Ice Ghosts
The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition
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Ice Ghosts
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Narrated by:
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Malcolm Hillgartner
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Written by:
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Paul Watson
About this listen
The true story of the greatest mystery of Arctic exploration—and the rare mix of marine science and Inuit knowledge that led to the shipwreck's recent discovery.
Ice Ghosts weaves together the epic story of the Franklin Expedition—whose two ships and crew of 129 were lost to the Arctic ice—with the modern tale of the scientists, divers, and local Inuit behind the incredible discovery of the flagship's wreck in 2014. Paul Watson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was on the icebreaker that led the discovery expedition, tells a fast-paced historical adventure story: Sir John Franklin and the crew of the HMS Erebus and Terror setting off in search of the fabled Northwest Passage, the hazards they encountered and the reasons they were forced to abandon ship hundreds of miles from the nearest outpost of Western civilization, and the decades of searching that turned up only rumours of cannibalism and a few scattered papers and bones—until a combination of faith in Inuit lore and the latest science yielded a discovery for the ages.
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What the critics say
"A splendid achievement." (Ken McGoogan, Globe and Mail)
"Riveting.... An engrossing chronicle of a legendary doomed naval voyage and the nearly 200-year effort to bring the Franklin Expedition to a close." (Booklist)
"Intriguing [and] enjoyable. . . . While there have been many previous books about the Franklin expedition and its mysterious fate, the notable originality of Ice Ghosts lies in the fact that it brings the story right up-to-date. . . . Franklin aficionados will certainly want to add it to their libraries." (Ian McGuire, New York Times Book Review)
What listeners say about Ice Ghosts
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve G Munday
- 2017-10-19
Great Canadian Story
I knew about this story from recent news coverage but had no idea of the history behind it. What a great story that was! The hubris of the British Royal Navy, the Inuit accounts, Lady Franklin.
Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ben
- 2018-01-31
So much more than just Franklin - amazing work!
I found this history of the Franklin Expedition, and the search for its lost ships and crew, absolutely fascinating!
The book does a very good job outlining the mission of Franklin and his crew in exploring the Canadian Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage. It also details the experiences of those left at home, most notably Lady Jane Franklin, who kept the hope of finding her husband and his crew, alive or dead, for many decades to come.
Watson is a great writer, and investigator. I really appreciated how he dealt with the treatment of Inuit traditions and oral history, as experienced in the age of Franklin and in this decade as the ships were found. The characters were treated with respect, with reverence, and with a good degree of acknowledgement for their understanding of the north and the Franklin history. They are truly the heroes of this story, especially the third part (the finding of the lost ships), even though from our Eurocentric view we so naturally fall for Franklin and the bumbling Royal Navy, relying on pluck and good Christian morals to combat years surviving in the Arctic. I feel such pride for Canada in having as remarkable of citizens as those in the North, and especially those involved in the Franklin search. Their work recording and exploring oral histories and traditions to the point of knowing exactly where the ships were (within a few kilometres) - knowledge that had been available in the 1840s had the Europeans just asked - is phenomenal and should be held in great regard. I hope more archaeological expeditions and historical works turn to those holders of local knowledge.
While I knew a bit about Franklin's Expedition going into this book, I was enthralled learning about the peculiar spiritualist/psychic elements of the search for the lost ship, and also about the innovative Canadian story in the modern day search. It is amazing that psychically-inclined individuals all around the world could be placing the wrecks in correct locations years before there were even maps of the area, and decades before validating artifacts were found. And then, a century later, Canadian inventors using homemade diving gear invent and refine a new field of marine archaeology. These innovations and inventions - and their inventors - would later come to play a major role in the search for and exploration of the wrecks of the Erebus and Terror.
It truly is an amazing story.
The narrator is also a great player in this story. There a few Canadian words (Metis, Dalhousie, and toque) that are wildly mis-pronounced, but overall the story is well read.
I highly recommend this book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James A.
- 2019-11-12
eye opening!
Learned a lot of things I didn't know it's a story inside a history lesson without being dry or boring. Narration was close top perfection.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-05-14
Well written
Story was great, some of the pronunciation of Canadian place names left something to be desired.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 2019-12-21
What an adventure!
I love how Paul Watson tells us the story of the disastrous Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage. He starts in the mid 1800s, with a review of how the crews of Erebus and Terror prepped for their fateful voyage. He spends some time telling us about Franklin's remarkable wife, Jane, who was a strong woman ahead of her time. She never gave up hope that Franklin survived his journey. Watson covers the oral history of how the Inuit population in the 1800s met with the crews and tried to help them, and how they likely knew where the ships were all along, but were disregarded by white Canadians due to their lack of written records. Just one minor example of Canada's abhorrent behaviour against Indigenous populations, which is explored a bit, too. Finally he brings us into the 21st Century and a discussion on climate changes which led to melting of much of the ice around King William Island and finally exposed the wreckages in 2014 and 2016. The sites are under government protection right now; no visitors allowed during excavation & artifact recovery efforts. This book is as close as you'll get to experiencing the long, complex mystery as it unravels. Well worth the time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rgjenks
- 2018-07-16
What a recovery mission!
In today’s $$, the money spent, more than any other search and recovery and at last we found them. A lot of history and knowledge of the great white north. I was engrossed in the story of the search for the North West passage and the ultimate sacrifice of Franklin and his crew. Then the 150 year tale of the journey for the missing ships. The story dragged a touch with all the early details and names of the early arctic explorers but picked up as modern story took over. I recommend a listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-10-21
Fascinating and thoroughly researched
I moved to King William island almost three months ago. This is the island where the Franklin expedition perished. This book was the perfect companion to me settling in. I've been fascinated with this mystery for a couple of decades and this is by far the most concise and thorough text I've read.
It's now nearing the end of October and Winter is settling in....the local Inuit say the ill-fated explorers are still here. I can't wait to find out if they're right....
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lesley
- 2021-05-26
Thorough and engaging.
Narrator was top notch, especially with the care he used to pronounce Innu names and places.
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