Rating: 
Summary: An astounding debut!
Review: Jennifer Niven's spellbinding account of the tragic sinking of the Karluk and her stranded crew will keep you captivated ... if not huddled in a blanket and reaching for a steaming cup of hot chocolate!While the true story itself is nearly impossible to comprehend in our modern age of satellite communications and radar systems, Ms. Niven's riveting narration brings the bleak, bitter, isolated world of the early 1900s naval explorer to life once again in this thrilling nonfiction account of the doomed Canadian Arctic Expedition. The twenty-odd men, one woman and two children who find themselves facing the ultimate test of survival in nature's starkest of settings, as far removed from civilization as can be imagined, will truly amaze, humble and inspire you. Ms. Niven's obvious love of her subject matter, as well as her years of painstaking research, have resulted in a most thought-provoking and highly-emotional work which captures the essence of the human spirit.
Rating:
Summary: Lasting Impression
Review: Jennifer Niven's book left a lasting impression on me. The personalities of each man in the book are not completely revealed until the Karluk sinks at Shipwreck Camp and until the survivors arrive at Wrangel Island. From the author's writing the reader becomes aware of how the differences in personalities caused problems. There are instances when the clashes lead to certain survivors' demise, while others formed bonds that aided in their group's existence. Meanwhile, some men caused their own problems and deaths. Toward the latter half of the book several questions nagged me. Why did Captain Bartlett allow certain men to leave Shipwreck Camp although they were inexperienced in Arctic travel? Why did Bartlett allow an inexperienced Mamen to lead a party of four to Wrangel Island, with only Mamen's return to Shipwreck Camp and the others never to be seen again? Why did Bartlett leave Wrangel Island when he could have led them all to Siberia? There were times when Captain Bartlett's experience saved the group, but there were other times his decisions seemed flawed. We learn at the end that Captain Bartlett was brought in front of an admiralty court for these actions. The book's strength is detailing the survivors' existence in the Arctic's harsh environment. The reader begins to sense the desperation creeping in the their minds (so desperate they have become that despite the arrival of the rescue ship some survivors continue to eat their meager meal of fish). Jennifer Niven's extensive research for this book is impressive. She also provides information about each survivor after the group was rescued. I wish that there were more detailed maps included, though. After reading this book I just hope that my further readings about Arctic/Antarctic survival are not disappointing as I compare them to this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Impressive Story of the Will to Survive
Review: On June 17, 1913, the Canadian Arctic Expedition contingent headed by Vilhajalmur Stefansson on board the ship "Karluk" embarked on its mission to find an unknown continent thought to lie somewhere in the unexplored region between Alaska and the North Pole. In mid-August the "Karluk" amid increasingly worsening weather conditions became trapped in the Arctic ice floe and drifted helplessly with the winds and currents. Eventually Stefansson decided to leave the ship and with part of the crew and Eskimo guides work his way toward land. Under the command of Captain Robert Bartlett, the "Karluk" and her remaining crew continued to drift north and west until becomming hopelessly ice bound near Wangel Island north of Siberia. Here the ship was destroyed and sunk by the crush of ice leaving Bartlett and his crew stranded in the frozen wilderness. While the crew struggled for existence at their base camps, Bartlett, the Ice Master, undertook an incredible 700 mile trek through the icy wilderness of Siberia to seek rescue. Jennifer Niven has used diaries, letters, and interviews with survivors and descendants to construct the remarkable details of the crew's fight to live and Bartlett's amazing journey. The events depicted in this book are all the more remarkable because they are true. The ability to cope with suffering, the perseverance in the face of overwhelming hardship, the manifestations of human strengths and weaknesses under pressure, and the overpowering will to live shown by Bartlett and his crew are almost beyond belief. The story ebbs and flows with the fate of the men. Like their unwanted repetitious and monotonous existence, the narration sometimes tends to become somewhat tedous. However, those who like true stories of exploration, adventure and survival will savor this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great. Reads like fiction but it happened
Review: In 1913, highly regarded Vilhjalmur Stefansson organizes a trip to the Arctic to prove his theory that a great continent lies beneath the ice. The HMCS Karluck left British Columbia only to be trapped in a monster block of ice. When the ice finally ripped open the hull, a desperate Captain Bartlett trekked across the ice cap seeking help for his endangered crew. Over a year after they left Canada, Bartlett returned with a whaling ship to rescue the few survivors of the ill-fated journey. THE ICE MASTER is an incredible true adventure work that is more exciting than most epic fiction. Jennifer Niven uses accounts and diaries and even an interview of the remaining survivor to draw a vivid picture of what happened. The story almost seems fictional it so well developed although there are moments when it slows down (as real life normally does). This non-fiction book is a great telling of a tragic real life adventure. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A Holiday Gift to Please Everyone!
Review: This is a book that will appeal to both men and women, and should be tops on everyone's list for holiday giving. Niven's prose is luminous and her depiction of all the characters finely etched. Since this is a true story the quality of the research is key, and the author doesn't fail us. Her ability to ferret out long-lost information without drowning the tale in dull facts is extraordinary for a first-time writer. In the end, she provides us with a gripping story, beautifully told, about a group of adventurers lost in an inhumanly harsh environment and the tragedy that gradually unfolds there. Surprisingly, although the terrible events that take place are almost impossible to imagine, this is not a depressing book. The reader comes away at the end with a keen appreciation of the power of the human spirit and the knowledge that the urge to survive is a deeply rooted instinct in us all. In sum, a great book, a great read, and a great gift for yourself or others. In the years to come, we will certainly be on the lookout for Niven's next book!
Rating:
Summary: A riveting read
Review: Wrap up in lots of blankets and curl up with this wonderful book. This is Jennifer Niven's first book, but we can only hope it will not be her last. This is the tale of a fateful voyage from which only some people returned. Niven has carefully researched her story and presents facts and excerpts from diaries while still giving you the feel of a great novel. Her prose is lovely and the story is spectacular. It's books like these that prove that life is stranger and more wondrous than fiction. This book rivals the story of Titanic in intensity and tragedy. Surely a movie is not far behind.
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Summary: Incredible Endurance
Review: The above editorial review and product description give a completely adequate synopsis of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed this spellbinding true story, engagingly written by Jennifer Niven. The incredible situations this diverse group of personalities attempted to endure is phenomenal. It is a grim, gritty, heroic tale where courage and daring are equally on display with cowardice and treachery. I could not put it down. There are no places where Jennifer allows the story to drag.
Rating: 
Summary: Survival in the arctic - 1914 style.
Review: Jennifer Niven offers an extraordinary, initimate account of this arctic tragedy. It dispels many of the heroic myths surrounding Stefanson and resurrects the battered reputation of Bob Bartlett, skipper of the Karluk, who was given such an impossible task.
Exhaustively researched, using firsthand accounts and memoirs, one is transported to the frosty wilderness of Wrangel Island in a detailed account that will satisfy finicky history buffs.
At times, a little TOO much day-to-day detail for me, it nevertheless delivers a fabulous, engaging read.
Rating: 
Summary: Can't finish it... innacurate information.
Review: I love polar exploration literature. But when I read on page 58 that the men aboard the Karluk were disheartened by the story of George Washington DeLong's expedition in 1879, and how the crew of the Jeannette had all perished (all 13 of them!!!) Anyone who knows their polar exploration literature knows very well that quite a few of the Jeannette's crew actually survived in one of the most amazing "triumph of the human spirit" stories in polar history. The entire world was shocked when they turned up alive in Siberia well after they'd been given up for dead. To misrepresent this story of survival as a doomed expedition from which no one survived as a way to explain the mounting dread in the Karluk's men ruined this book for me. What else escaped the fact-checkers? I am stopping at page 60, and picking up a copy of "The Log of Bob Bartlett" instead. Also, how can you have a book on arctic exploration without a map of the ship's route!???!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Tue Survival Story - well told!
Review: I haven't read a book from cover to cover in years. I picked this one up and could not put it down. The other reviews provide a nice summary of the story, so I won't repeat them, but I just wanted to "vote" here to give this my TOP rating. The haunting, cold, survival story has the added dimension that it is a true story - assembled from the diaries and interviews of the actual people who this happened to. This would make for a wonderful PBS movie, or a mini-series
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