The Search for Franklin

I picked up this book after reading Dan Simmons' The Terror. It's one of the sources he cites--very solid historical research Simmons seems to have done, too. Neatby's book is nonfiction, and very well done. It provides broader context to the 1845-8 Franklin Expedition, going back as far as Cabot and Frobisher, and providing solid detail on the land- and sea-based expeditions, especially in the 25 years leading up to the Franklin disaster. He then carries the story forward through the frantic searches for Terror and Erebus from 1848 on. The writing can be a bit dense at times, and he spends more ink on certain characters than seems merited (Dr. King, for instance, and his feuds with various British officials), but I came away with a better appreciation of the scope of the problem Franklin and his crews were trying to solve after reading this one. The maps--critical in a work like this--are generally so-so line drawings with inadequate legends, but there is a nice one showing only those lines known in 1845. Despite all the exploration up to that time, a very white map indeed.