By Brian Payton. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2009.
A book that grips you, holds on to you and makes you want to continue right to the end in one sitting.
Brian Payton tells the story of the McClure Arctic expedition, headed by Captain John McClure, which had the twofold goal of finding the Northwest Passage and locating the lost Franklin expedition. McClure would accomplish this first goal, but not the second, and his stubborn desire to navigate through the Passage would leave him and his men stranded on their ship in Arctic ice for three winters.
This is a breathtaking, well-written and well-researched account. The story of the expedition itself is told, but the account is also seen through the perspective of Johann Miersching, a Moravian missionary hired by the Royal Navy as an Esquimaux interpreter. The author portrays Miersching in a fair, even a somewhat good light, and, as with all the figures herein, truly tries to understand Miersching, his time and his background.
Like "The Perfect Storm" and "3000 Degrees", "The Ice Passage" is a retelling of an event that stands high above other books. The fact the book is written by a Canadian author about a little-known but intriguing and important event in Canadian history makes it stand out even more.
Purchase it here.https://www.amazon.ca/Ice-Passage-Ambition-Endurance-Wilderness/dp/0385665334
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