Arctic Labyrinth: The Quest for the Northwest Passage

The essential history-. . . of the reason why men kept coming back to this frozen wasteland . . . deploys a lifetime of research and distinguished scholarship-. . . Superb-BBC HISTORYFor centuries navigators dreamed of finding the Northwest Passage - the route over the top of North America that promised a short cut to the fabulous wealth of Asia, for anyone who managed to break through its miles of treacherous ice. Arctic Labyrinth tells the story of how explorers, merchants, speculators, monarchs, scientists and charlatans all became caught up in this extraordinary quest. From the tiny, woefully-equipped boats of the first Tudor expeditions to the steam-powered vessels of the Victorian age and the icebreakers of the modern era, acclaimed naval historian Glyn Williams recounts a tale of heroism, folly, scurvy, frost-bite, starvation and ships crushed in ice. It is a remarkable study in human delusion and fortitude. Glyn Williams has skilfully woven a clear narrative out of a tangled tale ... one of the best primers on this subject-- LITERARY REVIEWRepresents a lifetimes thinking- FINANCIAL TIMES A balanced and elegant account of the bone-chilling quest for what, 200 years ago, was regarded as the maritime Philosophers Stone GLOBE AND MAIL