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Ice Ghosts

The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition

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About this listen

Ice Ghosts weaves together the epic story of the Lost Franklin Expedition of 1845 - whose two ships and crew of 129 were lost to the Arctic ice - with the modern tale of the scientists, divers, and local Inuit behind the incredible discovery of the flagship's wreck in 2014.

Paul Watson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was on the icebreaker that led the discovery expedition, tells a fast-paced historical adventure story: Sir John Franklin and the crew of the HMS Erebus and Terror setting off in search of the fabled Northwest Passage, the hazards they encountered, the reasons they were forced to abandon ship hundreds of miles from the nearest outpost of Western civilization, and the decades of searching that turned up only rumors of cannibalism and a few scattered papers and bones - until a combination of faith in Inuit lore and the latest science yielded a discovery for the ages.

©2017 Paul Watson (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Arctic & Antarctica Expeditions & Discoveries World Polar Region Discovery
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I loved this book! The narrator really grew on me over its course. Other reviews said it got a bit bogged down in tangents, and sometime the narration would go off into a direction I didn’t follow. There are also a lot of different names mentioned- some of them fleeting. But the general flow worked for me and I learned a lot. I particularly liked his description of the Inuit and Louie Kamookuk. Also his sympathetic portrait of Lady Jane Franklin. I am going to download more books on the subject (next - Erebus by Michael Palin)

Historically fascinating

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The reading is mostly good, beyond the odd mispronunciation - surprisingly of British words; as far as I can tell he reads the Inuit names well, which is nice.

The story itself starts off fairly gripping, if a little florid at times. You occasionally get an odd mix of American exceptionalism with British Imperialism when talking about these 'brave men' who obviously did some pretty foolhardy, arrogant things. Yet the treatment of the Inuit who encountered Franklin's men and preserved their memories seems fairly sensitive.

I would have liked more detail about the archaeological finds and what they told us about these people's last days. We're told they likely turned to cannibalism, for example, but not how we know. I kept expecting to get deeper into that towards the end, but the text is really more concerned with the searchers than what the searches turned up. we learn a lot about the man who collected and preserved the Inuit oral tradition, but not very much about what the elders said. even if it's unconfirmed, I would have liked to hear those stories more than the chapter on the history of archaeological scuba diving.

Also, rounders is not a type of cricket, lol.

interesting, tails off towards the end

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I've read a few books on the lost Franklin Expedition and the subsequent searches for it, and have to say that this is the best one yet. superbly researched and concise where it matters, this is an enthralling piece of work. highly recommended for those interested in the iron men in wooden ships.

outstanding book

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Probably not the most extensive book on the topic, but really good summary and good work done to prepare it. Amazing narrating - finished it over one weekend.

Some unnecessary for the story comments on the modern Canadian politics (which are probably not really interesting for non-Canadian readers) in the end slightly spoil it, but otherwise great book.

Really good story

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Really interesting to find out about this expedition and the events surrounding but the last four or five hours seem to ramble and seem less relevant. I lost the will with 3 hours to go but enjoyed the beginning none the less.

Has the potential to be a great story but rambles

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