In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic

In 1912, the Santa Anna, a Russian exploration vessel in search of fertile hunting grounds, was frozen into the polar ice cap, trapping her crew aboard. For nearly a year and a half, they struggled to stay alive aboard the ship, rationing supplies, withstanding crushing ice and snow, watching nervously as the tension mounted among those had not yet succumbed to scurvy, frostbite or murderous desperation. As all hope of rescue faded, they realized their best chance of survival may be to set out on foot, across hundreds of miles of desolate ice with their lifeboats dragged behind them on sledges, in the hopes of reaching safety. Twenty of them chose to stay aboard; thirteen began the trek; of them all, only two survived.Originally published in Russia in 1917, In the Land of White Death was translated into English for the first time by the Modern Library to widespread critical acclaim. As well as recounting Albanov's vivid, first-person account of his 90-day ordeal over 235 miles of frozen sea, this expanded paperback edition contains three new photographs and an extensive new epilogue by David Roberts based on the never-before-published diary of Albanov's only fellow survivor, Konrad. As gripping as Albanov's own tale, the epilogue sheds new light on the tragic events of 1912-1914, brings to life many of those who perished (including the infamous captain Brusilov and Nurse Zdanko, the only woman on board) and, inadvertently, reveals one new piece of information -- about the identity of the traitors who left Albanov for dead -- that is absolutely shocking.