ISLAND OF THE LOST

by Paul Fenimore Cooper ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The hero of this book is an island---called by the Eskimos ""Kikatak"", and by the English ""King William Land""---which covers some 4800 square miles in the middle of the Arctic Archipelago. The author (great grandson of James Fenimore Cooper) tells its story, beginning far back with the Tunrit giant people, then the coming of the Eskimos, and he tells it well. Most of his account, of course, deals with those famous English and American explorers who penetrated the Archipelago off Alaska first---including Franklin, Back, Ross, and Simpson. These men, searching for the fabled Northwest Passage, often stopped on King William Land, some of them spending terrible winters there. The accounts of the John Ross expedition in 1829, the ill-fated Simpson expedition of 1849 (it was not known for many years what had become of the group), and the series of expeditions launched around the area after 1851 to look for traces of the Simpson party, make a kind of compendium of the hardships, excitement, and perseverance which have always typified Arctic work. Aimed at an adult, intelligent audience.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1961

Categories: NONFICTION