Arctic Labyrinth e-bog
99,54 DKK
(inkl. moms 124,42 DKK)
For centuries British navigators dreamt of finding the Northwest Passage - the route over the top of North America that would open up the fabulous wealth of Asia to British merchants. We know now that, while several such passages exist, during the period of the search by sailing vessels they were choked by impassable ice. But this knowledge was slowly won, as expedition after expedition, under ...
E-bog
99,54 DKK
Forlag
Penguin
Udgivet
1 oktober 2009
Længde
464 sider
Genrer
1MTN
Sprog
English
Format
epub
Beskyttelse
LCP
ISBN
9780141932583
For centuries British navigators dreamt of finding the Northwest Passage - the route over the top of North America that would open up the fabulous wealth of Asia to British merchants. We know now that, while several such passages exist, during the period of the search by sailing vessels they were choked by impassable ice. But this knowledge was slowly won, as expedition after expedition, under the most terrible conditions, slowly filled in their patchy and sometimes fatally misleading charts.Arctic Labyrinth tells this extraordinary story with great skill and brilliance. From the tiny, woefully equipped ships of the first Tudor expeditions to the icebreakers and nuclear submarines of the modern era, Glyn Williams describes how every form of ingenuity has been used to break through or try to get round the nightmarish ice barriers set in a maze of sterile islands. The heroism, folly and horror of these voyages seem almost unbelievable, with entire ships crushed, mass starvation, epics of endurance - and all in pursuit of a goal that ultimately proved futile.Williams's book is both an important work of exploration and naval history, and a remarkable study in human delusion and fortitude.