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

In 1914, a Russian ship is frozen into the Siberian pack ice. Where does safety lie for the 30 men of her crew? Will the ship provide adequate shelter for the winter? Will their supplies even last that long? Or should they cross hundreds of miles of desolate tundra in the hopes of reaching civilization? Of the 30 members of the crew, only two survived the ordeal. This is a riveting, terrifying account of that quest for survival, originally published in Russia in 1917, that is here available to an English-speaking audience for the first time. \nOne helluva read.--Newsweek - Gripping.--Outside - Spellbinding.--Associated Press - Powerful.--New York \nIn 1912, the Saint Anna, a Russian exploration vessel in search of fertile hunting grounds, was frozen into the polar ice cap, trapping her crew aboard. For nearly a year and a half, they struggled to stay alive. As all hope of rescue faded, they realized their best chance of survival might be to set out on foot, across hundreds of miles of desolate ice, with their lifeboats dragged behind them on sledges, in hope of reaching safety. Twenty of them chose to stay aboard; thirteen began the trek; of them all, only two survived. \n \nOriginally published in Russia in 1917, In the Land of White Death was translated into English for the first time by the Modern Library to widespread critical acclaim. As well as recounting Albanov's vivid, first-person account of his ninety-day ordeal over 235 miles of frozen sea, this expanded paperback edition contains three newly discovered photographs and an extensive new Epilogue by David Roberts based on the never-before-published diary of Albanov's only fellow survivor, Alexander Konrad. As gripping as Albanov's own tale, the Epilogue sheds new light on the tragic events of 1912-1914, brings to life many of those who perished (including the infamous captain Brusilov and nurse Zhdanko, the only woman on board), and, inadvertently, reveals one new piece of information--about the identity of the traitors who left Albanov for dead--that is absolutely shocking. \n \nPoetic.--The Washington Post - A lost masterpiece.--Booklist - A jewel of polar literature.--Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Vivid . . . [a work of] terrifying beauty.--The Boston Globe \n