Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night Paperback – 1 Feb. 2022

Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton is a wonderful non-fiction account of the ill-fated 1897 expedition – the first ever to winter in the Antarctic region – which chronicles approximately two years in which the crew of the Norwegian-built Belgica faced a bleak prospect after becoming trapped in the ice. Insanity, death, cabin fever and a fear of starvation blighted the expedition, with several men succumbing to the symptoms of scurvy. The events are so well described by Sancton that one can’t fail to be impressed by such hardships these men had to endure, and we gain an admiration for their powerful survival instincts and resourcefulness.Among its members were Roald Amundsen and Frederick Cook, explorers who would later attempt their own conquests of the North and South Poles.The description of the events are gathered from first-hand accounts – this was an expedition where a large amount of the crew kept detailed journals, as well as exclusive access to the ship’s logbook – and it tells a compelling story. I have read several books on the subject of polar voyages or shipping disasters in extreme areas of the world – The HMS Terror and Erebus are examples of similar doomed expeditions - but this book is the most detailed and the one that really offers a clear understanding of the fear and hardships these men were forced to harbour and endure.What is conveyed most strongly in the book is the personalities of those involved – Amundsen and Cook and the commander, Adrien de Gerlache – and we get a wonderful insight into these men’s characters and get to understand what drove them. Frederick Cook, in particular, ended up with the most tarnished reputation after accusations of him falsifying his later exploration achievements and his involvement in a fraud case relating to the start-up of some oil companies and his subsequent imprisonment.It reads almost as a thriller. The early section of the book draws all the characters together and shows us their backstories and motivations. It paints a strong picture of what life was like at that time. Then, as the expedition progresses, events take on a sinister turn when the captain makes the fateful decision to sail on, into the ice pack, in an effort to chase glory and fame, but also risking the lives of the crew at the same time. And the vessel did indeed get stuck in the ice. With winter drawing in, during a time where sunlight would not appear for many months, the men were forced to endure such a torrid time that even today, NASA's experts planning far-long space exploration flights, use the studies gathered from this voyage as evidence of what extreme isolation can do to the human mind and body. It's simultaneously terrifying and fascinating.This really is a terrific book, one that will appeal to historians as well as those who enjoy thrillers. The writing is accessible and the nautical terminology easy to understand, and it's rare for non-fiction to be such a page-turner, but Madhouse at the End of the Earth manages to satisfy on every level. Highly recommended.

The Belgica expedition. As an avid enthusiast of the 'Heroic Age' of Antarctic exploration this Belgian/Norwegic/American expedition was something left to explore as it had always been mentioned as an example of how a ship's crew can lose their sanity when trapped for many months in the Antarctic winter. Fairly well written it gives a valuable insight into Frederick Cook and a young Roald Amundsen, and their strength of character in such adverse conditions. Worth the read.

There was a time around the early 2000's where I would devour any book I could get may hand on regarding exploration. It is still an oeuvre that has appeal and I picked up this book as I knew nothing about the Belgian expedition to the Antartic led by de Gerlache in 1897/98. It is a good story and it was fascinating to learn about the American docter Frederick Cook and Roald Amundsen's first polar experience. Both characters effectively saved the expedition after their ship The Belgica was captured by the ice but this book reads like a thriller because of the fact many of the crew were plagued by a mystery illness. The excitement mounts as the expedition starts to unravel after some really poor decisions by de Gerlache nearly condemned the team to an icey fate. This book is fast-paced and a terrific read. It was a disaster and ultimately resulted in a stroke of luck to release the captive crew. I felt that this account revealed an exercise in how not to do things yet, as it transpires, the lessons learned pathed the way for Amundsen's future success. The seemingly endless chain of poor decisions and bad luck ensures that this tale remains on a knife-edge. This is a book which sheds like onto a little known area of history whilst keeping the reader gripped. I thought this was a fantastic read.

So well written about heroic men in dire circumstances! Brilliant!

I didn't think I would get interested in this book as I know nothing about ships or sailing. However once I started reading I couldn't put it down. The author is highly knowledgeable yet manages to convey technical details in a way that is very interesting and easy to understand for the general reader. The nightmare that was the trip of the Belgica has all the makings of a gripping film or TV series.

‘Madhouse at the end of the world’ is story of The Belgica’s, a ship that was the first to journey into the Antarctic that ended up getting caught up an ice pack and became standard through the obsession of the Captain Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery with the intention of either finding the magnetic south pole or getting the ship to go as far south as possible. The story also tells of its crew, including the doctor on board, Cook, who would come up with a range of approaches, some still valid, whilst trying to stop the mum from scurvy and destitution from going insane and dieing. We know at the beginning of the book he and Armudson will survive as Armudson meets him in a Kansas prison where Cook is incarcerated. This is the same Armudson who beat Scott to the North Pole. He was already obsessed by the cold and exploration in a similar way to Cook and the captain. As all I have ever known prior to this book is that Armudson is that he beat Scott to the North Pole, it was interesting to learn more about the man. He would learn a lot from Cook and his experiences of being trapped for in the sea ice, are what probably helped him to beat Scott. It all started on this journey. As the trapped med learn to eat penguins and survive an incredible hardship until they eventually make a plan to escape, whilst also going mad and some of the men dying - it is a gripping and brilliantly told and enthralling tale. A fantastic tale really well told.

I would have liked to give a higher score, but the sheer awfulness of what is in store because of bad planning and poor recruiting makes it a tough enough read.

A nice clean copy delivered quickly. Enough said.

Esse é um daqueles livros que te transportam para uma outra realidade no espaço e no tempo. A maneira como o autor faz com que você se sinta no extremo do planeta, quase que sentindo o gelo ao seu redor é incrível. Neste livro, como na guerra, você encontra o melhor e o pior do ser humano contado através das situações vividas pela tripulação. Recomendo a todos que gostam de estórias bem contadas de resistência e desafios e querem um sentir um gosto, mesmo que na segurança da sua poltrona, da excitação de uma aventura fascinante.

I didn't know anything about the Belgica's journey, but I heard the author's interview on the podcast "History Daily" and decided to give it a read. The author crafted the story well and gave good insight into the dynamics on the ship and the personalities of the different men on the expedition. Right from the start, I was hooked. If you like adventure or exploration accounts, this is worth a read.

Questa libra e piacere da leggere, una racconta di esplorazione per trovare la vera polo sud, tutti le difficoltà e ostacoli le equipaggio hanno assorbito e di quelli che hanno sopravvissuta, e una storia vera.

Great Story, intesively told.

A very well-written book that tells a powerful story of misadventure and high drama in the Antarctic. It paints a vivid picture of the passion for exploration in the late 19th century and the wild risks that sailors were prepared to take in order to make a name for themselves. Reading this book is like stepping 125 years back in time and living the lives of the explorer-adventurers of that era. Highly recommended 😊👍