Customer Reviews

Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I admit I am hooked on anything to do with the Canadian Arctic, but this book is the best I've read in several months. A tale of exploration, coupled with an unfolding tragedy caused by bureaucratic bungling in Washington and military incompetence on a grand scale. It's everything the book blurb says, it's a Hollywood movie that should be made, and you shouldn't hesitate to buy it.

If you're interested in the adventure literature of polar exploration you may already have noted that though intriguing references to the Lady Jane Franklin Bay expedition keep cropping up, nothing seems to be available in the literature to explain what it was -- how it came about -- what happened, and how the story survived to be told. Existing references were out of print or otherwise unavailable . . . until now!

The Ghosts of Cape Sabine tells the complete story of the Greely expedition to Lady Jane Franklin Bay. The ghastly mismanagement of the relief and rescue expeditions must be read to be believed, but it is all true. Guttridge's research uses previously unconsulted archival information to present a deeply affecting picture of the emotions and aspirations of the men of the expedition. Of particular interest to me was his exploration of the ways in which Greely's own perhaps over-careful instructions for relief and reprovisioning can be said to have contributed to the disaster that befell the expedition.

Under conditions of appalling stress and privation Greely's leadership was tested more severely than it had been even under fire, and it can be said that it was found wanting to an extent. Not every man can be a Shackleton. And still he brought every man in his command alive to Cape Sabine, and could have brought them all back home again -- if only, if only.

Guttridge is a fair and sympathetic historian who declines to either idolize or demonize, treating the personalities involved with compassion and respect. This book is an invaluable contribution to the literature of polar exploration. He writes well and with persuasive conviction, and does an altogether too effective job of communicating the horrors of Cape Sabine without stooping to sensationalism.

My thanks to Leonard Guttridge for making this story available one again -- and now I have to go look up his story about the Jeanette!

Len Guttridge's extensive research has uncovered the true story of what happened to the ill-fated Greely expedition. For the first time, we are given new details of this horrendous part of our history. In the past, things that have been written about this expedition have been almost entirely from Greely's official records. The excerpts from new unpublished diaries and papers in Guttridge's book give us new insights about other members of the expedition and their hostility towards Greely. We see Lieutenant Greely's decisions on the retreat south as pure madness. As Mr. Guttridge concluded, Mr. Greely was no match for the arctic. Washington politics concerning the rescue of these poor souls was equally disheartening. Guttridge has subtly exposed a desperate plot by a chosen few to stay alive. Interesting that the two cooks, Greely and Brainard are among those who managed to survive. The horror of the fate of those not so lucky makes this book a real page turner. It would make a fabulous movie.

What makes this book so amazing is the incredible detail that Gutteridge's study of the documents and diaries provide. Sometimes this detail can prove daunting. There are moments when I prayed he would pass over exact quantities of provisions and supplies and get to the story. The strength of the story and the characters more than makes up for these kind of problems (though you will be tempted to skip certain of the sections set back in the US).

I loved the book. If you enjoy adventure, history and reading about explorers and expeditions into extreme climates and dangerous places then this is a good book for you.
I have read many books dealing with both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions as well as exploration, mountain climbing and military history.
This is the story of an Army Signal Corp expedition and a series of screw-ups which left them stranded in the unforgiving climate of the Arctic. The extremes that these men were subjected to and the pressures brought to bear on them are mind boggling. We wonder what we would do under similar circumstances.
I came away thinking that there were really no "good guys" in this book, but lots of "bad guys" and just people who couldn't/wouldn't get along. Some had personality quirks that only magnified their plight and made things worse for everyone. No heroes in this account, only survivors. A good read.

This book very impressively presents a flow of information concerning the Greely Expedition and appreciated follow-up on the survivors until their deaths. It was horribly dry reading however, which is almost difficult to accomplish given the combined achievements and extremities of the expedition.

I'd recommend this book highly to someone specifically researching this particularly expedition, but it reads too slowly such as a dulled text book for me to endorse it more highly than average for those that regularly seek gratifying non-fiction works as I do.

I borrowed the book from my local library. Check yours!

In the 1880's Americans set the record for the farthest penetration north toward the pole.

The Greely Expedition set that record, from a camp established on far north Ellsworth Island in Canada. That was one of the few positives that saw an expedition of a dozen and a half men whittled down to six shoe eating survivors who were finally rescued two years and many tragedies later.

Greely's was an American military expedition -- though set off without the full or enthusiastic support of General Sherman or Sec. of War Lincoln (the President's son). In fact, Sec. of War Lincoln is one of the chief villains in the story -- the archetype cold bureaucrat who worries about everything but the lives of the men and their succor during their years of peril and while totally dependant on annual relief ships that never make their landing as agreed.

Although Greeley's first year went rather smoothly and the failure to find a relief ship worrisome thought not disastrous, the second absence forced the men to march through the frozen artic to an agreed upon rescue point some two hundred miles from their camp (Ft. Conger). Pre-positioned supplies were not there in quantities promised nor was an anticipated ship to take them home. The men had to winter in tents with few provisions, little game, and lessening hope. Most would die, cannibalism would become an element of survival and bureaucratic ineptitude would continue to prevent an organized and serious effort to help these men go forward.

The author has written a well researched and interesting book. He gives good concise backgrounds on Greely and the other principal players in the drama. Throughout the book she intersperses scenes from above the Arctic Circle with farcical scenes from Washington as the Army Department, Navy Department and the Army Department's Signal Bureau send memos, blame, investigations and poorly organized, manned and planned relief ships. Although sometimes the bureaucratic parts of the book drag, the glimpse it provides of an inept officialdom has to be told to be believed. And Greely's men suffered for it.

This is a good and exciting tale of arctic exploration and survival. The author uses the many diary entries the existed from men who were part of the expedition to recreate a believable first-person account of this strange and sad saga from our past.

Over the last couple of years, I've read quite a few books dealing specifically with mankind's assault on the Arctic, and this title is one of the best. In all my other readings, the Greely expedition was a curious one, in that no one really knew what happened. Guttridge does a splendid job of taking the reader to frostbitten camps where food is scarce and the environment unforgiving. While sitting outside on a warm Southern California day, I swear I felt goosebumps on my arms.

The Ghosts of Cape Sabine is a history based on the diaries of the hapless participants in this adventure. It starts slowly but grips you. Poor planning, poor leadership, and poor preparation were no match for the incredible cold weather north of the Artic Circle. All these men were volunteers bent on making names for themselves in the annals of history. They should have stayed home. They should have considered the fact that a map of the proposed voyage shows the northernmost tip of the State of Maine as the southernmost identifiable landmark! It is facinating reading and it is possible to detach oneself from the events because they were volunteers for personal gain.

Bureaucratic ineptitude plays a large role in the disaster that befell the Greely expedition, which at the time was America's most sucessful polar venture. That any of the expedition, let alone their leader, survived is nothing short of miraculous. Guttridge's compelling, page turing narrative presents a fascinating story that has been often overlooked. Most interesting is Greely himself, whose long and dedicated government career was blemished only, if at all, by the disaster that befell his expedition. Despite his trials and tribulations, Greely was in the end a true American hero.