Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition

Having read Dan Simmons' novelization of the Franklin expedition, I picked up this volume curious to learn more about what modern explorers had found. Though there is plenty of detail about the frozen north and the rigors of arctic exploration, the type of discovery chronicled in the story is not so much geographical as scientific--being centered primarily in the analysis of the bodies carefully interred by the Franklin expedition itself over 130 years ago.

The authors' carefully lay out the mystery of the Franklin expedition and then persuasively argue their thesis, which I will not give away here--no spoilers in this review. It is enough to realize that the tale warns that dangers lurk in the familiar as well as the foreign and that we cannot be too careful regarding our surroundings.

This was a quick and interesting read as well as an important commentary on the costs and benefits of exploration. One wonders whether our civilization has lost something now that our world has been mapped and explored; we seem to have lost the desire to find new frontiers--to pay the costs of discovery--and are all the poorer for it.

Recommended.

This book excited me, the prospect of revisiting the Franklin expedition in such a way as done by the author was the reason I picked it up. He delivers in a clear way, a brief history of the events leading up to Franklin's attempt at the Northwest Passage and subsequent demise as well as the numerous tries at rescue and later attempts to learn of the Franklin party's fate. This book puts to rest the "Franklin's Folly" view of man and puts the reader at the graves during the exhumations. I only wish there were more photos showing areas along the route they followed where artifacts were found. Occasionally the author attempts and fails to write with flare of an adventure writer, these bits come off as awkward, but don't last long and it's back to what he does well: provide clear pictures of what he did.

This new edition of Frozen in Time expands on the history of early British Arctic exploration and places the tragically fated Franklin expedition in the context of other expeditions of the era, including those commanded by George Back and James Clark Ross, which also suffered unaccountable and devastating losses. The authors' research reveals an unexpected -- and ironic -- cause for the mystery illness that befell the explorers. Never-before-seen photographs from the exhumations, updated research results, additional forensic corroboration, and a new introduction by Margaret Atwood complete this fascinating account.

God this book was amazing. It took me months to read because it was so dense with information and I kept gaping at the pictures, but it was worth it. The best thing about Frozen in Time was that the anthropologists that excavated the bodies were so emotional about it. The whole book, despite being a scientific account, is so incredibly creepy. One of the creepiest books I have ever read. The contents of this book completely permeated my brain, even after I finished reading the book.

I guess the authors had a distinct advantage by choosing to excavate members of the Franklin expedition. I don't think there are many things that people today are morbidly curious about than cannibalism, and because it was proven to have taken place again and again on this Arctic expedition, reading about the deaths of members of the crew would be captivating regardless of what aspect(s) they were analyzing.

In this book, the major focus was what killed everyone so quickly, and I think the only issue I had with this book is that in the beginning they kind of hinted at lead poisoning, then focused on scurvy for awhile, then went back to lead poisoning, then, FINALLY, in the last chapter or two, analyzed the cans found concluded that lead was the most probably cause, and that contrary to previous belief, it was nearly impossible to die from scurvy that fast when they had limes on board. Despite the occasional digressions, the way the anthropolgists describe the bodies (especially that of John Torrington) is incredibly sincere. Many books published these days are boring, emotionless scientific accounts, with very little feeling mixed in. These scientists were completely consumed with what they were doing. They couldn't get over the sadness and loneliness involved with dying alone in the high Arctic. The fact that these sailors were beyond help, that Torrington was so young (20, I think) inspired extreme amounts of emotion. Just to be working with a 150 year old corpse of a person that died in such loneliness haunted all of the scientists throughout the book.

I guess there's nothing more to say, other than the fact that Frozen in Time is the best scientific account of an Arctic expedition I have ever read, not only because of the sheer morbidity of cannibalism, but because the scientists who wrote it were so sympathetic and filled with emotion.

I got this book for my birthday this past year and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. It is a well written account not only of the fate of the Franklin Expedition, but also of the difficulties and many hardships faced by many of the Arctic Explorers of the time. It details the many problems that faced the various crews prior to Franklin's fated expedition and those of the many crews that searched for those 128 men.

The second part of the book tells of Owen Beattie's search for the Fate of those men, and his startling discoveries that showed the most likely cause of the tragedy. From finding the first bones on King Williams Island to excavating the three men on Beechey Island, the second part of the book is just as interesting as the first. Both are tales of discovery and the challenges associated with them.

All in all this book is one of those to spark the interest of anyone interested in Naval History and the history of Exploration. I highly recommend this book.