- Hardcover: 205 pages
- Publisher: Random House USA Inc; illustrated edition edition (Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679641009
- ISBN-13: 978-0679641001
- Product Dimensions: 18.5 x 11.7 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 922,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
In the Land of White Death
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Product Description
Review
" A beguiling and valuable record of polar exploration before the planes landed, and a miraculous testament to what the human spirit can achieve. Albanov's harrowing story is a welcome addition to the canon of polar literature."
-Sara Wheeler, author of "Terra Incognita" --Sara Wheeler --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
-Sara Wheeler, author of "Terra Incognita" --Sara Wheeler --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Book Description
'A beguiling and valuable record of Polar exploration before the planes landed, and a miraculous testament to what the human spirit can achieve. Albanov's harrowing story is a welcome addition to the canon of Polar literature.' Sara Wheeler, author of Terra Incognita
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
How many weeks and months have gone by since the day I left the Saint Anna and blade farewell to Lieutenant Brusilov! Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
How many weeks and months have gone by since the day I left the Saint Anna and blade farewell to Lieutenant Brusilov! Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In the land of white death chronicles the escape of Valerian Albanov from his icebound ship (the saint anna) his trek across the frozen wastes of siberia, recreated from his journal his writing style translates very well into english with none of the mood or struggle lost.
Set around the time of Shackleton the similaraties are unmistakable (although shackleton had an altogeter happier ending), a must read for any adventure fan, at the end of the day if Albanov had been British he would have been up there with with Sott Shacklton and co, as one of the great polar journeys ever told.
Set around the time of Shackleton the similaraties are unmistakable (although shackleton had an altogeter happier ending), a must read for any adventure fan, at the end of the day if Albanov had been British he would have been up there with with Sott Shacklton and co, as one of the great polar journeys ever told.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
43 reviews
115 of 115 people found the following review helpful
A quick read, good addition to that polar expedition library
31 Oct 2000
Format:Hardcover
This is a worthwhile read if you enjoy harrowing stories of near-death polar adventures. It's amazing that Albanov survived. His book is a combination of excerpts from his detailed diary and elaborations he added after the fact, supplemented by an informational preface from the publisher who recently discovered his almost-forgotten manuscript.
If you have already read "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing, this book isn't quite as good, but it is an interesting contrast. (If you haven't, put Endurance on your must-read list!) The challenges faced were similar, though not quite as extended in Albanov's case.
This story starts in much the same way as the Endurance - a ship trapped in pack ice (though in this case in the Arctic). But this is where the story diverges. The biggest difference that you learn up-front is that only two people survived (compared to the whole crew on the Endurance!)
Albanov is the navigator but does not get along with the captain. As a result, after two winters (!) enduring their relationship and the worsening conditions, he asks for permission to build a kayak and sledge from scrap and set out on his own in search of land. Much to his disappointment, however, half the crew (even many of the weaker ones) ask to accompany him.
Their destination is "Cape Flora" about 120 miles away across pack ice. According to a polar explorer's diary from decades ago, Cape Flora once had a shelter and supplies. But they really don't even know if it still exists and exactly how to get there. And if it is still there - what then? But Albanov is able to focus on the immediate goal and not worry about the what if's.
Interestingly, the crew was not a group of explorers anticipating adventure, but opportunists looking to make money in the walrus-hunting trade. This could have contributed to their low survival rate. Albanov complains about his companions a lot - their laziness, stupidity. But from Albanov's first hand account, the reader can infer that he was a loner. I couldn't help but wonder whether a leader like Shackleton could have brought out the best in the group and had a higher chance of surviving.
Anyway, it is truly amazing that Albanov and one of his companions survive all the crazy challenges they are delt - snowblidness, hunger, cold, scurvy, lack of maps, drifting pack ice, angry walruses, almost drowning, and so on.
This is a short book, and a good page-turner. Although it's not as good as Endurance, it's still a good read.
52 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Exciting man vs. nature thriller
1 Nov 2000
Format:Hardcover
Perfect for fans of INTO THIN AIR, KNOCKDOWN, or similar titles that set humans against pitiless nature--and here nature does some serious damage against the humans. Albanov clearly conveys the confusion and bouts of hopelessness that made his life-or-death trip across uncharted ice such a challenge. Albanov's details about using home-made sledges and kayaks to travel over the cracked ice, his small group's constant search for food, and the difficulties in keeping a group constantly moving toward an unseen goal make this a mesmerizing tale. Readers of Jack London will find this adventure a treat, too.
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Great Russian Entry in Polar Literature
6 Dec 2000
Format:Hardcover
First, I would like to thank Jon Krakauer and David Roberts for their efforts in bringing this lost treasure to English-speaking readers.
Much of what is read about polar exploration is about American, or English, or Scandinavian exploits. The Russian Classic, In the Land of White Death (the title is the English translation of the title of the French version published in 1928), will make a great addition to any library on Arctic and Antarctic exploration.
Valerian Albanov is the Navigator on the Saint Anna which leaves Alexandrivsk (now Murmansk) in 1912 to traverse the Northeast Passage (something only accomplished once before at the time) on a hunting trip that was supposed to end in Valdivostok. But, a late start finds the Saint Anna frozen in the ice pack early that winter in the Kara Sea. After wintering 1913 stuck in the ice that is dragging them every northward, Albanov believes that the best chance of survival is for the crew to split in two - half to remain on the Saint Anna with her captain Greogiy Brusilov and wait the eventual (hopeful) passage of the ship into the Western Hemisphere to be freed near Greenland, while the other half - thirteen - follows Albanov on a trek across the ice pack southward towards Franz Josef Land, the archiplelago that was Fridtjof Nansen's Farthest North.
Albanov's account begins with his team's departure from the Saint Anna. The early part of the book is told in a narrative that Albanov wrote after the trek then quickly switches to his journal entries which are written with great clarity. Albanov's adventure brings them face-to-face with the harshest of dangers including being separated from the rest of his team on ice flows, constant attacks by Walruses (not always unprovoked), and treking with poorly made sledges that were built from scrap materials removed from the Saint Anna.
Albanov's writing style brings the reader into the adventure and when they trek for 15 hours southward some days only to find that the ice flow has taken them farther north than when they started, you feel their anguish.
>>>>>>><<<<<<<
A Guide to my Book Rating System:
1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.
Much of what is read about polar exploration is about American, or English, or Scandinavian exploits. The Russian Classic, In the Land of White Death (the title is the English translation of the title of the French version published in 1928), will make a great addition to any library on Arctic and Antarctic exploration.
Valerian Albanov is the Navigator on the Saint Anna which leaves Alexandrivsk (now Murmansk) in 1912 to traverse the Northeast Passage (something only accomplished once before at the time) on a hunting trip that was supposed to end in Valdivostok. But, a late start finds the Saint Anna frozen in the ice pack early that winter in the Kara Sea. After wintering 1913 stuck in the ice that is dragging them every northward, Albanov believes that the best chance of survival is for the crew to split in two - half to remain on the Saint Anna with her captain Greogiy Brusilov and wait the eventual (hopeful) passage of the ship into the Western Hemisphere to be freed near Greenland, while the other half - thirteen - follows Albanov on a trek across the ice pack southward towards Franz Josef Land, the archiplelago that was Fridtjof Nansen's Farthest North.
Albanov's account begins with his team's departure from the Saint Anna. The early part of the book is told in a narrative that Albanov wrote after the trek then quickly switches to his journal entries which are written with great clarity. Albanov's adventure brings them face-to-face with the harshest of dangers including being separated from the rest of his team on ice flows, constant attacks by Walruses (not always unprovoked), and treking with poorly made sledges that were built from scrap materials removed from the Saint Anna.
Albanov's writing style brings the reader into the adventure and when they trek for 15 hours southward some days only to find that the ice flow has taken them farther north than when they started, you feel their anguish.
>>>>>>><<<<<<<
A Guide to my Book Rating System:
1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.
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