Customer Reviews

Ice Blink: The Tragic Fate of Sir John Franklin's Lost Polar Expedition

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

What went wrong? How could 129 officers and men with the most technologically advanced ships and enough canned, baked and pickled food for three years on a journey to find the North West Passage in 1845 - vanish? There had been eight previous polar expeditions since 1819 and only 17 deaths out of 513 men. This was one of the greatest British navel disasters.

Ice Blink is about mismanagement, oversights, government foibles, prejudice and incompetence. The lessons of the Sir John Franklin's Expedition in 1845 are still sadly relevant. The same problems that doomed those men in the far North are around today. Governments and corporations often award contracts to the lowest bidder, prejudice means the right people do not get hired, top heavy management creates inefficiencies and over reliance on technology obscures common sense.

The lowest bidding manufacturer, Stephen Godner's Canned Food, was the exclusive supplier of canned food for the expedition. No one in the navy bothered to check the filthy conditions at this factory. The canned food arrived just a few hours before the launch, avoiding close inspection. Sir John Barrow, Second Secretary of the Admiralty, hired men of English birth and Anglican faith for the expedition, and dismissed ten experienced Scottish Seamen. One officer was in charge of four men.

Admiral Barrow and Captain Franklin believed in the latest machinery. Ships, scientific knowledge and canned food would lead them to victory. There were no hunters on board or native guides used. Despite all this, Ice Blink is also about the bravery, loyalty and resourcefulness of the men who served on the expedition. They did everything they could to survive and to help each other.

Scott Cookman brings alive the times that made this expedition possible. He probes into the mindset of the men who cleaned the decks, fixed the sails, shoveled the coal, polished the silver, cooked the meals and attended the sick. He also probes into the motives of Captain Franklin, his officers and Admiral Barrow, and puts the events in context. His details of life in the British navy, the medical profession, class dynamics and ship building of over a hundred and fifty years ago draw the reader into that world. The author's painstaking research has paid off in a griping non-fiction book that often reads like a novel. Cookman compares the expeditions to explore the last frontiers on earth to the current space missions. Going across the North-West Passage was similar to going to the Moon. It was as remote and uncharted.

Every one involved with the manned mission to Mars should read this book. It is a `what not to do' when organizing and preparing for an ambitious venture.

The Charlotte Austin Review

As a compelling new study of potential causes for the failure of the Franklin expedition, I could not put the book down and quite enjoyed it. The experience was marred, however, by constant irratation at the grammatical and stylistic flaws (for instance, after repeatedly explaining scurvy as a vitamin C deficiency-caused disease, it at one point ungrammatically states that ship's biscuit causes scurvy). The author also has tendency to indulge in melodramatic speculation (a captain leaving his ship with a tear in his eye, etc.) into the actions and emotions of people who left no record of such. I felt this in particular weakened the work as a whole, undermining it as a legitimate piece of academia. Additionally, archaic lingual affectations (i.e.; "sore afraid") further distance this work from serious scholarship. Lastly, the conclusions tend to be highly redundant and overstated, as though the work had not been sufficiently proofread or edited. Overall, I think a thoughtful edit would have improved the texture of the work, although I did still find it quite engaging and thought-provoking.

Cookman has certainly done some worthwhile new research; his study of Goldner and his patent canning factory is well-documented and backed by suggestive (though far from definitive) evidence. Goldner's tinned foods, supplied to the ill-fated Franklin expedition to the Arctic in 1845, certainly contributed to the disaster (they have already been fingered for causing lead poisoning).

Cookman, however, rushes breathlessly past all other factors that might have contributed to Franklin's failure, and ends up damaging his case by overstating it, and by expecting that his one explanation -- botulism -- will solve all the mystery and tie up all the loose ends. Cookman's lurid prose doesn't help matters, portraying the admittedly callous and greedy canner Goldner as an evil maniac of unintentionally comic proportions -- right up there with Lex Luthor.

There is some good and valuable research in this book, and in places the Franklin saga is ably retold, but the mixture of morality play and science lecture ultimately becomes rather tedious.

The Fate of the Franklin expedition will most likely always be a mystery. This wonderful, speculative account is one of the best. The author does a step by step look at all the factors and issues leading to the disaster that cost the lives on 129 British Navy personnel in search of the Northwest passage. Franklin had left England in 1845 with two of the best equipped ships ever put to sea for arctic exploration, he had experienced officers and a compliment of 129 men. They were never seen again. Subsequently 50 expeditions searched and found only scraps of clues as to their disappearance.

This book claims the culprit was most likely Botulism in the canned meat. This speculation runs contradictory to that lead poisoning thesis put forward in `Frozen in Time' and the fact that admiralty investigations proved the meat tins were not thoroughly sealed(thus Botulism couldn't have formed). Nevertheless this is one of the best books on the fate of the expedition. The author describes the final `death march' south along King William Island and the subsequent cannibalism that took place. Excellent diagrams bring the ships to life and maps show the final route of Franklins last survivors. A must read for those interested in arctic survival and the riddle of Sir John Franklin.

Seth J Frantzman November 2003

Scott Cookman's book on the "tragic fate of Sir John Franklin's lost Polar expedition" of 1845 provides a fascinating account of the times, the British Admiralty's politics, and the incredible known facts which surround this failed voyage. Cookman cites in his preface the encouragement of his parents in changing a well-paid advertising career to "take up the dubious path of the pen". Let me be honest in saying that Mr. Cookman needs either to refine his style or find a better editor,if he had one, because I was continually frustrated by repeated facts, sometimes within the same chapter in exactly the same words, and repeated phrases throughout the book when trying to make a point. This criticism aside, I salute Mr. Cookman for the amount of research he has done into an expedition from which only one sheet of paper was retrieved with two brief and cryptic messages written eleven months apart. All of his facts were woven into into a fascinating tale of a voyage of discovery to the fabled Northwest Passage by 2 ships and 130 men, tracking the extremities of attempts at survival from accounts of rescue attempts and recent archaelogical discoveries. Cookman has, he feels, uncovered the prime reason for the mission's failure in the incredible fraud perpetrated on the Admiralty by the supplier of tinned food for the expedition, one Stephen Goldner. Cookman's research into Goldner's methods of preserving food are every bit as morbidly fascinating as Upton Sinclair's expose of meat processing in Chicago. Except for the stylistic eccentricities, Cookman's book is a fascinationg read, and adds to the growing library of voyages and explorations gone bad.

This book is more geared to adventure readers who for whatever reason picked up this book to read. It offers a brief history, a criminal type understanding of Stephen Goldner (who provisioned the Franklin Expedition with tinned food), but that's where it ends. It's basically a rehash of Franklin history with a new twist and one that doesn't stand the scrutiny of Franklin researchers/searchers. Just the fact that 105 of 129 officers and men survived to abandon their ships points that botulism didn't kill even a handful of them.

It also inaccurate in it's history. For an example: even a casual reading of Beattie and Geiger's "Frozen In Time" will tell the reader that Geiger wasn't at KWI in 1981 (Dr. Jim Savelle and Karen Digby were). Geiger was a reporter from the Edmonton Sun and made an acquaintence with Beattie when Torrington's photograph splashed the media in 1984. Three years after Beattie's first FE excavation. This glaring mistake was repeated twice in the book.

Better to buy "Frozen In Time," or get the PBS "Nova" documentary "Buried In Ice," for a better glimpse of this tragic expedition. At least it's much more scientifically and historically accurate.

Unfortunately, this book is essentially a rehash of earlier research by both Parks Canada and the pioneering work of Owen Beattie and his colleagues who excavated the graves from the Franklin winter quarters at Beechey Island and documented lead poisoning. It is disturbing that Beattie and his co-author, John Geiger, are not given their due for their work and bestselling book, Frozen in Time, which asserted Cookman's case over a decade ago. Cookman has added more information, fleshing out the Goldner story, but like so many journalists who attempt to write history, he focuses on one aspect to the exclusion of other factors. David Woodman has done a far better job in looking at all factors in his two books about the fate of the Franklin expedition -- and while he asserts what he thinks happened, he doesn't smugly say he's nailed his points home. It is simply too "pat" and too 20th century smug in hindsight to completely blame an admittedly bad contractor for the entire fate of the expedition, and this book does a disservice to the reader in suggesting so. I'm no Goldner fan, and feel he shoulders some blame, but then so do Franklin, the officers, the bad ice year, the decision to push into Larsen Sound (albeit a bad decision only in hindsight) and of course, those who for whatever reason broke discipline and split up into unmanageable parties. The demise of Franklin is as yet still uncertainly known, with a few brief words, a handful of bodies, Inuit testimony and scattered campsites - and the "definitive word" is fraught with disagreement as to exactly what happened and why, as it has been since 1849. Cookman adds very little; if you are looking to gain a better understanding, read Beattie and Geiger's Frozen in Time or Woodman's Unravelling the Franklin Mystery, or his Strangers Among Us.

Sorry, Scott. I will not buy your book.

Years ago I had read a National Geographic article about the discovery of the frozen bodies of three seamen from an ill fated expedition to explore the Arctic for the fabled Northwest Passage. The modern discoverers of the remains were scientists who performed an onsite autopsy to determine the cause of death, as the scope of the disaster had left many unanswered questions since it's occurrence in the mid-19th Century. The amount of knowledge that was gained after more than a century post mortem was impressive, and left a lasting memory of the unfortunate expedition: The Franklin Polar Expedition. When I saw the summary for the book The Ice Blink, I was immediately captured by the Franklin subject, and got the book.

The volume reads like a novel, written as it is by a well researched journalist rather than an historian. I read it in a single day, almost in a single sitting, so riveting is its human detail. The author covers the topic lengthily, including other equally unfortunate attempts to search for the passage to the Pacific by way of the northern most reaches of North America. He details the careers of the various officers as well as that of the Second Secretary of the British Admiralty, Sir John Barrow, who was as much a part of the events as any of the actual participants. He outlines the background of many of the enlisted men, and points out the financial incentives that encouraged them to go on the discovery voyage. He also points out that few who had been on one before, were actually willing to go for any amount of money!

Cookman's biography of the titular leader of the expedition, Sir John Franklin is illuminating, but that of the captain of the Terror is by far the most interesting. Francis Croiser was passed over as leader of the expedition on the basis of his social and ethnic status (Irish middle class) but was the most experienced of the officers with the rigors of polar exploration. It was ultimately on his shoulders that command fell after the early death of Franklin, and under the worst of all possible conditions. From physical remains found at the site of the abandoned ships and strewn across the landscape following the doomed men's path, it would appear that the flight from the pack ice in which both ships had been imprisoned for almost 18 months had been well and carefully planned by Croiser, and except for the desperation and hopelessness of their situation might well have brought a few home. He certainly seems to have given them the only real hope they had of survival.

The author paints a vivid picture of the retreat of the men, using the 19th Century reports of efforts to find survivors, those of modern investigators of known sites (like that mentioned above) and of reports by other explorers and natives who accidentally discovered remains. Putting the story together with what is known of other polar expeditions, what is known of the 19th Century naval organization, and the society of the time, and the information about the Arctic that 20th Century polar expeditions have given us, Cookman provides the reader with a thoroughly convincing tale of the early conditions of exploration.

What makes the story most intriguing, though, is the probable cause of the disaster itself, which turns out to have been staggering greed, incredible double dealing and total indifference to the fate and well being of others. There is definitely a message to the modern world in the tale of the "lowest bidder!" Steven Spielberg should make a movie of the entire affair! Read it, and see if you don't agree!

This is the story of a fateful 1845 polar expedition that went terribly wrong. This was a British enterprise led by Captain Sir John Franklin to find the Northwest Passage using the most advance ships and equipment at that time. Now I am a complete novice when it comes to this subject matter however I found this book very interesting and it offered a compelling story of misadventure, bravery, corruption, and suspense.

I found that the author, Scott Cookman, presented his story in such an easy manner that the narrative just raced along and I lost track of time reading about this terrible drama. It must be stated from the beginning that the author has no direct testimony of what actually happen to this expedition since all involved died.

However Cookman has utilised the accounts of many other polar explorers to support his theory of what may have happened and to give graphic examples of the conditions these men laboured under during this expedition. Overall I found it a gripping account and although he may not be 100% correct in his deductions I found that it was quite believable.

Cookman has used a wide range of sources including material from the Public Records Office and the Admiralty in London. He takes the time to fully explain the means and methods used at the time for polar exploration and I fully enjoyed his account of the men and ships involved. This is a great story and the book has prompted me to learn more about the brave men who charted the Arctic and Antarctic regions before modern technology made all too easy.

The "Suggestive but Overwrought" review (February 17, 2000) was right on the money. Cookman presents an interesting history of the Franklin expedition, but has an unfortunate tendency to present his possible scenario as fact, especially where the Botulism theory comes into play. The book displays a few stylistic quirks, but the research is mostly solid, and what leaps of logic are present are not usually mind-boggling. If you are after a decently-written account of one of history's most famous exploration disasters, you could do worse than Ice Blink.