Couldn't pay me enough; I hate winter. I find myself drawn to reading about these expeditions to the north or south poles, but always wonder why on earth would anyone take on such an expedition?? Fascinating even knowing it mostly ends badly for those who signed on. It's sort of like watching an accident without actually witnessing it. The stories are always fascinating, nevertheless.

Oh my, this book... it was one of those that you know the tragic ending, but you cannot stop reading. Buddy Levy breaks down the entire Greeley Expedition, and gives us a picture into the lives and travels of the ill-fated crew. They were beset with trial after trial, and with the many different issues they faced, they did their best to survive in the rugged terrain.

While this is nothing new, the way this book lays out the expedition, taking you step by step through the frigid winters, you felt as though you were there. I could not put this down, and I hate that it took me so long to pick it up! I look forward to reading more by this author.

Friends,

I did not complete this book. I just couldn’t seem to get into it. Thus I have not posted any review on any media as I didn’t want to tamper with the author’s ratings from other readers who completed the book.

If you've ever thought you've had a truly bad outdoors experience, read this book and it might just change your mind. Reading this is like being part of the adventure, through good times and bad. I found myself hooked on this book from the first chapter and as the odds of any of the crew surviving began to seem impossible, I read on, with my body tensing as the story unfolded.

I liked this book for a lot of reasons, but partially it was because it is not a dull and dry account of history, but one that pulls the reader in and makes you really feel the cold, the loneliness, the hunger and the range of experiences these men lived (and died) for. In the end, I found myself quite emotionally involved in the story, as one is with a good adventure tale, except this one really happened.

If you are the sort of person who likes to read stories of real-life survival, then this is a book that you will not want to miss. The tale is harrowing, but yet still filled with hope and determination to survive against the ravages of nature.

I highly recommend this book. I'm also grateful I'm not reduced to eating my shoes and blankets.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The heroic and hazardous exploits of the Greeley party, into the far Northern Arctic, are presented in this well-written account. Battling sub-zero temperatures and hunger, the strength and tenacity of these men proves an amazing account of bravery and survival.

I didn't expect a lot and in the end it was a really nice surprise. I liked this book quite a lot and especially the atmosphere was truly amazing. Since I am going to be an arctic researcher this topic is truly important to me personally.
I've read recently a book about Scott and Amundsen and was in the end quite disappointed because it tried too hard and the author forgot to keep the reader engaged and entertained. And this historical novel did a great job. I had a lot of fun reading about the arctic and am really looking forward to similar books like this!

What a thrilling read about the Greely expedition to the Arctic!

I have a keen interest in reading about adventures and explorations. I’ve read a few others including the George De Long expedition to the Arctic and Teddy Roosevelt’s Amazon adventure. The fact that people risk their lives in such harsh environments is amazing to me. Something I would never dream of doing, but like to immerse myself into by reading. I don’t believe, however, that Greely’s crew of 24 expected to walk into the most frightening and dire circumstances that one can behold.

Labyrinth of Ice is the true story of Lt. Greely’s endeavor to find the “Farthest North”. Greely researched and put a great effort into planning, but unfortunately, he had no experience in the Polar region. Although the expedition was run by the military, Greely was from the Army. His mandate was to collect scientific and meteorological data for the military.

The Polar expedition set out in July, 1881. At first captain and crew were dining on stores like there was a never ending supply. But when the resupply ship never made it to Fort Conger as planned, a year later, things changed. The crew kept their spirits up even with the challenges of temperatures way below zero, wolves on the attack, and many months of total darkness.

In May of 1882 they broke the record for “Farthest North”, but at what cost? The supply caches held less than expected and Greely decided to head South. They left Fort Conger and traveled drifting on ice floes. Meanwhile, back home Greely’s wife, Henrietta, was rallying influential people to undertake another rescue attempt. Greely and his men at this point were suffering from frostbite, starvation, sickness, and insanity. They were thrilled to find moldy dog biscuits they threw out when their stores were still plentiful. Food and fuel alcohol stealing didn’t help.

This tale of survival and endurance was harrowing to read, but a page-turner. In 1884, the navy ship sent to rescue any survivors finds only a few men that look more like skeletons with only their boots and laces to eat.

Buddy Levy has written a well researched nonfiction book that reads more like a suspense thriller. Totally fascinating. One of my best reads in 2019!

Many thanks to Sara Beth, St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Buddy Levy for an ARC of Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition in exchange for an honest review.

5 out of 5 stars

Published 12/03/19

This true survival story is well worth reading! As I read about their heroic efforts to endure and survive, I was humbled. It made me resolve to never complain about being cold or (temporarily) hungry again!

I absolutely love books about exploration. And polar exploration in particular is such an adventure, battling extreme temperatures, 24 hour darkness, and limited natural resources. The Greely Expidition was a nail biting story that had me mesmerized and eager to plow on. It was truly an unbelievable account of how the best laid plans can go wrong and how men can rise to the challenges to beat the odds.

The author does an amazing job of researching the historical details and includes many original journal entries and newspaper articles. The reader gets to know several of the characters intimately although there were some that were not touched on as much.

This book lost a star because I found the beginning to be quite slow and dragged with too many facts that just weren't very interesting. As the expidition goes from bad to worse, though, I found myself glued to the pages.

If you enjoy historical nonfiction and polar exploration, this is a story worth reading. I'm amazed at how people can overcome such adversity and found this book to be inspirational.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is hard to imagine the extreme conditions, physical & mental challenges and isolation that A.W. Greely and the 24 members of his crew faced as they explored the far reaches of the north, attempting to do what several expeditions had previously tried & died doing. Extreme cold. Dangerous wildlife. Months without sunshine. Food stores dwindling. Trapped in the ice floes. Waiting for resupply ships that didn't come. It must have been terrifying.

This book is wonderful! The author obviously did excellent research into the voyage and the lives/deaths of these men. The highs and lows of their explorations are given in detail, including the horrifying descent into madness and cannibalism for some. This group of sailors and scientists risked all to fill in an area still blank on most maps: The arctic. In 1881, the northernmost areas past Greenland were still unknown. These men ventured forth to map, explore and document a vast, dangerous portion of the world. Greely was an experienced military man, but totally unprepared for commanding a ship and the extreme conditions they would face on the voyage. He kept a tight ship, expecting military discipline on board his ship, but his inexperience led the group to make some poor choices. In his defense, everyone is inexperienced when it comes to areas previously unexplored. But, it does seem a bit unusual that a man with no seafaring experience was chosen to captain a ship going into such a dangerous region.

Only six men returned alive. But the crew made history and some of them returned to tell the tale -- that's better than any other expedition of that area before them. The journals and reports from their expedition still exist today, and some of the data and information they brought back are still used. Amazing!

This is the first book by Buddy Levy that I have read. I am definitely going to read more, especially his book on David Crockett. Levy did a vast amount of research and included so much information in this book (even sharing some of the poetry Greely wrote to his wife while on this voyage). Excellent information! Very interesting to read!

**I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

The explorations of the intrepid Arctic explorers hold a singular fascination for me. These are places I would never wish to go and I have no frame of reference for the below zero degree temperatures they recorded. In 1981, Lt. Adolphus W. Greely commands a volunteer crew of U.S military officers and others on a scientific expedition with several goals. His first responsibility was to set up the northernmost research station in the Arctic, where he and his men would collect and record meteorological and other scientific data. They would also look for clues as to what happened to the USS Jeannette, whose men had vanished. Lastly, Greely intended to reach the North Pole or at the very least Farthest North. When Greely accepted this command, he was aware that it was normal to have a 50 percent loss of life on expeditions into the arctic. Even though he was married with two young daughters at home, still Greely felt up to the challenge. He was battle-hardened, having fought during the Civil War and worked his way up through the ranks. A man of discipline, he expected a lot from his men.

Buddy Levy writes a detailed and frank account of the lives of Greely and his men and the hardships they faced. In the back of the book, a bibliography lists books and resources that Levy used to create this book. He says it’s enough reading to keep someone going a year or two. Rather than do all that reading, I recommend reading this book. I was never bored, and in fact, as the hardships increased toward the last third of the book, so did my pace of reading. Levy molds, shapes, and forms three-dimensional men from journal entries, diaries, letters, and books that the men later wrote. All of this is set in a breath-taking landscape of ice that favors no man.

Levy introduces the men at the beginning of the story, a cursory introduction that gives the reader the man’s rank and purpose. As the narrative unreels, I became more familiar with each man, his strengths and weaknesses. I rooted for them to survive this inhospitable place, and admired that men took on such challenges as these. Two Greenlanders, Jens and Fred, accompany the team to hunt, fish, drive the sledges, help manage the dogs, and assist in other ways as well. I especially grew to like Sgt. David L. Brainard, supply chief, who was only twenty-four years old, as well as Sgt. George W. Rice, the expedition’s photographer. These two men were so plucky and brave, sharing a sense of adventure that pervades the narrative. The youngest man on the expedition was Sgt. Edward Israel, twenty-one years old. The medical doctor is Dr. Octave Pavy, a surgeon who studied medicine at the University of Paris. He is the only man besides the Greenlanders who has spent any time in the Arctic.

The men would take as many as five hundred readings and measurements a day, including wind speed and temperatures. Many of the men kept detailed journals and accounts of their activities and thoughts. One thing that really stood out to me is how Greely tried to keep his men busy and provided entertainments and lectures during the many winter days when there was no sunshine. When the isolation began to take its toll on some of them, others were aware that a man’s behavior had changed, and tried to make interventions. This is a fascinating account of extraordinary men who were loyal to the scientific process and eager to make discoveries for their homeland. Highly recommended!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Sara Beth, and Buddy Levy for an ARC of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received a free advance copy of this from NetGalley for review.

As the warrior-poet Vanilla Ice once said, “Ice ice, baby.”

In 1881 Lt. Adolphus Greely led 24 men to Lady Franklin Bay in the Arctic where they planned to stay for 2 years while recording scientific data, exploring the area, and maybe becoming the first to reach the North Pole. Greely was a Civil War veteran who had meticulously prepared for the expedition, and he had worked up a detailed plan for resupply that had multiple contingencies in case things went wrong.

Unfortunately, the military manages to completely botch any resupply and recovery efforts, and Greely and his men had to make a desperate journey to get South on their own as some of their family and friends work to mount a rescue attempt. It’s kinda like if you thought someone promised to pick you up, but they forgot. Only instead of just getting a ride with Uber, you freeze or starve to death.

I’m fascinated people trying to do things in extreme conditions, and this certainly fits that bill. It’s an intriguing tale of survival, and one of the things I found most interesting was how it’s a slow-motion disaster where nobody in particular did anything you can point to as the cause of it. Greely comes across as a competent and conscientious man who did all he could to prepare for a tough mission, but by sticking strictly to the original plan he may have made a critical mistake by going South instead of trying to stick it out for one more winter in their base. Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, played a role as Secretary of War because his lack of enthusiasm for Arctic expeditions prevented the resupply efforts a lack of urgency until things became critical. Overall, bureaucracy and inexperience of some of those involved are the reasons why it ended in disaster.

There’s a lot of great descriptive writing of the environment and conditions that really drive home the periols of trying to travel in the Arctic, and there’s enough background on all the major people to give you a sense of who they were without getting bogged down in multiple biographies. There’s a real sense of what life was like for Greely and his men both before and after things went badly.

Frankly, the only reason I’m giving this 3 stars instead of 4 isn’t really the author’s fault. Once things go badly, and the expedition essentially finds itself trapped then it turns into a extended tale of starvation and frostbite. That’s just not a lot of fun to read about, and while Levy juxtaposes against the rescue efforts so that it doesn't come across as a slog, it does start to feel like an extended horror movie in the last third of the book.

Fans of polar exploration tales (true or fiction) and those who like adventure stories should pick this up immediately. While carefully and exhaustively researched, it never falls into the trap of fact fact fact- it has a beating heart that makes you care about the men on the expedition. No one expected the Lady Bay Franklin expedition, also know as the Greely expedition after the man who led it, to turn into the nightmare it became. The first section of this fascinating book details the preparations, the rest is the journey, intermixed with the efforts of Henrietta Greely to save her husband (the parts about Washington are a welcome addition). JW Greely was ill equipped to lead this effort but he did, and he did manage to collect, with his team, significant and important data. No spoilers as to how the group survived (and who survived) when it all went wrong. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Read this not only for the knowledge you will gain but also as a thriller. Highly recommend.

Absolutely a fun and factual read. I really enjoyed this book. I found it super informative and easy to read despite the subject matter.

10/10 would recommend.

I received a free advanced copy of this book via netgalley for a honest review.

Though we know now what the North Pole is like and have maps that show the shifting– and melting– polar ice caps in high resolution, we didn’t always know what was there. For centuries, people looked to the Arctic and made wild speculations. Was there land? Was there an open ocean? Or was it snow and ice all the way up? Though humans reached the North Pole in the twentieth century (there are disputed claims by Frederick Cook in 1908, Robert Peary and Matthew Henson in 1909, and Richard E. Byrd in 1926) the race northwards began far earlier, with expeditions trekking into the unknown to study the Arctic land, ice, and weather, as well as vying for the fame– and potential notoriety– that would come with having been Farthest North.

In July of 1881, Lieutenant A.W. Greely led an expedition crewed by American soldiers and scientists, a French doctor, and two Greenlanders. Their goal was to study everything they could while they were in the Arctic wilderness, hundreds of miles from the nearest outpost. They would spend years there, facing dangerously cold temperatures, brutal weather, potential wolf or bear attacks, and shifting ice. They brought enough supplies to build an outpost, Fort Conger, and had enough food to see them through the long dark of two Arctic winters, supplemented by meat taken during hunts. The first winter was spent in relative luxury. Levy describes in detail the Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts the men enjoyed, and the parties, classes, and competitions they used to keep their spirits up in those dark months. All through it, Greely would send out two- and three-man expeditions to push ever northward and take scientific measurements all the while.

The expedition’s initial plan was sound: in the following summers, ships would arrive with fresh supplies to keep Greely and his men fed. In the summer of 1881, everything happened on schedule. But what Greely and the captains of the supply ships could not know was that the summer of 1881 was particularly warm, and the polar ice had not expanded as far south as usual. In the following two years, the sea ice followed its normal path, putting a massive wall of ice in the supply ships’ paths, over 250 miles away from Fort Conger. With no way to communicate between the ships and Fort Conger, Greely and his men had no idea they were on their own until it was too late. With food stores running low, Greely decided to leave the relative safety of the fort and take his men south to Cape Sabine, where a cache with forty days’ worth of rations had been stored. He set up camp in the autumn of 1883, where he and his men faced starvation, insanity, and the possibility of cannibalism as they wintered in a primitive shelter, waiting for spring and the first possibility of rescue.

“Unfortunately it didn’t take an astronomer to realize what was happening: A gale was blowing offshore from the southwest, and the floe they were camped on had begun drifting imperceptibly to the north-northeast. Men starting tying down anything loose as the winds increased. It took hours to erect the teepee, the great sail threatening to fly away. Men sought refuge where they could, but few managed to sleep, as everywhere ice split and thundered. Even the stalwart Brainard was alarmed: ‘The roar of the moving and grinding pack… is something terrible that even the bravest cannot be unconcerned…'”

Though occasionally dry and full of background history and lists of food stores and scientific equipment, Levy’s narrative picks up its pace when the expedition reaches the Arctic and establishes Fort Conger, and is interspersed with the dramatic– a wolf attack– and the ethereal– astonishing displays of the Northern Lights. And though the focus is upon Greely’s team in the north, Levy takes the time to explain why the supply ships never arrived and the lengths Greely’s wife Henrietta went to in order to convince the American government to take action and send a rescue mission to find her husband and his men.

The tension ratchets up once the expedition leaves Fort Conger in search of the supply caches to the south. Once the effects of malnutrition begin to take hold amongst the crew, it is nearly impossible to put the book down. Like any great story, readers will be desperate to know what happens next.

While the race to gain the title of ‘Farthest North’ had a vainglorious element, the scientific element of Greely’s expedition was important. The team’s measurements and photographs were recovered, along with their personal journals and letters though they had left many of these things behind as they weakened on their journey south. The scientific observations from this expedition have helped form the baseline for Arctic weather and the extent of the polar ice caps, allowing scientists to see just how much ice has been lost and how quickly we are losing it as Earth’s climate warms. Though there is plenty of tragedy in Labyrinth of Ice, it is also a story of courage and the boundless nature of human curiosity. These twenty-five men spent years in some of the most remote and brutal conditions on the planet, and they did it all in the name of science.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free egalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way.

A stunning recounting of the Greely Arctic expedition, also known as the ‘Lady Franklin Bay’ expedition.

This polar expedition drew on for 3 long years due to politics that endangered lives, poorly managed rescue operations/supply mission missteps, and a seriously inexperienced crew that included an ex-criminal who consistently stole food from his mates.

Despite the crew’s lack of experience for this kind of mission and no familiarity with the Arctic, they had extraordinary courage and willpower and in the end Greely would make it home with several of the men.

Desperate decisions for survival’s sake were cringe-worthy. Greely came from a strict military background, well disciplined and adapted to the hand he was given. An incredible leader who led his team through dismal times, harsh conditions, long periods of winter with associated depression.

The crew’s meticulous documentation of scientific data and findings become the standard of future scientific endeavors. So well done and reminds me of another epic exploration story that I enjoyed so much, In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides.

In July 1881 Lt. Adolphus Greely and 24 men set off on the adventure of a lifetime: to explore the Arctic, collect two years worth of scientific recordings on the climate, and, if possible, break the English record for Farthest North that had lasted for 300 years. None of the men had Arctic experience but Greely had read everything he possibly could on all previous expeditions. They built a base, learned how to last through sunless winters, experienced -30 to -50 degree temperatures, and explored. New areas were mapped, a new Farthest North and Farthest West were reached and they gathered incredibly detailed scientific observations and records for others to examine. For two years they lived successfully in their Arctic fort, but scheduled annual resupply ships never came. So they began to travel 250 miles south to meet the ship that was supposed to pick them up. And then the real challenges began. . .

For anyone (like me) who has never read a book on Arctic exploration, Labyrinth of Ice will be a real eye-opener. The weather alone would be enough that most people would never even consider such a trip, yet here was a group of Army men, none with any experience in these kinds of conditions, who were so excited to participate that several of them literally begged to be allowed to join the expedition. There was no giant monetary reward in it for them- they wanted to be known for doing something few had done and to possibly set new records. None of them were scientists but they were meticulous in their records and got observations on time everyday despite occasionally gale-force winds and white-out blizzards. The tons of supplies they packed, the planning that had to be done in advance, the hiking that had to be done, all seem unimaginable in today's world. And those were considered the good conditions! When things went bad (and don't they always in Arctic exploration?) unimaginable doesn't even begin to cover it.

Labyrinth of Ice is meticulously researched and Levy uses the words of the explorers themselves whenever possible to fully bring the journey to life. Detailed and wonderfully written, the reader is pulled straight into the men's experiences: the beauty of the aurora borealis, the difficulty of hiking in blizzards, the dangers of the watery voyage south, and finally the misery and terror of the final eight months in Camp Clay waiting for rescue or death. The creativity in what could be eaten and the strength and bravery of the men will astound you. Whether you are a newcomer or loyal follower of all things Arctic exploration, Labyrinth of Ice will thrill you from first to last. A must-read!


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Nonfiction about the Greely expedition (also called the Lady Franklin Bay expedition), yet another of the many terrible Arctic disasters that occured to (or were caused by) various explorers.

In 1881 American Army lieutenant Greely and his 24 followers (mostly scientists or other army men, plus two local Inuit men and one random French doctor) headed up to Lady Franklin Bay (an extremely ominous name that Levy somehow never points out the irony of! Perhaps it was too obvious?) near the very northernmost tip of Greenland, far out of the range of habitable lands. They intended to spend three years there, collecting various scientific data (on weather, astronomical events, the function of magnets so near to the north pole, etc), exploring the mostly unmapped areas to the west and east and, if possible, sending a sledge team to the north pole itself, which would make them the first to reach it, claiming the glory for the Americans instead of the British (who held the record for Farthest North at the time). The plan was for a supply ship to reach them each summer with fresh food, clothing and, if needed, men. As you might guess if you're remotely familiar with the history of polar exploration, the supply ships never arrived, due to a combination of ice blocking the way and political arguments back in Washington DC. In August 1883, Greely decided they had to abandon their station, so the whole crew headed south using a combination of small ships, sledges, and walking. They made it two hundred miles before further travel was halted by winter weather – still alone and with extremely little food left. Out of 25 men, seven survived that winter to be rescued in June 1884, with one more dying soon after.

This is a fascinating enough piece of history on its own, rife with dramatic scenes of man v nature, brutal endurance, wolf attacks, polar bears, the northern lights, bad decision making, theft, murder, madness, and (of course) allegations of cannibalism. Unfortunately Levy is not the person to tell this story. He engages in practically every single tick that I hate in nonfiction writers. He imagines details that he can't possibly know two hundred years later:
He observed them and everything else, squinting through his oval spectacles at the breathtaking expanse, trying to visualize what lay ahead. [...] Massive slabs of glacial ice cleaved off the shore and crashed into sea, spewing freezing brine over the gunwales and frosting his sharp narrow face and pointed black beard. His heart raced with anticipation, but his mind was much burdened.
If you wanted to write a novel, Levy, just write a novel! I don't need your fictionalizations in a history book!

Levy also focuses on mind-numbing minutiae while ignoring the larger context. For example, he spends chapters describing the foot-by-foot route Greely and co took south: on August 26th, a storm drove them east! On September 1st they made it back south! On September 16th they floated back north! On September 29th they finally made it back south! On September 22nd they went east instead! On September 27th they went west! On September 28th they went south again! (THIS IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION, IN FACT I COULD GO ON FOR MUCH LONGER) Was my summary boring to read? Well, imagine spending nearly a hundred pages on it, and you have a good idea of the middle section of Labyrinth of Ice. On the other hand, topics that I eagerly would have read a hundred pages of are skipped entirely: what was the point of all that scientific data they took? What questions were they trying to answer? What did they successfully learn? (Levy comments in the epilogue that their weather measurements are important to scientists today studying global warming, but I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that wasn't the original intention.) Levy mentions briefly that another of the expedition's goals was to search for the missing USS Jeanette – what was the story there? What was the cultural context around polar exploration, scientific expeditions, or stories of survival? How long did their record for Farthest North last? Why did they wait so long before they started eating the local shellfish? Levy mentions some of the men going "mad" as starvation set in – but what does that mean, in actual medical terms? Were they suffering just from calorie deprivation, or was some combination of scurvy and other diseases also affecting them? There are a hundred more subjects that the story of the Greely expedition could shed light on, but Levy ignores them all in favor of a tedious accounting of exactly how many miles were covered each day.

As a side note, I could also have used way more maps. There are a few included at the beginning of the book, but there are so many side trips and back-and-forths that a map for every chapter wouldn't have been out of place. I tried to follow along on Google Maps, but either place names have changed or Google hasn't bothered to finely map the Arctic Circle, because many of the locations Levy mentioned just weren't there.

I'm not objecting to the genre of polar exploration histories; I've read plenty that were exciting, enlightening, hard to put down and even, occasionally, funny. Labyrinth of Ice is definitively not one of them. I can't imagine recommending this book to anyone unless they had to write a report on the Greely expedition, and even then there are probably better resources.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3061092881

I have read several absolutely awesome historical true stories and I really didn’t think Indianapolis or Lost in Shangri-La could be beat, but this one blew me away!!! Mr. Levy certainly did his homework, the research was meticulous and the author certainly knows how to keep you engaged. The first chapter of the book draws you in, and then the story never lets you go. My review will not be able to get close to describing the feelings and emotions this story makes you feel. I was brought to tears several times.
What a remarkable man Lt. A.W. Greely was and the dedication, courage, bravery and resilience all of his team showed thru the challenges they endured was remarkable. I loved the way this book was written; it followed the diaries of the men involved and there was never a lull or any extra wordage. It was told perfectly.
I had to keep reminding myself this was all taking place between 1881 to 1884. One of the most surprising things I found was the media coverage, it was no different in 1885 than it is today, the media chooses to believe the worst and to highlight “fake news” overlooking the true sacrifices and actual events that really took place, not caring if the reputation of true heroes are tarnished. I give this book the highest 5 stars I can give. You will not be disappointed, pick it up, read it, another book going into my top ten best books ever!!
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets the highest 5*****’s I can give!! An awesome book!!

Labyrinth of Ice is Buddy Levy's gift to the world of non-fiction in 2019: a rich and moving testament to a lost era of heroic sacrifice in the name of exploration of the unknown, brutal endurance, and patriotism. Levy takes us back with cinematic narrative to the Greely Polar Expedition of 1881-1883: the attempt to attain Farthest North and take continual scientific readings of the harsh unmarked ice for the advancement of the polar knowledge of the United States.

Levy draws from journals from expedition leader Adolphus Greely and his crew of 24 to tell their stories as they triumph in their pursuit of unmapped land and their eventual failed rescue, abandonment, and dwindling rations. This surfeit of first hand source material gives Levy's narrative a human connection lacking in some extreme adventure narratives, as the reader is drawn into the roller coaster emotions and tribulations of each of the men. As with the most brutal of polar expeditions I've read about, Greely and his men face unimaginable cold temperatures, exposure, shifting ice, scarce rations, potential mutiny, and madness in their attempt to survive long enough to return home.

This is a book that begs to be read by any fan of adventure, exploration, and trials of the human spirit. Greely and (the majority) of his men are rightfully remembered as American heroes, and I can only applaud Buddy Levy for penning such an enthralling tale of their exploits in the cold polar wastes.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press.**