Rating: 
Summary: More than Slightly Speculative
Review: One reviewer has called the book "slightly speculative." That is too charitable. Cookman generally does not contradict known facts about the Franklin expedition, but he invents much more detail than he has evidence to support. The book is unsuitable for academic purposes, but it provides a compelling, though at times poorly written, story. I do not wish to be too harsh on the book. To its credit, many of Cookman's speculations are reasonable and provide information that serious historians withhold in their books on the expedition. It is best to read one of the many other books on the topic in order to know what parts of Ice Blink to trust, and which to take with a grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: More than Slightly Speculative
Review: One reviewer has called the book "slightly speculative." That is too charitable. Cookman generally does not contradict known facts about the Franklin expedition, but he invents much more detail than he has evidence to support. The book is unsuitable for academic purposes, but it provides a compelling, though at times poorly written, story. I do not wish to be too harsh on the book. To its credit, many of Cookman's speculations are reasonable and provide information that serious historians withhold in their books on the expedition. It is best to read one of the many other books on the topic in order to know what parts of Ice Blink to trust, and which to take with a grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: More than Slightly Speculative
Review: One reviewer has called the book "slightly speculative." That is too charitable. Cookman generally does not contradict known facts about the Franklin expedition, but he invents much more detail than he has evidence to support. The book is unsuitable for academic purposes, but it provides a compelling, though at times poorly written, story. I do not wish to be too harsh on the book. To its credit, many of Cookman's speculations are reasonable and provide information that serious historians withhold in their books on the expedition. It is best to read one of the many other books on the topic in order to know what parts of Ice Blink to trust, and which to take with a grain of salt.
Rating:
Summary: The Franklin Expedtion: A study in Admiralty Politics
Review: Scott Cookman's book on the "tragic fate of Sir John Franklin's lost Polar expedition" of 1845 provides a fascinating account of the times, the British Admiralty's politics, and the incredible known facts which surround this failed voyage. Cookman cites in his preface the encouragement of his parents in changing a well-paid advertising career to "take up the dubious path of the pen". Let me be honest in saying that Mr. Cookman needs either to refine his style or find a better editor,if he had one, because I was continually frustrated by repeated facts, sometimes within the same chapter in exactly the same words, and repeated phrases throughout the book when trying to make a point. This criticism aside, I salute Mr. Cookman for the amount of research he has done into an expedition from which only one sheet of paper was retrieved with two brief and cryptic messages written eleven months apart. All of his facts were woven into into a fascinating tale of a voyage of discovery to the fabled Northwest Passage by 2 ships and 130 men, tracking the extremities of attempts at survival from accounts of rescue attempts and recent archaelogical discoveries. Cookman has, he feels, uncovered the prime reason for the mission's failure in the incredible fraud perpetrated on the Admiralty by the supplier of tinned food for the expedition, one Stephen Goldner. Cookman's research into Goldner's methods of preserving food are every bit as morbidly fascinating as Upton Sinclair's expose of meat processing in Chicago. Except for the stylistic eccentricities, Cookman's book is a fascinationg read, and adds to the growing library of voyages and explorations gone bad.
Rating:
Summary: The Franklin Expedtion: A study in Admiralty Politics
Review: Scott Cookman's book on the "tragic fate of Sir John Franklin's lost Polar expedition" of 1845 provides a fascinating account of the times, the British Admiralty's politics, and the incredible known facts which surround this failed voyage. Cookman cites in his preface the encouragement of his parents in changing a well-paid advertising career to "take up the dubious path of the pen". Let me be honest in saying that Mr. Cookman needs either to refine his style or find a better editor,if he had one, because I was continually frustrated by repeated facts, sometimes within the same chapter in exactly the same words, and repeated phrases throughout the book when trying to make a point. This criticism aside, I salute Mr. Cookman for the amount of research he has done into an expedition from which only one sheet of paper was retrieved with two brief and cryptic messages written eleven months apart. All of his facts were woven into into a fascinating tale of a voyage of discovery to the fabled Northwest Passage by 2 ships and 130 men, tracking the extremities of attempts at survival from accounts of rescue attempts and recent archaelogical discoveries. Cookman has, he feels, uncovered the prime reason for the mission's failure in the incredible fraud perpetrated on the Admiralty by the supplier of tinned food for the expedition, one Stephen Goldner. Cookman's research into Goldner's methods of preserving food are every bit as morbidly fascinating as Upton Sinclair's expose of meat processing in Chicago. Except for the stylistic eccentricities, Cookman's book is a fascinationg read, and adds to the growing library of voyages and explorations gone bad.
Rating:
Summary: Highly speculative, but interesting
Review: The "Suggestive but Overwrought" review (February 17, 2000) was right on the money. Cookman presents an interesting history of the Franklin expedition, but has an unfortunate tendency to present his possible scenario as fact, especially where the Botulism theory comes into play. The book displays a few stylistic quirks, but the research is mostly solid, and what leaps of logic are present are not usually mind-boggling. If you are after a decently-written account of one of history's most famous exploration disasters, you could do worse than Ice Blink.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: The Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin is one of the most infamous incidents in a series of infamous incidents that was Arctic exploration in the 19th century. This book retells his story, and the story of his men. In this, it is no different from the many other books on the subject, including Buried in Ice, a recent archeological study of the Franklin expedition. However, this book gives a name to the enemy: Stephen Goldner, who sold the canned food to the expedition. It is the perfect book for the novice, like myself, who just wants a basic overview of one of the more fascinating and tragic episodes in exploration history.
Rating: 
Summary: Repetitive
Review: The author often describes events with novelistic details that he actually has no knowledge about. Most frustrating of all is the protracted discussion of canning in the 19th century. He goes on much too long about such things as cleanliness of the employees in canning facilities, details he cannot possibly know, but only assumes. Though perhaps correct, the obviousness of the matter makes the reading tedious. And on and on it goes. Once the chapter is over, he mentions the points again in the next chapter. But he is not through with it. You'll read it again and again.
Other reviewers here have mentioned that the canning episode is well documented in the book. Some facts are but not all. I also fail to see why this is the main cause of the failure of the exhibition.
Couldn't the failure be that there really isn't a realistic North West Passage in the first place?
The book could have used a few more maps. How can one possibly understand the circumstances without a map showing what Franklin knew of the Arctic. A map showing the escape route and the location of some of the artifacts found could have been very helpful. I am a bit confused about what freezes over in the Arctic, blocking routes, and what does not. How about a map showing that?
The author mentions that the passage was actually found during the escape, that is between Canada's main land and King William's Island. This is the route that Admunsen took, conquering the passage for the first time. I wonder if Franklin took this course, if he really would have made it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: The book is fascinating. For those not familiar with the topic, Cookman introduces the material in a way that lets a novice (like me) get caught up to speed rapidly.I enjoyed the reading. It does, in fact, read like a novel. I began reading it on a plane. I had just finished a Grisham novel and still had a couple hours left on my flight. It was a seamless transition. That's saying a hell of a lot for the book. If this topic interests you, then I would recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: The book is well written and a good read. The author researched causes for the tragedy and his hypothesis of what may have happened. I found his research on food borne diseases etc fascinating. This book will definitely peak your curiousity and get you interested in other related books.
|
