Ghosts of Cape Sabine: The Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition

I loved the book. If you enjoy adventure, history and reading about explorers and expeditions into extreme climates and dangerous places then this is a good book for you.I have read many books dealing with both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions as well as exploration, mountain climbing and military history.This is the story of an Army Signal Corp expedition and a series of screw-ups which left them stranded in the unforgiving climate of the Arctic. The extremes that these men were subjected to and the pressures brought to bear on them are mind boggling. We wonder what we would do under similar circumstances.I came away thinking that there were really no "good guys" in this book, but lots of "bad guys" and just people who couldn't/wouldn't get along. Some had personality quirks that only magnified their plight and made things worse for everyone. No heroes in this account, only survivors. A good read.

Over the last couple of years, I've read quite a few books dealing specifically with mankind's assault on the Arctic, and this title is one of the best. In all my other readings, the Greely expedition was a curious one, in that no one really knew what happened. Guttridge does a splendid job of taking the reader to frostbitten camps where food is scarce and the environment unforgiving. While sitting outside on a warm Southern California day, I swear I felt goosebumps on my arms.

Len Guttridge's extensive research has uncovered the true story of what happened to the ill-fated Greely expedition. For the first time, we are given new details of this horrendous part of our history. In the past, things that have been written about this expedition have been almost entirely from Greely's official records. The excerpts from new unpublished diaries and papers in Guttridge's book give us new insights about other members of the expedition and their hostility towards Greely. We see Lieutenant Greely's decisions on the retreat south as pure madness. As Mr. Guttridge concluded, Mr. Greely was no match for the arctic. Washington politics concerning the rescue of these poor souls was equally disheartening. Guttridge has subtly exposed a desperate plot by a chosen few to stay alive. Interesting that the two cooks, Greely and Brainard are among those who managed to survive. The horror of the fate of those not so lucky makes this book a real page turner. It would make a fabulous movie.

If you're interested in the adventure literature of polar exploration you may already have noted that though intriguing references to the Lady Jane Franklin Bay expedition keep cropping up, nothing seems to be available in the literature to explain what it was -- how it came about -- what happened, and how the story survived to be told. Existing references were out of print or otherwise unavailable . . . until now! The Ghosts of Cape Sabine tells the complete story of the Greely expedition to Lady Jane Franklin Bay. The ghastly mismanagement of the relief and rescue expeditions must be read to be believed, but it is all true. Guttridge's research uses previously unconsulted archival information to present a deeply affecting picture of the emotions and aspirations of the men of the expedition. Of particular interest to me was his exploration of the ways in which Greely's own perhaps over-careful instructions for relief and reprovisioning can be said to have contributed to the disaster that befell the expedition.Under conditions of appalling stress and privation Greely's leadership was tested more severely than it had been even under fire, and it can be said that it was found wanting to an extent. Not every man can be a Shackleton. And still he brought every man in his command alive to Cape Sabine, and could have brought them all back home again -- if only, if only.Guttridge is a fair and sympathetic historian who declines to either idolize or demonize, treating the personalities involved with compassion and respect. This book is an invaluable contribution to the literature of polar exploration. He writes well and with persuasive conviction, and does an altogether too effective job of communicating the horrors of Cape Sabine without stooping to sensationalism.My thanks to Leonard Guttridge for making this story available one again -- and now I have to go look up his story about the Jeanette!

I admit I am hooked on anything to do with the Canadian Arctic, but this book is the best I've read in several months. A tale of exploration, coupled with an unfolding tragedy caused by bureaucratic bungling in Washington and military incompetence on a grand scale. It's everything the book blurb says, it's a Hollywood movie that should be made, and you shouldn't hesitate to buy it.