Siberia's Lena River Delta as captured by satellite in 2000. The USS Jeannette sailed in this region.

The Grand and Terrible Voyage of a Ship in the Arctic

The Leonard Lopate Show | Sep 12, 2014

On July 8, 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco, headed for the Arctic. The ship sailed into uncharted seas and soon was trapped in pack ice. The crew abandoned the ship and began a long march across the endless ice, battling cold, snow, polar bears, madness and starvation as they struggled for survival. Hampton Sides tells that story and looks at the race to plant a flag on the last unmapped areas of the globe: the North Pole. He’s the author of In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette.

In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides

 

 

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