Posts Tagged ‘Arctic exploration’
Why did I write this ‘big Franklin book?’
Early afternoon in Gjoa Haven, everyone gravitates to Qiqirtaq High School, a big modern building, for a cultural presentation. September 2017. I’m sailing in the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada as a resource historian, giving talks as we travel. I’ve been rambling around Gjoa looking for Louie Kamookak, my old friend and fellow traveler. As…
Read MoreAn Open Letter to Explorer John Rae
Dear Dr. Rae: You have been gone from us since July 22, 1893 – precisely one hundred and twenty-nine years. I write from the future to mark the day of your passing. What to report from 2022? Six years ago, I relayed the news that searchers have found the two long-lost ships of Sir John…
Read MoreMichael Palin’s Erebus and Dead Reckoning look alike because they belong together
“What the publishing industry hath joined together let no bookseller put asunder.” That’s the way I see it. Faithful readers have been nudging me: “Have you seen the cover of Erebus? Michael Palin’s new book? Doesn’t it remind you of the cover of Dead Reckoning: The Untold Story of the Northwest Passage?” Well, now that…
Read MoreFrozen Dreams bring Dead Reckoning to T.O.
OK, so the photo is from Back in the Day. August 1999, to be precise. That would be me on King William Island as taken by the late Louie Kamookak. We were atop Mount Matheson on King William Island. Behind me: Rae Strait. I’ll probably mention this adventure when I give an illustrated talk called FROZEN…
Read MoreMYSTERY SOLVED!!! Polar Bears explain Fate Of the Franklin Expedition
Polar Bears Explain the Fate of the Franklin Expedition What happened to the Franklin Expedition? Researchers have been debating that since 1847, two years after Sir John Franklin disappeared into the Arctic with 128 men. From the note later found at Victory Point on King William Island, most people believe that in April 1848, 105…
Read MoreLovely paperback edition lists under $20
The paperback is here! A single author’s copy anyway, with countless others flowing into bookstores next week. Hats off to the folks at HarperCollins Canada! What a lovely package! This edition is slightly smaller than the hardcover . . . the perfect size!And it contains new and improved maps! And here on the back cover, a reviewer…
Read MoreThe Terror? Hailing the hell-bent original
My review of the original novel turned up in the Globe and Mail a decade ago. In response to popular demand, voila, here it is again . . . The Terror: A Novel, by Dan Simmons Reviewed by Ken McGoogan The most impressive achievement of this brilliant historical novel is that the author manages to…
Read MoreLet’s take back Arctic history in Scotland
Faithful readers (hi, mom!) will recognize this image of Abbotsford from my book Celtic Lightning. The historical novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) created this castle-like residence, now a museum, 40 miles south of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. Sheena shot the photo a few years ago, when last we visited. End of March, I have…
Read MoreTeam set to retrace Rae’s 1854 expedition
The Arctic Return team is complete. Explorers Hugh Dale-Harris and Garry Tutte round out the four-man party that will set out in April 2019 to retrace John Rae’s legendary 1854 expedition. That’s the one on which, with William Ouligbuck and Thomas Mistegan, he solved the two great mysteries of 19th-century Arctic exploration, discovering both the…
Read MoreVoyage to the Erebus meets Arctic reality
Snorkeling was back on the agenda. Last September, when we boarded the Ocean Endeavour to sail west Out of the Northwest Passage with Adventure Canada, we expected to don wetsuits and go snorkeling over the wreck of John Franklin’s Erebus. The Arctic had other ideas. Click on this link to see the article I wrote…
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