

Previously, Bartlett had accompanied United States Navy Commander Robert Peary in 1909 on an expedition that claimed to be the first to have reached the geographic North Pole. When Stefansson’s first choice to captain the Karluk, American whaling skipper Christian Theodore Pedersen, withdrew, Stefansson invited Newfoundland-born American Arctic explorer Captain Robert Abram Bartlett (Aug– April 28, 1946) as the Karluk’s new captain.

Mainly land-based, the Southern Party, would carry out surveys and anthropological studies in the islands off the northern Canadian coast. The Northern Party, on the Karluk, would explore the Arctic waters for new land. The Canadian Arctic Expedition was organized into two parties. Practically every chapter I would have the thought, “How could anyone survive this?” Using diaries and other writings from the passengers, Levy reconstructs the Karluk’s fateful journey with masterful storytelling, creating a gripping account of courage and survival in the face of insurmountable odds. As a reader, I was transported to a different world, one where excessive risks were taken in the name of discovery. Buddy Levy keeps you on the edge of your seat as he brings the harrowing account of the Karluk and her passengers to life. Are you a fan of survival stories? Do you enjoy reading about maritime disasters? Arctic expeditions? If you answered yes to any of those questions, have I got a book for you! EMPIRE OF ICE AND STONE : THE DISASTROUS AND HEROIC VOYAGE OF THE KARLUK by Buddy Levy will have you on the edge of your seat with the true story of the disastrous Canadian Arctic Expedition aboard HMCS Karluk.Įmpire of Ice and Stone reads like fiction and feels like an impossible tale dreamed up by a movie studio.
