In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette Hardcover - 2014

Media reviews

"Drawing on lost letters and diaries, first-hand experience of the polar landscape, and his own masterful storytelling skills, Hampton Sides conjures the doomed USS Jeannette and her courageous crew with haunting power. As the drama escalates—on ice, sea, and land—the characters of these men and their extraordinary, gallant leader loom larger and larger. The reader is drawn into the ice from the first page and will not want to leave until the fate of every man is known."
 -      Caroline Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of The Endurance and The Bounty 

“Hampton Sides has written a dazzling page-turner.  Full of unforgettable characters and vividly described scenes, In the Kingdom of Ice breathes fresh, exuberant, and very personal life into the polar adventure story that once riveted the world.”
 -         Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea, Bunker Hill and Sea of Glory

“This is an astonishingly good story, told by one of the best storytellers of our age. Alone, the tale of the USS Jeannette is darkly gripping. In the hands of Hampton Sides, it is impossible to put down, packed with irresistible characters and incredible moments of horror and heroism. As soon as I finished it, I flipped to the first page and began reading it again.”
 -         Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The Destiny of the Republic  and The River of Doubt
 
“Hampton Sides masterfully recounts one of the greatest and most harrowing adventures of all time. In the Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale not only of a journey into the Arctic but also into the very nature of man.”
 -         David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of Z

"Hampton Sides is a master storyteller, and here he has delivered a stunningly vivid account of perhaps the most dramatic polar mission you never heard of. Once you start, you won't stop.”
-       Mark Bowden, New York Times Bestselling author of Black Hawk Down
 

 “Read this book in two ways-- fast, for the hair-raising excitement of what happens to the brave men of the Jeannette, and then slowly, to take in the clarity of the writing and the unshowy elegance of the structure. The grand disaster that befell this expedition, and the heroic, truly Siberian sufferings of Captain De Long and his comrades, have found a brilliant chronicler in Hampton Sides.”
-         Ian Frazier, National Bestselling author of Travels in Siberia and On the Rez
 
"With colorful characters and rich research distilled into gripping suspense, In the Kingdom of Ice gives us a fascinating but little-known slice of American history that resonates strongly amid our contemporary discussions of climate change. Here is a vivid tale of exploration set in a howling, deadly wilderness."
 -        T.J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

  "Hampton Sides is one of America’s most expansive and engaging storytellers, and he proves it again with the incredible saga of the USS Jeannette. In The Kingdom of Ice is far more than the tale of a polar expedition gone awry.  Sides has brought together an absolutely marvelous cast of characters – daring and dangerous and more than a little preposterous  – to tell not just a classic adventure story, but to shine a fine light on that bizarre American era known as the Gilded Age. All works of history should be half this much fun."  
 -         Scott Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of Lawrence in Arabia
 
"Hampton Sides has written an arctic thriller, an authentic narrative masterpiece that I put down only reluctantly and willingly gave up sleep in order to finish. I had to find out what happened to these remarkable men in that wide and desolate sea of ice. 
-         S.C. Gwynne, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of the Summer Moon   and Rebel Yell

"Hampton Sides' many gifts include his ability to make readers feel the bracing cold of Arctic winds and the smoldering heat of separated lovers. This extraordinary book overflows with heroic characters and bursts with insight into a young nation flexing its ambitions on a global scale. The result is narrative nonfiction history at its very best. In the Kingdom of Ice has earned a place among the great sea adventure stories." 
-         Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Frozen in Time and Lost in  Shangri-La.

 “Another crackling tale of adventure from journalist/explorer Sides...this one focusing on a frigid disaster nearly 150 years ago… A grand and grim narrative of thrilling exploration for fans of Into Thin Air, Mountains of the Moon and the like.”
-         Kirkus (Starred Review)