Arctic Labyrinth
Author | : Glyn Williams |
Publisher | : Univ of California Press |
Total Pages | : 460 |
Release | : 2010-03 |
Genre | : History |
ISBN | : 0520269950 |
Download Arctic Labyrinth Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle
The elusive dream of locating the Northwest Passage--an ocean route over the top of North America that promised a shortcut to the fabulous wealth of Asia--obsessed explorers for centuries. Until recently these channels were hopelessly choked by impassible ice. Voyagers faced unimaginable horrors--entire ships crushed, mass starvation, disabling frostbite, even cannibalism--in pursuit of a futile goal. Glyn Williams charts the entire sweep of this extraordinary history, from the tiny, woefully equipped vessels of the first Tudor expeditions to the twentieth-century ventures that finally opened the Passage.