Abandoned: The Story of the Greely Arctic Expedition 1881-1884

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Summary: A gripping, true life account
Review: In Abandoned, Alden Todd tells the complete story of the Greely Arctic Expedition (1881-1884) which was launched as part of the United State's participation in the first International Polar Year. Commanded by Adolphus W. Greely, the expedition consisted of twenty-five volunteers who went to what is now Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. The men were left to endure short rations and unbroken isolation at their icy base when the first ship to resupply them in 1882 was forced to turn back. The second relief ship (sent in 1883) was crushed in the ice. In 1884, the six survivors of the original twenty-five man crew were finally rescued and brought home. The national excitement of their return was scandalized as rumors of cannibalism during their dreadful, final winter became supported by grisly evidence of cannibalism. Abandoned is a gripping, true life account and history of men battling for their very lives as they are pitted against the elements and each other. Out of print for more than forty years, this University of Alaska Press trade paperback edition is also available in hardcover [...] and highly recommended, dramatic reading.