In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic

by Valerian Albanov

Book Overview

In 1912, six months after Robert Falcon Scott and four of his men came to grief in Antarctica, a thirty-two-year-old Russian navigator named Valerian Albanov embarked on an expedition that would prove... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679641009
• ISBN13: 9780679641001
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Modern Library
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.8" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

wow

Of the dozen or so books I have read regarding true artic/sea adventures and of all books I have ever read, this one will always rate at the top!! Albanov, though on the bias side due to his own telling (but understandable and agreeable due to the situation) gives a very detailed account of his travels with an indepth detail of how his mind worked and why various events took place. This is a true roller-coaster, fast pace of a read (and very enjoyable and easy to read)that just when you think events/situations are at a stand still, the ride starts all over again at an unbeleivable pace. I was most impressed with Albanovs writing/telling of the story style in which it appears he took great pains to express his mind and provide details that seem impossible to even think of considering the circumstances. A must for the true adventure reader.

Facinating account of artic survival

Albanov was a Russian navigator. In 1912 he set sail as second in command of the Saint Anna in the hopes of reaching Vladivostok across the Northeast Passage. His ship was locked in the pack ice in the Kara Sea and drifting northward. After 18 months locked in the ice, with supplies incapable of supporting everyone another winter, he asked for permission to build a kayak and sled to seek land to the south. Others decided to join him, encouraged by the Captain, who with the small remainder of the crew, hope to be spit out of the ice in the Atlantic many months later. They were never found.Thirteen started the perilous journey and two survived. The remainder on the Saint Anna are perhaps still locked in an icy death above the artic circle.The book was written in Russian and later translated to French. Only recently was in translated into English after a copy was found in the Harvard library, unread for 68 years.Albanov's diary, the basis for this later book, describes the ordeal, the wildlife encountered, the snow blindness, and the fatigue that lead to the deaths of many of the men.I found the book to be a quick read. I was unable to put it down until I finished it. Strongly recommended.Conrad B Senior

A riveting account of tragedy, perseverance and courage...

Albanov's recounting of his perilous journey across the barren ice fields of the Arctic Ocean is riveting. After his ship is hopelessly locked in Arctic ice for nearly 18 months, he decides to strike out for land - whatever the consequenses... The adventure, drama, and real-life dangers Albanov and his team encounter make for truly compelling reading. Albanov's struggles above the 80th parallel put our daily routines into perspective... I recommend White Death highly - it is well written, concise, and above all, a true story. This book does live up to its billing as a great addition to the literature and lore of Arctic exploration...

No stopping to smell the flowers on this hike

Navigating the Barents Sea north of Russia and Siberia can be a dodgy proposition. Nevertheless, in August 1912 the Russian ship "Saint Anna", with 25 men and one female nurse aboard, set sail from Murmansk for Vladivostok (7,000 miles distant via the Northeast Passage), with the expressed purpose of discovering new Arctic hunting grounds. By mid-October, the vessel was trapped in the ice, and, for the next 18 months, drifted helplessly northwards. In April of 1914, ten of the crew and the ship's navigator, Valerian Albanov, despairing of the vessel's eventual release, voluntarily left their shipmates in an attempt, with kayaks and sledges, to reach the Franz Josef island group somewhere to their south. IN THE LAND OF WHITE DEATH, subsequently written by Albanov, is based on his diary of the 3-month, 235-mile odyssey over the ice pack, frigid water and deserted island shores to reach Cape Flora on Northbrook Island, from which point he anticipated rescue.There are many points of similarity between this book and ENDURANCE: SHACKLETON'S INCREDIBLE VOYAGE, by Alfred Lansing, which describes the same sort of gritty survival journey achieved by Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 27 men after their ship, "Endurance" was trapped and crushed by Antarctic ice in 1915 during an abortive attempt to reach the South Pole. Notwithstanding the facts that Shackleton was a more charismatic leader, that Shackleton's men were of better mettle, and that their journey to safety was over a longer distance, the Albanov narrative remains a gripping, tautly told account of men against the elements. One of its chief attractions, for those with short attention spans or too many books to read, is its brevity --190 pages in small-format hardcover. Sadly, there is no photo section (as is included in ENDURANCE).One might wonder why this tale took so long to be noticed by the reading public as opposed to various accounts of the Shackleton ordeal. Perhaps it's because it first had to be translated from Russian, or because Albanov, unlike Shackleton, died in obscurity, or because Shackleton was already a figure of some fame by 1915. Or because all of the Endurance's crew came back alive, while the Saint Anna's crew, well ... In any case, WHITE DEATH is a little gem of a book, and I unreservedly recommend it.