well enough told, but has 30 minute author‘s note at the end, where one really expects more info on the fate of the other members of the expedition. irritating. sometimes a LOT of pathos. 

Interesting book about the history of Antartic exploration. I am glad I listened to it rather than reading it myself. It starts off a little slow, but soon there are lots of perals and adventures facing the crew. 

A good story, a writing style a bit too flourished. My main issue is that the author is too enamoured with the subjects of his book to properly question their actions and motives. 

I CANNOT find the bookstagrammer who recommended this in a video, but shout out to them, this was kind of a banger.

One of the best nonfiction books I've listened to (the audiobook is incredible, huge kudos to the narrator.)
It really sheds light on the sort of people who set out on these expeditions and what drives them to these feats, as well as how that drive can be their undoing. Frankly, it's the first nonfiction book that made me cry with empathy for their struggles, even knowing the explorers were deeply flawed men with colonist dreams - and being able to balance both of those realities, while also illustrating the progress in the expedition itself, is a feat. Note if you're sensitive to death, especially animal death, I'd avoid this.

I might even purchase a physical copy because it's a phenomenal reference and story. 

An account of a little known Antarctic expedition, the triumphs they achieved and all the calamities and horrors they had to endure during the long polar night. It's the end of the 19th century and there's still a couple of wild places unconquered by men, one of them being the Antarctic. While the Arctic had seen its fair share of famous (and tragic) expeditions, until then the southernmost continent had remained practically untouched. Enter Adrien de Gerlache, a young Belgian navy officer with a dream and an unquenchable thirst for adventure. Putting together an expedition for scientific purposes, and the glory of the then new nation of Belgium, he embarked on a voyage that would prove fruitful yet dangerous and disturbing.

Incredibly engaging and well narrated story. I was hooked from the very beginning and desperate to know more. As a modern person it is hard to imagine what the crew of this ship went through for almost two years, completely trapped and separated from the rest of the world, but the author does an upstanding job at creating the ambience and putting the situation in perspective. You can tell this was a well researched labor of love, that Julian Sancton was fascinated with all the little details that make up this story.  Not only was the situation captivating and terrorific, but the actual people who lived through this were engaging, intelligent, flawed and deeply human. The use of the diaries in this book was masterfully done and really connected me with the men trapped in the ice. 

While I think it all flows quite nicely and it is easy enough to get into, some of the heavy sailing and ship terminology did fly over my head quite a bit. I never felt like it dragged, but it certainly required concentration and imagination to be able to wrap my head around the scale of the situation. I also read this while on a cruise ship and I very much recommend it, it gave the book an extra atmosphere and added to the horror of it all.

Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night by
Julian Sancton 4/5 🏔️s

This nonfiction text tells the story of the Belgica, one of the first expeditions to chart the South Pole led, by Belgian commandment Adrien der Gerlach. Although based on diary entries from the crew (of the 18 man crew, 10 kept diaries of the expedition), the book reads in most cases like a novel: it's not sensationalized, but it approaches it's subject matter with unflinching detail. Centering on the first four officers of the ship, de Gerlach, Roald Amundsen, Frederick Cook, and Georges Lecointe, the book paints a vivid picture of each man, laying out their personalities, drives, goals, and ambitious as they impacted the decisions made throughout the expedition. 

See, the Belgica is famous not only for being one of the first ships to map the coast of Antarctica, but for being the first ship to survive a winter in the Antarctic. The extensive record keeping kept by the crew and the ships doctor has made this exploration a case study in human behavior within isolated environments, and has impacted the way humans prepare for space travel, deep sea travel, as well as other forms of extreme isolation. Cook's theories of maintaining mental stability, born out of his experience on the ship, represent some of the first documents indicating a relationship between light and human health (think of seasonal affective disorder). His knowledge of first nations practices of hunting and food preparation are also the main reason his crew survived, and helped legitimize indigenous techniques of health and wellness in the eyes of white scholars during this period.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. The amount of research the author put into it really shows in the descriptions of the landscape and the characterization of the men onboard, helping to humanize this story of nearly one hundred years ago.