Four Against the Arctic

Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World

By: David Roberts

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

In 1743, a ship carrying 14 Russian sailors was headed for whaling grounds near Norway when a violent storm blew it far off course, where the ship froze into the ice. Some of the sailors remembered that other sailors had erected a hut on a nearby island and spent the winter there. Four sailors volunteered to go ashore to look for the hut in hopes of finding supplies or using it as a refuge should the 14 sailors be forced to spend the winter before the summer thaw could free their ship. Remarkably, the sailors found the hut, but when they returned to the shore, the ship had disappeared.

Four Against the Arctic is the incredible story of the survival of the sailors on the tiny island, barren of all foliage and inhabited only by reindeer, foxes, and polar bears, before they were rescued by another ship six years later.

©2003 David Roberts (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary tale." (Publishers Weekly)
"An astonishing story, an almost unbelievable feat of survival." (Booklist)

Not what I expected, but good

I expected a fleshed out, researched story about a shipwreck in the arctic, but instead I got a Gonzo-ish type of story where the author is trying to piece everything together. The author put a shocking amount of effort into tracking down every piece of the puzzle that exists, even going so far as to try to locate the encampment from 250 years before. In the end I wish there was more detail and documentation, but it simply didn’t exist. It is a great tale though, and definitely worth the read.

exceptional

fantastic book from origin story of amazing survival to the authors own heroing adventure to try to nail down the truth

Not about the four

I did listen to this to the end, but wouldn't recommend buying to any one interested in the story of the survival of the four Russians the book is supposed to about. The book is really about writing the book, or rather, the author's dismal attempts to research the event. What IS in the book could have been cut to about half its length and much improved thereby.

Great story!

This is a fantastic story. In contrast with other reviews, I enjoyed hearing about the authors stuggles to gather the information about what actually happened all those years ago. But at the same time, I can understand how some might find these parts less interesting than the orginal adventure. I just thought it was a nice balance. My only complaint was that there were times some of the background got a bit too detailed. Still a great listen!

one against the bureaucracy

An impressive tale of survival is fatally flawed by the author's approach. This is a tedious and repetitious recitation of the ardours of research. With a background in mountaineering, but no scholarship, he is badly prepared for the difficulties he faces. He hires a small army of researchers, translators and guides who actually do the bulk of the work. Throughout the narrative of his efforts to unearth this interesting story, he stultifies the reader by relentless focus on his own conquests. It is a shame that this remarkable account of desperate courage has been drowned in petty academic oneupmanship.