows a lack of respect for subject she's writing about.
It's almost as if she took Willem Barents's official logs of his three voyages, and re-transcribed them into primary school English, almost word-for-word. How she managed to turn this courageous early arctic explorer's fascinating, tragic story into a Sesame Street-like snooze-fest is a tribute to bad writers everywhere.
That a book like this could be published and then garner positive reviews is just sad to me. If you want to read an historically accurate, well-researched book on a fateful arctic expedition that you won't be able to put down, read "In the Kingdom of Ice". If you want to read about Willem Barents in the arctic, read "Into the Ice Sea" by Jaapjan Zeeberg. Do not, however, read "Icebound".
I'm a huge fan of maritime writing, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as of arctic and antarctic non-fiction. I have read much on the subject, from "Trial by Ice', to"Frozen in Time" to "Labyrinth of Ice" to Hampton Side's 2014 masterpiece, "In the Kingdom of Ice". These books all show diligent research on the subject, attention to historical detail, proper scientific, arctic and maritime terminology, and a general knowledge of ships, the polar regions, and the historical backdrop.
Ms. Pitzer shows none of these. It appeared to me, at every new page, that this was a book written by a third grade teacher, for third graders. Awkwardly written, with inept, incorrect terminology, it appears to be lazily researched. She clearly has never foot on a ship, which is in and of itself no crime, but she didn't take the time or effort to learn a single correct nautical term.
To write a book about the age of sail and not bother to learn proper terminology for the working of a square-rig vessel, to write about the arctic and not grasp the vast difference between an ice floe and an iceberg, to me shows a lack of respect for subject she's writing about.
It's almost as if she took Willem Barents's official logs of his three voyages, and re-transcribed them into primary school English, almost word-for-word. How she managed to turn this courageous early arctic explorer's fascinating, tragic story into a Sesame Street-like snooze-fest is a tribute to bad writers everywhere.
That a book like this could be published and then garner positive reviews is just sad to me. If you want to read an historically accurate, well-researched book on a fateful arctic expedition that you won't be able to put down, read "In the Kingdom of Ice". If you want to read about Willem Barents in the arctic, read "Into the Ice Sea" by Jaapjan Zeeberg. Do not, however, read "Icebound".
February 6, 2022
I hated this book so much. I hated it so much that I'm writing my first Goodreads review just to rage about it. I would have just given up if I didn't buy it in a bookstore at the Houston airport to pass some time during a long delay. I really should have just given up and slept on the plane instead.
This thing is tedious to the extreme. It clocked in under 300 pages but felt so much longer. The idea of "a polar overwintering in the late 1500s" sounds interesting, but that pitch cannot sustain something of this length. There are no real characters or personalities in this book, nothing to make you care about these sailors and what is happening to them. If you want to know what "the men" are thinking as they face doom, you'll never find out. Even William Barents is a ghost without a backstory. The only things you'll learn about him are that the sailors generally liked him and he was very good at navigating. Even the multiple-page eulogizing upon his death can be paraphrased with "it sure is weird his legend had such staying power, given that he didn't exactly accomplish anything."
Most of the book then becomes a day-by-day recounting of the weather, polar bear encounters (sounds exciting, you'll be bored by the fourth one), and how many eggs the crew managed to nab from birds' nests. There's a lot of discussion of different kinds of ice, but no explanation about what any of it means. Because there's no one to care about, you can probably skip large portions of the middle of the book and still instantly understand what's happening.
I'm glad the author wrote about a thing that clearly fascinated her, but just read the Wikipedia page and you'll be fine.
This thing is tedious to the extreme. It clocked in under 300 pages but felt so much longer. The idea of "a polar overwintering in the late 1500s" sounds interesting, but that pitch cannot sustain something of this length. There are no real characters or personalities in this book, nothing to make you care about these sailors and what is happening to them. If you want to know what "the men" are thinking as they face doom, you'll never find out. Even William Barents is a ghost without a backstory. The only things you'll learn about him are that the sailors generally liked him and he was very good at navigating. Even the multiple-page eulogizing upon his death can be paraphrased with "it sure is weird his legend had such staying power, given that he didn't exactly accomplish anything."
Most of the book then becomes a day-by-day recounting of the weather, polar bear encounters (sounds exciting, you'll be bored by the fourth one), and how many eggs the crew managed to nab from birds' nests. There's a lot of discussion of different kinds of ice, but no explanation about what any of it means. Because there's no one to care about, you can probably skip large portions of the middle of the book and still instantly understand what's happening.
I'm glad the author wrote about a thing that clearly fascinated her, but just read the Wikipedia page and you'll be fine.
January 30, 2021
I love these kinds of books! In this well-researched book we learn all about the expeditions led by William Barents, a Dutch explorer who attempted find a northern route to Asia in the late 1500s. He sailed farther north than any other Westerner at the time, fending of the (for the crew) fabled white bears, getting trapped in ice, and facing bitter cold.
On the last trip, Barents and his team were forced to spend a winter with dwindling supplies in a wood hut, they built from wood "borrowed" from their ship. Staying warm, finding food, staving off scurvy, and keeping sane over the long sunless months was amazing in itself. In the spring, the men realized they had to abandon their iced-in ship and try to make it home in a couple of small boats.
Fascinating details about mutiny, early thoughts on polar ecology, issues with nutrition, confrontations with polar bears, and more.
As I often do with nonfiction, I both read and listened to this gripping real-life story. Fred Sanders did an excellent job with the narration, keeping my total attention. Note that my listening experience was much enhanced by being able to follow the voyages on the maps included with only the print book.
Thanks to the publishers for the review copies in different media.
On the last trip, Barents and his team were forced to spend a winter with dwindling supplies in a wood hut, they built from wood "borrowed" from their ship. Staying warm, finding food, staving off scurvy, and keeping sane over the long sunless months was amazing in itself. In the spring, the men realized they had to abandon their iced-in ship and try to make it home in a couple of small boats.
Fascinating details about mutiny, early thoughts on polar ecology, issues with nutrition, confrontations with polar bears, and more.
As I often do with nonfiction, I both read and listened to this gripping real-life story. Fred Sanders did an excellent job with the narration, keeping my total attention. Note that my listening experience was much enhanced by being able to follow the voyages on the maps included with only the print book.
Thanks to the publishers for the review copies in different media.
November 4, 2020
Received as an ARC from the publisher. Started 10-29-20. Finished 11-4-20. I can remember in my childhood studying "The Age of Exploration" to death!!! But I don't remember ever hearing about the Dutch explorer William Barents and his three heroic attempts to find a clear passage to China via the Arctic Circle starting in 1594 .Journeys that made for wonderful storytelling and almost killed him and his brave crews. His story alone would have made us students acutely aware of the dangers of this kind of venture. Teachers could have skipped most of the other more well-known explorers in favor of William Barents. Blizzards, ice floes, polar bear attacks, scurvy, leadership conflicts, horrendous weather conditions, trapped in the ice, food and water shortages, inadequate cold weather clothing (in the late 1590's!!!!!!). Reads like a novel rather than non-fiction. Can easily picture these locations and events.
March 24, 2021
This book, about Dutch navigator William Barents' three trips to the area of/the island of Nova Zembla (in what is now called the Barents Sea) in an attempt to find a northeast passage to China and the east, is a bit of a slog, sadly. It's a lot of "today they did this" and "the next day they did that," which gets tedious fairly quickly—especially in the latter part of the journey (I'm sure it was tedious to the poor men who suffered through it). There's some background information about the politics and explorers of the day, and weirdly (to me), occasional mentions of modern explorers such as Shackleton and Amundsen. There are some very simple maps included, which are kind of helpful. But sure would have been nice to have more information about the size of the two small boats they ended up in at the end, and also a diagram of the type of ship they sailed in before they got stuck in the ice. I understand that source materials were likely scarce, but this book was hard going.
March 7, 2021
I'm a big a fan of accounts of real-life sagas and incredible journeys, so I put this one on my list as soon as I came across it.
Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World details three 16th century Arctic journeys by Dutch explorer William Barents and his crew in attempts to find a northern passage across the sea that now bears his namesake, and establish a new trade route from Holland to China and the East.
William Barents:
Author Andrea Pitzer is an American journalist, known for her books One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps and The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov.
Andrea Pitzer:
At the time, it was thought that a northern passage through the Artcic would be ice-free. Establishing a northern trade route would save weeks of travel time, and keep merchant ships out of the hands of pirates, which were quite a problem in those days.
Icebound details the three voyages of Barents. Miraculously, despite being ill-prepared and unequipped for surviving in the extreme conditions of the high Arctic, the first two voyages did not end in disaster. But the third time's the charm, and in Barents case; the tragedy, as their boat became stuck in the sea ice off the northern island of Novaya Zemlya. Pitzer writes:
Novaya Zemlya:
The book chronicles the obstacles faced by Barents' men, including many polar bear encounters. None of the men had even heard of a bear living this far north, and were greatly surprised when they encountered one for the first time. In what sounded like the style of the time, they killed almost every one they came across, at first throwing away the meat and keeping the skins as trophies to be brought back home. It would not be until later in the book, after they became stranded, that they decided to actually eat the meat.
The polar bears make frequent appearances in the book, as Pitzer recounts many of the men's harrowing encounters with the Arctic's apex predators.
The intrepid explorers didn't always come out on top in these encounters, however, and the book describes many attacks on the crew by the bears, and even a death caused by them.
While stranded, the men managed to scavenge some wood and made a cabin, complete with a barrel sauna:
Despite having some incredibly rich source material to work with here, I found Pitzer's telling of this story fell somewhat flat for me. The book has its moments, to be sure - but sadly I found much of the writing here to be a little dry for my tastes. This is most likely a subjective thing, and I don't doubt that others will disagree with me here.
Even taking into account the above criticism, this one was still a pretty decent book, that I would recommend to anyone interested.
3.5 stars.
Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World details three 16th century Arctic journeys by Dutch explorer William Barents and his crew in attempts to find a northern passage across the sea that now bears his namesake, and establish a new trade route from Holland to China and the East.
William Barents:
Author Andrea Pitzer is an American journalist, known for her books One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps and The Secret History of Vladimir Nabokov.
Andrea Pitzer:
At the time, it was thought that a northern passage through the Artcic would be ice-free. Establishing a northern trade route would save weeks of travel time, and keep merchant ships out of the hands of pirates, which were quite a problem in those days.
Icebound details the three voyages of Barents. Miraculously, despite being ill-prepared and unequipped for surviving in the extreme conditions of the high Arctic, the first two voyages did not end in disaster. But the third time's the charm, and in Barents case; the tragedy, as their boat became stuck in the sea ice off the northern island of Novaya Zemlya. Pitzer writes:
"...On his first Arctic voyage, Barents had pressed eastward until his men refused to go farther. On his second trip, Barents had argued for staying behind with two ships to overwinter and scout out clear passage at the first spring thaw—a plan that likely helped provoke open mutiny and executions. On this, the third voyage, he’d finally sailed the route he’d hoped to with no one forcing him home, and now he would overwinter. As in some dark fairy tale, he received everything he’d asked for, but none of it came as good tidings. The issue of mutiny, which had haunted his prior voyages, was finally transcended—but only because any possibility of sailing for home had vanished..."
Novaya Zemlya:
The book chronicles the obstacles faced by Barents' men, including many polar bear encounters. None of the men had even heard of a bear living this far north, and were greatly surprised when they encountered one for the first time. In what sounded like the style of the time, they killed almost every one they came across, at first throwing away the meat and keeping the skins as trophies to be brought back home. It would not be until later in the book, after they became stranded, that they decided to actually eat the meat.
The polar bears make frequent appearances in the book, as Pitzer recounts many of the men's harrowing encounters with the Arctic's apex predators.
The intrepid explorers didn't always come out on top in these encounters, however, and the book describes many attacks on the crew by the bears, and even a death caused by them.
While stranded, the men managed to scavenge some wood and made a cabin, complete with a barrel sauna:
Despite having some incredibly rich source material to work with here, I found Pitzer's telling of this story fell somewhat flat for me. The book has its moments, to be sure - but sadly I found much of the writing here to be a little dry for my tastes. This is most likely a subjective thing, and I don't doubt that others will disagree with me here.
Even taking into account the above criticism, this one was still a pretty decent book, that I would recommend to anyone interested.
3.5 stars.
April 25, 2022
I didn't know anything about Willem Barentsz before reading this book, including that his name is spelled differently than the sea named for him.
The book takes a while to get going, and often fills in the paucity of the historical record by talking about different expeditions in different centuries instead.
But man, when they get stuck in polar night for several months, with polar bears a real and curious threat, who sometimes don't even back down when they get shot, you got yourself a barn burner. Can they get their ship out in the spring, or will the ice crush the hull? Where are they going to find wood to burn to keep their shelter a livable frigid temperature? If they can't free the ship, are they going to be crazy enough to try to return in open boats? Will the polar bears ever relent?
I added this to my 'our dying planet' bookshelf because it has the obligatory downer at the end reminding us that Barentsz' quixotic (and I realize that quixotic is anachronistic for a set of voyages in the 1590's) pursuit of a fabled warm polar sea is headed toward reality.
I learned a lot.
The book takes a while to get going, and often fills in the paucity of the historical record by talking about different expeditions in different centuries instead.
But man, when they get stuck in polar night for several months, with polar bears a real and curious threat, who sometimes don't even back down when they get shot, you got yourself a barn burner. Can they get their ship out in the spring, or will the ice crush the hull? Where are they going to find wood to burn to keep their shelter a livable frigid temperature? If they can't free the ship, are they going to be crazy enough to try to return in open boats? Will the polar bears ever relent?
I added this to my 'our dying planet' bookshelf because it has the obligatory downer at the end reminding us that Barentsz' quixotic (and I realize that quixotic is anachronistic for a set of voyages in the 1590's) pursuit of a fabled warm polar sea is headed toward reality.
I learned a lot.
July 5, 2021
‘The human story has always been one of perseverance - often against remarkable odds. The most astonishing survival tale of all might be that of sixteenth-century Dutch explorer Willaim Barents and his crew of sixteen, who ventured further north than any Europeans before and, on their third polar expedition, lost their ship to unforgiving ice. The men would spend the next year fighting off ravenous polar bears, gnawing hunger, and endless winter.’
What could I, a self-admitted polar afficianado, not like about this book? Put on my ‘to read’ list (and kindly supplied by my son for Mothers’ Day), the parallels for me of the Shackleton Endurance trip, although without the threat of death by polar bear. A group of men, an icebound ship, a feat of survival against the odds. (Look it up if you’re unfamiliar with this one - it’s a bit more well known by southern hemispherers, although done a few hundred years later.) The book is well laid out by a well-informed writer - the history of the travel and the boats (not too much, as that’s not the point of the book), the first two trips, and the dramatic third. The strength of the crew to survive in such a harsh and dangerous terrain is very well described, the journey to being close to death, and the many and varied causes of this. Their treatment of polar bears, precious to us now in their endangeredness is harsh, but taken in context of the era and the conditions, understandable. The trip back is a feat of seamanship and desperation to get home. The most surprising thing I saw, and again in the context of the era, they loaded up on their eventual homeward bound boats items from Dutch merchants such as: “six packs with the finest wollen (sic) cloth, a chest with linen…thirteen barrels of bread, a barrel of sweet-milk cheese…a fletch of bacon….”. A few pages earlier, it stated that the men were on the brink of starvation - rations running out, disease due to scurvy and Vitamin A toxicity - but their ethics stopped them taking this freely available food supply, in order to return it to the traders who entrusted them with it in the first place. Amazing. Even as a vegetarian, I would’ve opened the bacon in the first week.
The book, especially during the period in the cabin, is written out in a chronological format, with the highs and lows of each period. Easy to read and a logical rhythm to the year.
Final quote goes to Shackleton: “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all.”
What could I, a self-admitted polar afficianado, not like about this book? Put on my ‘to read’ list (and kindly supplied by my son for Mothers’ Day), the parallels for me of the Shackleton Endurance trip, although without the threat of death by polar bear. A group of men, an icebound ship, a feat of survival against the odds. (Look it up if you’re unfamiliar with this one - it’s a bit more well known by southern hemispherers, although done a few hundred years later.) The book is well laid out by a well-informed writer - the history of the travel and the boats (not too much, as that’s not the point of the book), the first two trips, and the dramatic third. The strength of the crew to survive in such a harsh and dangerous terrain is very well described, the journey to being close to death, and the many and varied causes of this. Their treatment of polar bears, precious to us now in their endangeredness is harsh, but taken in context of the era and the conditions, understandable. The trip back is a feat of seamanship and desperation to get home. The most surprising thing I saw, and again in the context of the era, they loaded up on their eventual homeward bound boats items from Dutch merchants such as: “six packs with the finest wollen (sic) cloth, a chest with linen…thirteen barrels of bread, a barrel of sweet-milk cheese…a fletch of bacon….”. A few pages earlier, it stated that the men were on the brink of starvation - rations running out, disease due to scurvy and Vitamin A toxicity - but their ethics stopped them taking this freely available food supply, in order to return it to the traders who entrusted them with it in the first place. Amazing. Even as a vegetarian, I would’ve opened the bacon in the first week.
The book, especially during the period in the cabin, is written out in a chronological format, with the highs and lows of each period. Easy to read and a logical rhythm to the year.
Final quote goes to Shackleton: “Difficulties are just things to overcome, after all.”
May 28, 2021
Most serious readers of exploration are aware of Shackleton’s epic survival ordeal in the Antarctic but that occurred in modern times. Barents’ ordeal occurred in 1597 in the Arctic. It’s just as epic. Three seasons marooned on an island with the 17 man crew being hunted by polar bears. Food running out. Scurvy (and they didn’t fully understand its cause) claiming lives. Wet and cold. In the dark. The wind. And the bears. Escape in two small boats. Ice everywhere.
Barents wasn’t even the commander of the expedition, his third in as many years. He was its navigator. The commander went onto fame as an admiral in the Dutch Navy and was killed in action. But he is largely forgotten. Barents was a leader though. The men sought him to convey their concerns to the commander and they quickly realized he knew his way in these seas and was their ticket home. But it was Barents insistence that had created their situation yet the crew did not blame him or hold him responsible.
I had a hard time understanding how the Dutch keep running into ice but keep believing there is a path to China. Persistence and stubbornness. Confirmation bias? Three expeditions- all failures. The author suggests that Barents was four hundred years ahead of his time given the effects of global warming on the Arctic.
I had a hard time keeping track of number of ships and who is on which. Appendix or matrix would have been helpful. The narrative of the first two expeditions is tiresome. The survival ordeal of the third expedition is engrossing.
Barents wasn’t even the commander of the expedition, his third in as many years. He was its navigator. The commander went onto fame as an admiral in the Dutch Navy and was killed in action. But he is largely forgotten. Barents was a leader though. The men sought him to convey their concerns to the commander and they quickly realized he knew his way in these seas and was their ticket home. But it was Barents insistence that had created their situation yet the crew did not blame him or hold him responsible.
I had a hard time understanding how the Dutch keep running into ice but keep believing there is a path to China. Persistence and stubbornness. Confirmation bias? Three expeditions- all failures. The author suggests that Barents was four hundred years ahead of his time given the effects of global warming on the Arctic.
I had a hard time keeping track of number of ships and who is on which. Appendix or matrix would have been helpful. The narrative of the first two expeditions is tiresome. The survival ordeal of the third expedition is engrossing.
February 5, 2021
An awe insuring feat for sure, but it just became less interesting as it went along. I could only take so many polar bear tales.
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