In 1921, Inupait seamstress Ada Blackjack joined a a group of four white men who wanted to establish a trading post on Wrangel Island in the freezing Arctic Ocean. The explorers were stranded on the island when their return ship was forced to turn back due to ice. Facing harsh conditions and dwindling food supplies, the men died one by one, but Ada remained. Find out how she alone managed to survive the disastrous expedition.

U.S. Arctic waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border encompass a vast area that is usually ice covered for much of the year, but is increasingly experiencing longer periods and larger areas of open water due to climate change. Sparsely inhabited with a wide variety of ecosystems found nowhere else, this region is vulnerable to damage from human activities. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. How can we best prepare to respond to such an event in this challenging environment? Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment reviews the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region north of the Bering Strait, with emphasis on the potential impacts in U.S. waters. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the Arctic and makes recommendations to provide an effective response effort in these challenging conditions. According to Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment, a full range of proven oil spill response technologies is needed in order to minimize the impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems. This report identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. The Arctic acts as an integrating, regulating, and mediating component of the physical, atmospheric and cryospheric systems that govern life on Earth. Not only does the Arctic serve as regulator of many of the Earth's large-scale systems and processes, but it is also an area where choices made have substantial impact on life and choices everywhere on planet Earth. This report's recommendations will assist environmentalists, industry, state and local policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of this special region to preserve and protect it from damaging oil spills.

The great tragedy of the twenty-eighth President as witnessed by his loyal lieutenant, and the thirty-first President.

Careers in astronomy for women (as in other sciences) were a rarity in Britain and Ireland until well into the twentieth century. The book investigates the place of women in astronomy before that era, recounted in the form of biographies of about 25 women born between 1650 and 1900 who in varying capacities contributed to its progress during the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are some famous names among them whose biographies have been written before now, there are others who have received less than their due recognition while many more occupied inconspicuous and sometimes thankless places as assistants to male family members. All deserve to be remembered as interesting individuals in an earlier opportunity-poor age. Placed in roughly chronological order, their lives constitute a sample thread in the story of female entry into the male world of science. The book is aimed at astronomers, amateur astronomers, historians of science, and promoters of women in science, but being written in non-technical language it is intended to be of interest also to educated readers generally.

Excerpt from The Adventure of Wrangel Island Besides agreeing with my colleagues as just outlined, I had reasons of my own for not going. I had already served in arctic exploration longer than any well-known explorer I had spent ten arctic winters, as against nine for Peary, who had previously held the record for polar service, and as against seven polar winters (arctic or antarctic), the highest record, SO far as I know, for any living commander Of polar expeditions. In a way my length of arctic service was a reason for staying at home; and still not a good one, for he who loves his work, and the field of his work, should not retire till he has become useless. But there were good reasons. If I succeeded in get ting Government Or influential private backing, I wanted to be south to organize a comprehensive arctic expedition, or series of expeditions. But whether I succeeded or failed in that, I wanted to remain south to continue my campaign of education with regard to the arctic regions. I wanted espec ially to try to reform the arctic sections of the geography textbooks, and in general to influence school and university teaching. This seemed to me not only a duty to science but also particularly my duty toward my native land, Canada, whose future depends so much on what the arctic portions of her territory are worth, and on how soon their real nature can be understood and taken advantage of. If I were to write here all my reasons for not going North in 1921, this introduction would turn into a prospectus Of my hopes and plans for 'the rest of my life. That would not interest the reader. What I have said, when coupled with the narrative of the book, will surely make it clear enough why I stayed when my associates sailed away. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Based on a true story: the thrilling tale of a ship’s 1879 journey to explore the North Pole—and the crew’s desperate attempt to escape an Arctic ice pack. In the 1870s, newspaperman James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald drummed up excitement and publicity for his paper through highly publicized missions of exploration. In 1879, Bennett’s idea for a voyage was his most audacious to date: the North Pole. To do this, he hired a team of naval veterans in addition to a smattering of civilians with specialized knowledge in meteorology, whaling, and naturalism. The men on board the Jeannette set off in September of 1879. This would be the last time anyone saw them for two years. The product of devoted research into personal histories, memoirs, and classified congressional investigation records, Hell on Ice is a remarkable document: a novelization of history, turning the horrible ordeal of the brave men of the Jeannette into a riveting narrative. Written with a weathered seaman’s familiarity, the story brilliantly captures a most perilous voyage from the perspective of the ship’s chief engineer. The men of the Jeannette endure months trapped in an Arctic ice pack, and then begin a desperate trek for home.

Otangel Island expedition, 1921-23.