Frozen in Time : The Fate of the Franklin Expedition

Re-released to coincide with the discovery of one of the lost Franklin Expedition ships.__Frozen in Time__ tells the dramatic story of how Sir John Franklin’s elite naval forces came within sight of the Northwest Passage, only to succumb to unimaginable horrors. A gripping tale of cannibalism, bureaucratic hubris, great courage and ground-breaking science, it shows how the excavation of three sailors from the 1845–48 Franklin expedition, buried for 138 years on the Arctic headland of Beechey Island, has shed new light on what has been one of the world’s great maritime mysteries. The truth about what happened on Sir John Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition of 1845-48 has been shrouded in mystery for 165 years. Carrying the best equipment that the science and technology, Franklin and his men set out to "penetrate the icy fastness of the north, and to circumnavigate America." The expedition's two ships -- HMS "Erebus" and HMS "Terror" -- carrying 129 officers and men, disappeared without a trace. From 1846 to 1880 more than 20 major rescue parties were involved in the search for the missing men and ships. The disappearance of the expedition and absence of any substantial written accounts of the journey have left attempts at a reconstruction of events sketchy and inconclusive. In "Frozen in Time, " forensic anthropologist Owen Beattie and historian John Geiger tell the dramatic story of the excavation of three sailors from the Franklin Expeditions, buried for 138 years on the lonely headland of Beechey Island. This book contains the astonishing photographic record of the excavation, together with the maps and illustrations that accompany this riveting account of Franklin's fatal adventure. The unfolding of Dr. Beattie's unexpected findings is not only a significant document but also, in itself, a tale of high adventure “A remarkable piece of forensic deduction.”—Margaret Atwood The internationally-bestselling account of the Franklin's doomed Arctic expedition, and the thrilling scientific investigation that spurred the decades-long hunt for its recovery—now with a new afterword on the discovery of its lost ships: Erebus and Terror. “Chilling... will keep you up nights turning pages.”—The Chicago TribuneIn 1845, Sir John Franklin and his men set out to “penetrate the icy fastness of the north, and to circumnavigate America.” And then they disappeared. The truth about what happened to Franklin's ill-fated Arctic expedition was shrouded in mystery for more than a century. Then, in 1984, Owen Beattie and his team exhumed two crew members from a burial site in the North for forensic evidence, to shocking results. But the most startling discovery didn't come until 2014, when a team commissioned by the Canadian government uncovered Erebus, the lost ship. Frozen in Time is a riveting deep dive into one of the most famous shipwrecks of all time, and the team of brilliant scientists that unleashed its secrets from the ice. Re-released to coincide with the discovery of one of the lost Franklin Expedition ships. Frozen in Time tells the dramatic story of how Sir John Franklin’s elite naval forces came within sight of the Northwest Passage, only to succumb to unimaginable horrors. A gripping tale of cannibalism, bureaucratic hubris, great courage and ground-breaking science, it shows how the excavation of three sailors from the 1845–48 Franklin expedition, buried for 138 years on the Arctic headland of Beechey Island, has shed new light on what has been one of the world’s great maritime mysteries. xvii, 285 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : 22 cm