In 1913, what was to have been the grandest & most elaborate Arctic expedition in history ended just six weeks later with the HMCS Karluk trapped by polar ice. Five months later, hopelessly off course & still encased in ice, the captain gives the order to abandon ship. With nothing but half the ship's store of supplies, twenty-one men, an Eskimo woman & her two small daughters, nineteen dogs & one pet cat were hopelessly shipwrecked in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. Nine months later, twelve survivors were rescued by a small whaling schooner & brought back to civilisation. In this incredible book, Jennifer Niven tells the spellbinding story of the doomed 1913 voyage of the Karluk drawing on previously unpublished letters & journals. ...

The Ice Museum provides an intriguing exploration of the northern-most tips of Europe in search of the legendary lost kingdom of Thule. This ice-laden kingdom was first explored by Pytheas in the fourth century BC & Joanna Kavenna provides part history-part travelogue as she sets about trying to locate its exact position. Along the way the author provides both beautiful descriptions of the harsh unforgiving landscapes of the Shetlands & Icel&, synopses of Greenland & Estonian society, a history of Aryan supremacy & a damning report on man`s devastating impact on the environment. ...

This book balances the considerations for the different ice types that ships` officers may encounter, whether first year or multi-year ice, & the different ice types in the arctic, Great Lakes or the Baltic. A good example of the outcome of a misinterpretation of the ice type a vessel is presented with was given to the whole world in 2007, when the ` MS Explorer ` sank in the Antarctic Ocean. While, as in many incidents, there were numerous factors that uniquely came together, in this case the Ship`s Master was very experienced in first year Baltic Ice conditions but had no experience of multi-year ice. This meant that he failed to correctly identify the ice type as compacted multi year ice & entered it as if it were the first year ice conditions he was familiar with, with disasterous outcome. Covering Ice Types, Ice Conditions, The Main Ice Regions, Ice Class Ships, Preparations for a Ship & the Crew for Ice the book then moves to the practical aspects of Navigating in Ice, Shiphandling, Working with Icebreakers & Oil Pollution in Ice Covered Waters, this creates a manual that will remain as valid & up to date in 2020 as it is in 2010, although by then there may well need to be a few more case studies about the actions & outcomes of the unwary. ...

` How simple this novel is. How subtle. How strong. How unlike any other. It is unique. It is unforgettable. It is extraordinary` Doris Lessing`I`m surprised it isn`t the most famous book in the world` Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing with Feathers` She was close to the edge now: the ice laid its hand upon her` The schoolchildren call it the Ice Palace: a frozen waterfall in the Norwegian fjords transformed into a fantastic structure of translucent walls, sparkling towers & secret chambers. It fascinates two young girls, lonely Unn & lively Siss, who strike up an intense friendship. When Unn decides to explore the Ice Palace alone & doesn`t return, Siss must try to cope with the loss of her friend without succumbing to a frozen world of her own making. ...

For the first time in English, the psychological thriller debut of No.1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg. Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice cold bath, it seems that she has taken her own life. Erica conceives a memoir about the beautiful but remote Alex, one that will answer questions about their lost friendship. While her interest grows to an obsession, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. But it is only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about the small town with a deeply disturbing past. ...

The psychological thriller debut of No.1 bestselling Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg. A small town can hide many secrets Returning to her hometown after the funeral of her parents, writer Erica Falck finds a community on the brink of tragedy. The death of her childhood friend, Alex, is just the beginning. Her wrists slashed, her body frozen in an ice-cold bath, it seems like she`s taken her own life. Meanwhile, local detective Patrik Hedstrom is following his own suspicions about the case. It`s only when they start working together that the truth begins to emerge about a small town with a deeply disturbing past... ...

The drawing-room was entirely English. The Office of Works had provided deep armchairs, a sofa you could have slept on, though of course nobody had ever done so, & a low glass-topped table. A young English woman arrives in the Polish People`s Republic to visit her older sister, who married a Polish soldier after the war, disappearing into a life behind the Iron Curtain. This award-winning novel of the harsh cruelties & deprivations of life in Communist Poland is told with truth, wit & understanding. ...

One of Sarah`s daughters died. But can she be sure which one? A terrifying psychological thriller perfect for fans of THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN. A year after one of their identical twin daughters, Lydia, dies in an accident, Angus & Sarah Moorcraft move to the tiny Scottish island Angus inherited from his grandmother, hoping to put together the pieces of their shattered lives. But when their surviving daughter, Kirstie, claims they have mistaken her identity
- that she, in fact, is Lydia
- their world comes crashing down once again. As winter encroaches, Angus is forced to travel away from the island for work, Sarah is feeling isolated, & Kirstie (or is it Lydia?) is growing more disturbed. When a violent storm leaves Sarah & her daughter stranded, Sarah finds herself tortured by the past
- what really happened on that fateful day one of her daughters died?


...

Hans Christian Andersen was a master of other literary forms besides the fairy story
- in particular, the novella for an adult
...

Helen Womack has lived in Russia under three Kremlin leaders. In all that time, what has really changed & what remains essentially the same? Better equipped than most Westerners to answer that question, Helen draws not only on her own experience but on the eyewitness accounts of ordinary Russians, who struggled to survive & make sense of the historic changes in their country from 1985 to 2012. Helen saw it all: Gorbachev`s perestroika, Yeltsin`s reforms & Putin`s return to order. She was in Russia long enough to grasp the recurring pattern of its politics. Like the weather, the political climate is cyclical. The thaw offers hope but comes with dangers; the freeze brings stability but also a shut-down. Winter is long & miserable but in the cold & dark lives the seed of spring. ...