Erebus

By Michael Palin,

Book cover of Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time

Book description

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: the remarkable true story of the exploration ship featured in The Terror

In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, HMS Erebus undertook two of the most ambitious naval expeditions of all time.

On the first, she ventured further south than any human had ever…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Erebus as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

As well as the characters who populate nautical stories and the sea itself, ships have such a vivid voice.

This non-fiction book follows HMS Erebus from her early journey to Antarctica to her eventual disappearance in the Canadian Arctic. I have a small obsession with polar exploration and this book captures the drama, the terror, and the mystery of it.

Michael Palin’s sensitivity to the historical issues and the real figures is very moving, especially the moment when the primary documents stop and all that is left to tell these men’s tales is a note in a desolate cairn.

I…

From Katie's list on to get lost at sea with.

Former Monty Python stalwart and accomplished travel writer, explorer, and presenter, Michael Palin, approaches the Franklin Mystery through the biography of one of the lost ships. Not only was Erebus John Franklin’s flagship but, along with the Terror, she circumnavigated Antarctica under James Ross between 1839 and 43. Using his travel writing skills, Palin takes the reader to Tasmania, the Falkland Islands, and the Canadian Arctic to sample the landscape and conditions faced by these early explorers and, in the process, gives the doomed ship as much personality as any of her illustrious crew.

From John's list on the Lost Franklin Expedition.

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