Iced In : Ten Days Trapped on the Edge of Antarctica

-The Antarctic Factor: if anything can go wrong, it will. It's basically Murphy's Law on steroids...- --Chris Turney On Christmas Eve 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Shokalskiy-- the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the Australian Antarctic Expedition--in a densely packed armada of sea ice, 1400 miles from civilization. With the ship's hull breached and steerage lost, the wind threatened to drive the vessel into the frozen continent, smashing it to pieces. If nearby floating icebergs picked up speed, they could cause a devastating collision, leaving little time to abandon ship and potentially creating an environmental disaster. The forecast offered no relief--a blizzard was headed their way. As Turney chronicles his modern-day ordeal , he revisits famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's harrowing Antarctic expedition almost a century prior. His ship, Endurance, was trapped and ultimately lost to the ice, forcing Shackleton and his men to fight for survival on a vast and treacherous icescape for two years. Turney also draws inspiration from Douglas Mawson, whose Antarctic explorations were equally legendary. But for Turney the stakes were even higher-- for unlike Shackleton or Mawson, he had his wife and children with him. Yet there was another key difference: Shackleton and Mawson were completely cut off; Turney's expedition was connected to the outside world through Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. Within hours, the team became the focus of a media storm, and an international rescue effort was launched to reach the stranded ship. But could help arrive in time to avert a tragedy? A taut 21st-century survival story, Iced In is also an homage to Shackleton, Mawson, and other scientific explorers who embody the human spirit of adventure, joy in discovery, and will to live. "The Antarctic Factor: if anything can go wrong, it will. It's basically Murphy's Law on steroids"--Chris Turney On Christmas Eve 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Shokalskiy- the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the AustralAsian Antarctic Expedition-in a densely packed armada of sea ice, 1400 miles from civilization. With the ship's hull breached and steerage lost, the wind threatened to drive the vessel into the frozen continent, smashing it to pieces. If nearby floating icebergs picked up speed, they could cause a devastating collision, leaving little time to abandon ship and potentially creating an environmental disaster. The forecast offered no relief-a blizzard was headed their way. As Turney chronicles his modern-day ordeal, he revisits famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's harrowing Antarctic expedition almost a century prior. His ship, Endurance, was trapped and ultimately lost to the ice, forcing Shackleton and his men to fight for survival on a vast and treacherous icescape for two years. Turney also draws inspiration from Douglas Mawson, whose Antarctic explorations were equally legendary. But for Turney the stakes were even higher- for unlike Shackleton or Mawson, he had his wife and children with him. Yet there was another key difference: Shackleton and Mawson were completely cut off; Turney's expedition was connected to the outside world through Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. Within hours, the team became the focus of a media storm, and an international rescue effort was launched to reach the stranded ship. But could help arrive in time to avert a tragedy' A taut 21st-century survival story, Iced In is also an homage to Shackleton, Mawson, and other scientific explorers who embody the human spirit of adventure, joy in discovery, and will to live On Christmas Eve 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Shokalskiy--the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in a densely packed armada of sea ice, 1400 miles from civilization. With the ship's hull breached and steerage lost, the wind threatened to drive the vessel into the frozen continent, smashing it to pieces. If nearby floating icebergs picked up speed, they could cause a devastating collision, leaving little time to abandon ship and potentially creating an environmental disaster. The forecast offered no relief--a blizzard was headed their way. As Turney chronicles his modern-day ordeal, he revisits famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's harrowing Antarctic expedition almost a century prior. His ship, Endurance, was trapped and ultimately lost to the ice, forcing Shackleton and his men to fight for survival on a vast and treacherous icescape for two years. Turney also draws inspiration from Douglas Mawson, whose Antarctic explorations were equally legendary. But for Turney the stakes were even higher for unlike Shackleton or Mawson, he had his wife and children with him. Yet there was another key difference: Shackleton and Mawson were completely cut off; Turney's expedition was connected to the outside world through Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. Within hours, the team became the focus of a media storm, and an international rescue effort was launched to reach the stranded ship. But could help arrive in time to avert a tragedy? A taut 21st-century survival story, Iced In is also an homage to Shackleton, Mawson, and other scientific explorers who embody the human spirit of adventure, joy in discovery, and will to live. -Amazon.com “The Antarctic Factor: if anything can go wrong, it will. It's basically Murphy's Law on steroids.” —Chris Turney On Christmas Eve 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Shokalskiy—the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition—in densely packed sea ice, 1400 miles from civilization. The forecast offered no relief—a blizzard was headed their way. As Turney chronicles his ordeal, he revisits the harrowing Antarctic expedition of famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton on his ship, Endurance, as well as the legendary explorations of Douglas Mawson. But for Turney, the stakes were even higher: he had his wife and children with him. Turney was connected to the outside world through Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. Within hours, the team became the focus of a media storm, and an international rescue effort was launched to reach the stranded ship. But could help arrive in time to avert a tragedy? A taut 21st-century survival story, Iced In is also an homage to all scientific explorers who embody the human spirit of adventure, joy in discovery, and will to live. “Traveling in the footsteps of the great explorers Ernest Shackleton and Douglas Mawson, Turney draws on records from their journeys, making comparisons versus his own struggle in this enjoyable armchair adventure.”—Booklist “A classic adventure tale of a fight for survival. Turney's account brings a chill to the spine.”—Herald Sun, Melbourne “Exciting and compelling reading.” —Good Reading With a New Epilogue by the Author A memoir of survival by a scientist "traveling in the footsteps of . . . explorers Ernest Shackleton and Douglas Mawson . . . Enjoyable armchair adventure" ( Booklist ). "The Antarctic Factor: If anything can go wrong, it will. It's basically Murphy's Law on steroids." —Chris Turney On Christmas Eve in 2013, off the coast of East Antarctica, an abrupt weather change trapped the Akademik Shokalskiy— the ship carrying earth scientist Chris Turney and seventy-one others involved in the Australasian Antarctic Expedition—in densely packed sea ice, fourteen hundred miles from civilization. The forecast offered no relief—a blizzard was headed their way. As Turney chronicles his ordeal , he revisits the harrowing Antarctic expedition of explorer Ernest Shackleton on his ship, Endurance , and the legendary explorations of Douglas Mawson. But for Turney, the stakes were even higher: His wife and children were with him. Turney was connected to the outside world through Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. Within hours, the team became the focus of a media storm, and an international rescue effort was launched to reach the stranded ship. But could help arrive in time to avert tragedy? A taut twenty-first-century survival story, now with a new epilogue by the author, Iced In is also an homage to all scientific explorers who embody the human spirit of adventure, joy in discovery, and will to live. "A classic adventure tale of a fight for survival . . . Brings a chill to the spine." —Herald Sun