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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 998
EAN num: 9780786887460
ISBN number: 078688746X
Label: Hyperion
Manufacturer: Hyperion
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 448
Printing Date: November 03, 2004
Publishing house: Hyperion
Release Date: November 03, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 114244
Studio: Hyperion
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Product Description:
Now in paperback, the gripping and inspiring tale of a woman's survival alone in the Arctic.
In 1921, four men and one woman ventured deep into the Arctic. Two years later, only one returned.
When 23-year-old Inuit Ada Blackjack signed on as a seamstress for a top-secret Arctic expedition, her goal was simple: earn money and find a husband. But her terrifying experiences -- both in the wild and back in civilization -- comprise one of the most amazing untold adventures of the 20th century. Based on a wealth of unpublished materials, including Ada's never-before-seen diaries, bestselling author Jennifer Niven narrates this true story of an unheralded woman who became an unlikely hero.
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Rated by buyers 
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This is a very interesting true story, of four young men lured to their deaths in the polar regions by V. Steffanson's tales of the "Friendly Arctic" where survival was easy. With minimal arctic experience, the four undertake an expedition to "claim" Wrangel Island for Canada (even though Canada did not want it and the island was known by all to belong to Russia.) Poorly planned, poorly equipped, and poorly executed, the fumbling expedition establishes a camp on Wrangel Island, raises the Canadian and British flags, and hunkers down to a slow demise of abandonment by V. Steffanson.
Ada Blackjack, a young Eskimo woman hired by the four to serve as seamstress, is recruited from Nome Alaska. Though descended from Eskimo people, she knows more of the "white men's" culture than her own, being able to read and write, etc. At very first reluctant to undertake her responsibilities, as the privations of the expedition set in she becomes a stalwart support to the others, cooking, making arctic clothing from skins, etc. After three of the men sled off across the frozen sea on a hopeless gambit to get to Siberia for help, never to be seen again, Ada is left alone with the remaining member of the expedition, who is dying of scurvy. Left to her own resources, Ada teaches herself to hunt, trap, shoot, and build boats, recalling techniques and skills observed during childhood from observing her forebears. Ada faces her greatest fear, the dread "Nanook" (polar bears) that roam the island. Fighting starvation, hopelessness, and sickness, Ada valiantly strives to keep the remaining expedition member alive, only to see him slowly waste away from his sickness and die. Ada sojourns another two months before a rescue ship finally arrives, finding her to be the sole survivor of the expedition after over two years.
Returning to civilization, Ada is exploited by her rescuer and by V. Steffanson, who also exploit the memories, diaries, and belongings of the doomed expedition members. The book recounts Ada's subsequent life, trying to raise her sons and make a living in a world no less harsh and unforgiving than the one she had known in the arctic.
This book was a fascinating, well-written read and I intend to read the author's other book.
Rated by buyers 
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I picked up this book knowing nothing about the artic expedition to Wrangel Island. I found the story initially quite fascinating but that the book really bogged down when the author insisted on including the contents of every letter that the survivors families wrote over the subsequent ten years. I feel that the book could have been much shorter and still powerfully portrayed the struggles of Ada and her companions to survive Wrangel Island.
Rated by buyers -
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Ada. It is well-written and hard to put down. Not your typical dry biography. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in northern exploration and native people. I can't even imagine myself in Ada's position. Even though she wouldn't admit it, it took lots of courage.
Rated by buyers -
I have become a junkie for true hardship books, and the arctic exploration books are my very first love- they are what took me down this road.
Jennifer Niven does a fine job of fleshing out and making real each person, each family, each government that was involved in these missions into the mostly unknown and proven deadly arctic areas of the world. She lets us know what makes people tick, influences like nationality, religion, sex, race, class- each person comes with their background and reasons for their actions and beliefs explained as fully as possible.
These people are made real and human, so you get their shortcomings and faults, not just a politically correct whitewashing that fits in to our modern world view. The ways of the world were different then, Ada was (mis-)treated the way a female eskimo rated within that world.
It is all a sad story, really. Ada often was her own worst enemy. Those poor boys were so full of faith in their leader, who deserved none of it. If I go on I will end up giving too much story away. Good book- get hooked and read more arctic exploration books!
And always remember to QUESTION AUTHORITY!
Rated by buyers -
I loved this book. It joins a spate of other books constructed in much the same way. It is reminiscent of James Michner'ss books, with the construction of personal stories amid the history. The research she did was wonderful. It is interesting how one event can ripple out and connect with and touch so many other lives. This was not even what would be termed a particularly charged event (such as one that would garner world news coverage), yet led to connections everywhere. It is fascinating and she has done a wonderful job with it. I was fascinated with the historical beginnings of Chautauqua. In the present gas crunch it seems like they might be looking at bringing back the concept. What a delightful thought - to have all of that wonderful esoteric knowledge traveling all over the country.
The character of Ada was fascinating. A young Native American who, to hear the boys tell it, wanted nothing more that a white man. After escaping a marriage to an abusive previous husband she is looking for more stability in her life and dealing with a serious case of northern SAD. To make things worse she has not been raised as totally `native' as they thought she had. The general perceptions that regular society in general had for this woman were heartbreaking and incorrect. A sexuality that in an educated Caucasian society is viewed as normal becomes promiscuous in the Native American. Verbalization is different. The totemic thought form is different. I felt that the way the author dealt with these issues was wonderful. Rather than infuse the book with a condescending attitude she simply stated what had happened.
Ada was a strong woman but it seems that some of the troubles and betrayals she went through took a toll on her heart and health. I wonder if we as a society will ever figure out a way to `develop character' without beating people senseless. There was one line that was particularly moving.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It was wonderful and a great way to learn history. After reading this I'll have to read her very first book.
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