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Journey to the end of the world: the full horror of the Belgica’s Antarctic expedition

3 July 2021

9:00 AM

3 July 2021

9:00 AM

Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night Julian Sancton

W.H. Allen, pp.368, 20

The epic story of the Antarctic voyage of the Belgica (1897-9) has all the ingredients of a truly glorious misadventure: an aristocratic expedition commander who carries the pride of a small nation on his shoulders; an eccentric American surgeon who was to become known as one of the greatest frauds in the history of polar exploration; a cantankerous crew, racked by madness, scurvy and mutiny; a desperate sunless polar winter stuck in shifting sea ice that threatens to crush the ship; and finally an escape plan that involves half a ton of explosives and hand-sawing through a mile and a...

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