{"product_id":"a-wretched-and-precarious-situation-in-search-of-the-last-arctic-frontier","title":"A Wretched and Precarious Situation: In Search of the Last Arctic Frontier","description":"A Booklist Best Literary Travel Book of 2017\nA Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2016\n\nA remarkable true story of adventure, betrayal, and survival set in one of the world’s most inhospitable places.\nIn 1906, from atop a snow-swept hill in the ice fields northwest of Greenland, hundreds of miles from another human being, Commander Robert E. Peary spotted a line of mysterious peaks looming in the distance. He called this unexplored realm “Crocker Land.” Scientists and explorers agreed that the world-famous explorer had discovered a new continent rising from the frozen Arctic Ocean.\nSeveral years later, two of Peary’s disciples, George Borup and Donald MacMillan, assembled a team of amateur adventurers to investigate Crocker Land. Before them lay a chance at the kind of lasting fame enjoyed by Magellan, Columbus, and Captain Cook. While filling in the last blank space on the globe, they might find new species of plants or animals, or even men; in the era of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, anything seemed possible. Renowned scientific institutions, and even former president Theodore Roosevelt, rushed to endorse the expedition.\nWhat followed was a sequence of events that none of the explorers could have imagined. Trapped in a true-life adventure story, the men endured howling blizzards, unearthly cold, food shortages, isolation, a fatal boating accident, a drunken sea captain, disease, dissension, and a horrific crime. But the team pushed on through every obstacle, driven forward by the mystery of Crocker Land and faint hopes that they someday would make it home.\nPopulated with a cast of memorable characters, and based on years of research in previously untapped sources, A Wretched and Precarious Situation is a harrowing Arctic narrative unlike any other. 16 pages of illustrations\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 0393254410\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.0393254410.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Welky, David\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44273169432637,"sku":"BVV.0393254410.G","price":7.96,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/0393254410-0.jpg?v=1793655532","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/a-wretched-and-precarious-situation-in-search-of-the-last-arctic-frontier","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}