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Reviews tagging 'Confinement'
Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton
15 reviews
cassroberts89's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Talk about bringing history to life!
I actually did not realize this was non-fiction when I picked it up after just a brief glance at the back. I started reading the day before the Endurance was found, which made this story all the more exciting. It took a chapter or two, but after that I was hooked. Sancton did an absolutely phenomenal job turning a collection of scientific findings, sailor’s and officer’s journal entries, specimens, and artifacts into a fully fleshed out adventure/survival tale. I can’t even imagine having to endure the hardships this crew suffered during the long polar night, not to mention being almost completely at the mercy of Mother Nature during their entire entrapment in the ice pack.
I actually did not realize this was non-fiction when I picked it up after just a brief glance at the back. I started reading the day before the Endurance was found, which made this story all the more exciting. It took a chapter or two, but after that I was hooked. Sancton did an absolutely phenomenal job turning a collection of scientific findings, sailor’s and officer’s journal entries, specimens, and artifacts into a fully fleshed out adventure/survival tale. I can’t even imagine having to endure the hardships this crew suffered during the long polar night, not to mention being almost completely at the mercy of Mother Nature during their entire entrapment in the ice pack.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Confinement
Moderate: Mental illness and Death
starstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Confinement
sarah984's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
4.0
This was a really interesting story of Antarctic adventure and bad decisions. Several people on board the ship kept detailed diaries (and later wrote memoirs of varying accuracy) so many events are illustrated in the participants' own words. This really gives you a feel of the group dynamics on board, which is important in an isolation story about a small group.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Excrement, Racism, and Vomit
Minor: Addiction, Cannibalism, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, and Infidelity
srm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
I love cold weather disaster stories. This one in an interesting addition to that genre, particular the look at an early Roald Amundsen. But in so many ways, this is an expedition full of folks who had no business leaving home that it's less enjoyable than account of more competent explorers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Chronic illness
sirissacgluten's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
4.0
I love reading about the Arctic, so I decided to venture southward and learn more about its polar (ha) opposite. Madhouse at the End of the Earth is a detailed, gripping account of the Belgica expedition in the late 1890s. Julian Sancton has deftly recreated the unforgiving Antarctic landscapes the crew encountered, using excerpts from the sailors’ diaries to bring the ship’s fraught tensions to life.
It took the story awhile to get to the southernmost continent, and I wasn’t as captivated by the backstory as I was by the time spent in Antarctica (though it was helpful groundwork for certain decisions and dynamics). I was especially intrigued by the ship surgeon (Frederick Cook, who later became an infamous huckster after oil schemes and widespread doubt over his purported discovery of the North Pole). Cook’s innovative tactics and keen observations saved the Belgica and her passengers more than once.
4/5: An entertaining (and stressful) story of polar exploration gone awry. Perfect for fans of other survival stories and anything Arctic/Antarctic.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
It took the story awhile to get to the southernmost continent, and I wasn’t as captivated by the backstory as I was by the time spent in Antarctica (though it was helpful groundwork for certain decisions and dynamics). I was especially intrigued by the ship surgeon (Frederick Cook, who later became an infamous huckster after oil schemes and widespread doubt over his purported discovery of the North Pole). Cook’s innovative tactics and keen observations saved the Belgica and her passengers more than once.
4/5: An entertaining (and stressful) story of polar exploration gone awry. Perfect for fans of other survival stories and anything Arctic/Antarctic.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Colonisation and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism
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