An epic of survival MICHAEL PALINA gradeA classic SUNDAY TIMESUtterly enthralling GEOFF DYER GUARDIANDeeply engrossing NEW YORK TIMESLISTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES NEW STATESMAN SUNDAY TIMESThe harrowing survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly wrong with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless Antarctic winter.August 1897 The Belgica set sail eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. But the ship soon became stuck fast in the ice of the Bellinghausen sea condemning the ships crew to overwintering in Antarctica and months of endless polar night. In the darkness plagued by a mysterious illness their minds ravaged by the sound of dozens of rats teeming in the hold they descended into madness.In this epic tale Julian Sancton unfolds a story of adventure gone horribly awry. As the crew teetered on the brink the Captain increasingly relied on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in captivity Dr. Frederick Cook the wild American whose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica and the ships first mate soontobe legendary Roald Amundsen who later raced Captain Scott to the South Pole. Together Cook and Amundsen would plan a lastditch desperate escape from the iceone that would either etch their names into history or doom them to a terrible fate in the frozen ocean.Drawing on firsthand crew diaries and journals and exclusive access to the ships logbook the result is equal parts maritime thriller and gothic horror. This is an unforgettable journey into the deep.