Buried In Ice: A Time Quest Book

Time Quest

by Owen Beattie, John Geiger, Shelley Tanaka

Probes the tragic and mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin's failed expedition to find the Northwest Passage in 1845

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Historical, Childrens, Picture Books, Science

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. The book isn't very long but provided good amount of both historical and scientific perspectives of the 1845 Arctic expedition led by Sir Franklin. There are maps, illustrations, and photographs.
In 1984, a team of scientists exhumed three well preserved bodies on Beechey Island. They took bone, tissue and hair samples. In 1987, they concluded from the analysis that these men suffered acute lead poisoning while on this expedition.

[Hayley H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay so I was OBSESSED with this book in the third grade and was always borrowing it from my teacher because of my early obsession with history and mummies. Flash foward 14 years and endless searching. After I had left the third grade I also left this book behind and was never able to get my hands on it again, details became fuzzy, the name escaped me and I thought I would never find my beloved mummy book again. The only thing I could remember was a man, frozen in death, his eyes wide open and the fact he died at hands of the frozen sea... nothing else. I tried to remember particulars but with heart surgeries, school, growing up and other day to day things the book slowly faded away from my memory. Occasionally I would remember my search and off to Google I'd go and always with the same result, never finding my precious book. Even my mom searched for it knowing how much it meant to me but to no avail. Years went by and now here I was again, December 2014, determined this time to find my lost book. I searched and searched making my mom sit with me to try and recall details or tell me if she recognized anything I came across. Then finally the picture that had stayed with me, the frozen corpse popped up in the search along with the cover I hadn't laid eyes on since I was 8. I had found it and just like the long search for the truth of the Franklin Expedition my own search was complete! Tears were shed, excitement brewed and orders to Amazon made. I finally had my mummy book and all was well...

Okay so that was really dramatic and completely true. I totally cried when I finally found this book again and it really has been a 14 year search. This book means a great deal to me and I'm glad to have it once again. A great book for kids and adults alike though if your child is squeamish or gets scared easily I would not recommend it until they are older. I was a strange child with a fascination with death, especially if mummies or plagues were involved so I was fine. Either way this is a great and tragic story of somewhat recent history and should be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was really good. i had to read it for a report in elementery school. It is very scary.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book and my favrit part was the mummy part.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m currently reading Endurance by Alfred Lansing. It reminded me of one of my favorite books when I was a kid- this one right here. It’s the intertwined stories of Franklin’s Lost Expedition to find the Northwest Passage and the anthropological team who discovers their remains. I honestly think this book kicked off my love for narrative nonfiction that continues to this day, and I was thrilled to find a cheap copy online. While this book is fascinating and thrilling, it’s also fucking terrifying. THERE’S A FROSTBITTEN MUMMIFIED DEAD PERSON RIGHT ON THE COVER! And there are (many!) more pictures just like it inside. Not to mention the existential terror of being trapped in the desolate frozen wastelands with no way of communicating with the outside world. This book will haunt your nightmares forever but I loved it. I kinda wonder where I got it, though. Did I pick it up at a Scholastic book fair? Check it out at the library and like it so much I got my own copy? How old was I? It doesn’t seem like something my mom would have bought for me. I remember reading it in my sister’s room, was it actually hers?? I don’t think I’m ready to leave it out for my own children to discover quite yet. But I will eventually.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed thisLibrary book after watching the new show, The Terror. I wasn’t sure if I’d want to read an adult sized content on the story and would look for a young adult book to gain more info. This book was perfect! Along with some great photos of the expedition to retrieve DNA for further testing.

A short, but fact filled book

[Kieran Bushey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Who the heck writes a book about cannibals and shows pictures of frozen dead bodies in a book for kids? It really freaked me out as a kid in 2nd-3rd grade reading it by mistake. Even as an adult it still scares the crap out of me.

[Victoria Evangelina Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing true story of the sad end of Franklin’s 1845 expedition, consisting of 150 sailors and their two ships, in an attempt to find a new way to Asia - through the Arctic ice. Lots of photographs and details. Highly recommended to teens and adults!

[Lachlan]

Was given to me by a family friend on a camping trip as I was a Titanic and shipwreck fanatic (still am) when I was younger. Forgot the name but the pictures of the dead mummies scared me to my wits. So glad I found it on here.

[Merrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great kids story of a fine adventure that turned bad.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I were interested in the real story behind the AMC mini-series "The Terror" and found this wonderful, full-photo junior, non-fiction book at our library.

[Laura Talley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been interested in this story for years! It was so heartbreaking and scary. I love how the story is told and the updates from the research done to give answers to the long held mystery

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1845, Sir John Franklin led 129 men across The Atlantic to the frozen land of the Canadian Arctic in hopes in finding The Northwest Passage, a quicker route to Asia. They were bound for glory, but instead, suffered a gruesome, cruel death in this frozen wasteland. Many, many searched for the route these men took, their ship, and their bodies...for by 1848, the British people and government realized they must have perished.

In 1984, anthropologist Owen Beattie discovered some of the grisly graves and a thorough investigation was conducted. Even though this land has some of the most tortuous weather, it was not the cold alone that was responsible for the deterioration and death of these men. Modern inventions was preserving food in tin cans which were soldered shut with lead. Lead contaminates the body and leads to poisoning and a slow, cruel death.

The fated mystery of the voyages of ships, Terror and Erebus was finally solved. Buried in Ice: The Mystery of a Lost Arctic Expedition is full of fascinating insight and clues. Includes a timeline, glossary, and recommended reading.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy moly! I had no idea what to expect when I opened this one up but I was not expecting frozen mummies. I obviously did not pay close enough attention to the front cover, in which a frozen mummy is clearly displayed. Yikes! This one is probably best for third grade and up.

This is an interesting blend of science non-fiction and historical guesswork. There's a narrative told from a crew member's point of view, and kids should be reminded that this part is not necessarily what actually happened, because there's no way for us to know. The story is pretty interesting, but really depressing too, especially as an adult when you realize why everyone is dying. Sad. :(

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Sir John Franklin's mysteriously disastrous attempt to find a passage through the Arctic. The historical story is creatively related through the eyes of one of the crew members, and framed by the story of the 1984 study of the three known graves. The 1845 story is suspenseful in that we know some of what happened from the opening chapter, but not the whole story--or the anthropologists' explanation.

The bodies are incredibly well preserved, but a little scary looking, so use discretion in that. (There are 4 pictures of the bodies, including one on both the front and back of the cover.)

[Jonathan Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book revolved around the mystery surrounding Sir John Franklin and the disappearance of his crew in the 1800s. They had been searching for a ship route to Asia that traveled above North America. In this book, the author Owen Beattie, documents his trip to discover what actually happened to them. I liked the pictures of real places and artifacts in this book, and how it turned information into more of a mystery that needed to be solved. Even though it was a topic that didn't particularly interest me, it kept me engaged which I thought was a positive.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating book on the doomed arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin. I loved how the book mingled the modern day exploration of the expedition with a story of a fictional sailor on one of the ships. I had never heard about this expedition so it was pretty interesting. This was actually one of the books for my tutoring kids (6th grade) but I couldn't put it down and finished it within the hour.

[Gena Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting book about an incident in history I had never heard of.
The text is a mix of creative non-fiction and historical research which blends well to put flesh on the bones of this very mysterious even in world exploration's past.
It is well written and interesting, though kids will undoubtedly like the photos of the mummies found in the book.
4th through 6th grade readers will like this book if they like non-fiction or adventure.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Photos and text examine the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin's expeditions into the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage. The story includes scurvy, cannibalism, lead poisoning, and some amazingly preserved mummies. This was written in 1992 and within a decade books of this nature were all the rage.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

buried in ice is about some people that go to explorer some island and all of them die because there ship gets buried in ice on a island and they try to survive but they all suffer and die after a will it is a good book and I think that you should read it.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still get creeped out thinking about this book, even though I haven't opened it since maybe fourth grade.

[Gabriella Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY SAD, BUT A GREAT BOOK.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting and informative, and although the story in the middle of the book is not fact it does give a good look at the lives of the men on the voyage.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book my favorite part was when the mummy part it looked cool.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was boring to read but it had lots of facts.It ad some nasty pictures I wouldn't recommended this book for a friend.

[Chevelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't like this book because it's long and it's really boring and it's also gross because it shows died bodies that have been in a coffin and there cold because there face is shaped weird.

[eLLen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I wanted to learn more about John Torrington, Sir John Franklin and other facts about the expedition.

[Peter Twist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This blend of historical fiction and nonfiction gives fans of either genre a compelling read about a doomed Arctic expedition that set out in 1845. The book is filled with haunting images of barren landscapes, cold Arctic nights, and of course, the naturally preserved bodies of three sailors from the Franklin expedition. The narrative flips between past and present as Beattie and his team uncover clues left behind by the story's "characters"--clues that will ultimately help researchers determine what went wrong some 136 years earlier.