Chapters range from one to four pages, and each one is shaped by Turk's pen into a comic or thoughtful, dramatic or narrative whole. You can pick the book up and read any of these vignettes at random; a treat is there, whether you have read the previous ones or not. If, like me, you have a shelf in your bookcase where you keep those few books you can read again and again for the sheer pleasure of their words and images, books that can inspire you to write more cleanly and clearly, I think you will conclude that Cold Oceans belongs on that shelf. (Excerpt from review in Open-Water Rowing newsletter.)

...but if you don't have time for that right now- at least read about Jon Turk's. A directionless adventurer motived by his own virtually rootless existance and a desire to keep it that way. The only thing that bothered me about this book is it made me feel guilty for toiling in an office 10 hours a day instead of going out and risking my life on an adventure. Then again I can do without the freezing, and the injuries, and the hassles, and the cold, and the often times miserable existance. Judge for yourself. read this book!

I burned right through this book completely taken with Jon Turk's adventures. Although I am not much of an outdoorsman this book comes across with an exciting story of a quirky guy and his adventures by kayak, rowboat, and dogsled. I was never so happy reading a book snuggled in my warm bed away from it all. Great historic insight keeps this book flowing.

Myron Arms' "Riddle of the Ice" includes a collection of the most current theories used to try to explain the creation, movement, and distribution of ice in the Arctic, and not much else. For those looking for an adventure story, look elsewhere. If you're interested in the personal lives of the crew and the skipper, what you'll find is Arms' reflections on his own caustic nature and a few references to his encounters with shipmate "Blue," which convieniently lend Arms an avenue, as most of the rest of his accounts of contact with the shipmates do,to show the reader how, while he's gruff and abrasive, his propensity for always being right usually is justified in the end. As for the science behind "Riddle of the Ice," Arms left it up to the real scientists, providing the reader with a decent book report at best.

There's just not that much here. As a travelogue, Arms does not have a whole lot to say, either about sailing or about the places he visits. It's not clear why he took the trip at all -- some sort of scientific investigation -- other than to see Greenland. If you want to read about a visit to the coast of Greenland and Labrador, I would recommend Rowing_To_Latitude, by a woman (whose name eludes me) about rowing these and other coasts. As for the science in Arms' book, there's not enough of that to satisfy, either. He's talked to some interesting people with interesting research, but there's about enough there to fill a long magazine article. He uses the device of jumping back and forth from the sailing trip to his discussions with scientists, but this feels forced, and eventually calls attention to the fact that his trip doesn't seem to advance the science at all. As another reviewer noted, his characterization of his fellow travelers makes them seem one-dimensional, at best, and if you read the afterword you'll see that there were two other people on board -- including his wife -- whom he omitted altogether.

While researching for an environmental book, we had the great good fortune to come across Myron Arm's wonderful story of the mysteries of sea and ice. In lovely, leisurely prose, Arms takes the reader to the source of one of nature's greatest happenings: the unending collision between the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt and the mad southerly migration of Arctic ice. This epic rumination makes it incontestably clear that much of Earth's climate is driven by the two frozen chunks of ice at the Northern and Southern poles--both of which are melting at an astonishing rate. For me, the unstated question Arms leaves us with is, "So what happens when, within a hundred years or so, the ice sheets have melted so much that they can no longer counterbalance our furiously warming Earth?" As a planet, we better figure that out very soon.

When I first read this book, some of the adventures seemed so implausibly stupid that I suspected that the story was a hoax. Rest assured, the events described - however improbable - really did take place. The book is a must read for anyone contemplating solo adventures in the Artic, if for no other reason then to dissuade them. However, Starkell is hardly a suitable role model; those who are familiar with his adventure have described him as "a danger to himself and everybody around him". Nor can much be said for his character; he almost killed his partner by forcing her on when she was seriously ill, yet in his account of the episode, he talks about nothing but how frustrating it was to be behind schedule.

For a truly heroic account of this and other adventures, I highly recommend the account of the late Victoria Jason, who accompanied him on his first two trips. Her book, Kabloona in the Yellow Kayak: One Woman's Journey through the North West Passage, is an inspiring account of courage and generosity made all the more remarkable by the fact that all the while she was battling what turned out to be a terminal illness. Despite all obstacles, she nonetheless succeeded where Starkell failed -- and kept all her fingers and toes to boot.

On first getting into this book, it occurred to me that "Journal of Stupidity" might be a more apt title for this personal account of poor planning, false ambition and misplaced energies. I regret to report that continued reading only reinforces this judgement. On reflection though, it must be said that the book conveys an honest and gripping first person portrayal of the man with all his faults and the expedition that never should have happened (hence my 4-star rating). This book is a MUST READ for any would be, modern day Franklins. Finally, I must express my empathy for the author's sometime paddling partner, Victoria Jason, whose shortened voyage will probably not warrant a book of her own, but whose measured sense of adventure and rational mind earns 5 stars from me. (REVIEWER'S CORRECTION: Victoria Jason did indeed write her book - see above review)

He was so determined to get to his goal that he was willing to risk death. And it is not hard to die in the artic. It was truly enjoyable to read about someone's harrowing experiences in the unforgivable artic from my warm couch. Although he had a few breaks, like finding cabins just when he needed too, (I don't think that early adventurers had that option or GPS, and they died for it)he still faced the natural elements without wining and worked hard when others would have quit. This was a great adventure story.

Let me start by saying that I've read all of Keith Douglass` books in the Carrier series and his Seal-Team Seven series.And this is the first time that I've been disappointed with his work.There were to many storys that were not followed up on.Like how did Comd. Sikes get back to the carrier to save the day.And how did Miss. Drake get to the carrier when she was on the amphibious ship Coronado.There just seemed to be to many losse ends in his story telling in this book.For my sake and the sake of all the fans of the carrier series I hope this was a one time slip and not an authour who's run out of idea's

I was surprised at how easy it was for the cossacks to get on board the Jefferson, surely there ought to be a per arranged signal for such an incident, seeing how the Jefferson Carrier kept handleing more and more complex problems.I wander what happened to Coyote Grant? He was briefly mentioned during the invasion of the Aleutian Islands and then dropped out altogether.Iwould have liked to know how Sikes escaped off the deck from those watchful Cossacks.

This book contains a lot of action compared to some of Keith Douglas's other books, it's so far my favorite book of his.

Matthew Henson's life was different from those of many other blacks of his day. He was privileged to be in on one of the greatest adventures of the early 20th century: reaching the North Pole. Taken from and based on a diary he kept at the time, A Negro Explorer at the North Pole provides a good timeline and basic account of the trek. Accompanying Commander Peary and Henson in the final stretch were Eskimos and dogs.

The account as written by Henson, speaks well of Peary and their relationship. However, the cover blurb tells a bit of a different story. Of tension between the two men. Of Peary's intentions not to have Henson reach the Pole with him. And of vengeful actions by Peary afterwards, such as stealing Henson's photographs.

If Henson had given more descriptions of the day-to-day efforts, the reader might have a fuller understanding of the relationship between the two men, as well as the amount of effort and the toll on the men that actually occurred. Included in this edition are articles written by Henson to counter Peary's not giving him credit for his contribution to the expedition. These were included by the editor and add to our understanding of events.

There are many published biographies of Peary and his expeditions to the North Pole for those who are interested in adventure literature. For those who might like more on the contribution of blacks in history, try Fire on the Beach by David Wright & David Zoby, the story of the Pea Island Lifesavers.

If you are looking for a reprint of this book, first published in 1912, the two paperback editions currently available are very different. The Cooper Square Press edition has the edge for several reasons.

The edition published by Invisible Cities Press substitutes a neat modern typeface for the 1912 original's old fashioned one, and it has a very nice selection of pictures, but few, if any, that appeared in Henson's original book. It also adds as an appendix what it calls an "extremely rare article" written by Henson, detailing "the real story of Peary's trip to the Pole," in which Henson claims Peary planned to leave him short of the Pole and go on alone. The article also details "Peary's uncharitable actions toward Henson once they had returned to civilization," the book cover claims.

Many of the details of this article are in direct conflict with the book's text. If the article is truly the "real story of Peary's trip to the Pole," then what is the markedly different account contained in Henson's book? The article also raises questions about the introduction written by S. Allen Counter, who claims that rather than Peary being "uncharitable" to Henson after the expedition, "they remained friends and collaborators until Peary's death in 1920."

Oddly enough, the other edition, published by Cooper Square Press, solves these contradictions in a lengthy introduction written by Robert Bryce, who claims to have seen most of the original documents associated with Henson. He explains the differences in the Henson book's text and this same article in some detail. In doing so, he makes much of Henson's lack of credibility, even making a case that A Negro Explorer at the North Pole was not really authored by Henson himself. He also addresses some remarks to Counter's former writings about Henson that help explain the apparent contradictions in Counter's new introduction. The Cooper Square edition preserves the original typeface of the 1912 book, but is not really a facsimile, as its introduction claims. It lacks some of the original pictures and uses others that were not in the original. In rating this title, I have split the difference. Certainly you will learn a lot more about Henson from the Cooper Square edition. Four stars for the Cooper Square Press edition, one star for the less enlightening Invisible Cities effort.

Hats off to Dr. Counter and Invisible Cities Press for presenting Matt's amazing account of how he reached the North Pole with Peary. This inspiring work is presented with the dignity it deserves. (Unlike earlier reprints this one is complete with every word Matt put into the 1912 original.)

The publisher went all the way with photos! This has to be the ultimate Henson photo book with restored prints from such hidden jewels as Peary's rare "Secrets of Polar Travel". Here you see the Eskimos skinning a polar bear with paws that look to be 2 feet across! The pictures comprise a significant resource allowing the reader to see every detail of the dog sledges, ice trails, and even artists illustrations from the very rare 1910 Hampton's magazine series. Bravo!

The introduction is by Dr. Allen Counter of the Harvard Foundation. He is the world expert on Henson, a man whose deeds and accomplishment on behalf of Matt's memory have made history. He presents a perfect compliment to the original (1912) introductions by Commander Peary and Booker T. Washington. Much more than that, he gives us a cohesive narrative explaining many details about Peary and Henson that had been "murky". His scholarship (extensive research, reading Matt's diaries, etc.) lets us appreciate the historical context in which the North Pole was attained and why Henson was the key man that made it physically possible. Dr. Counter's 15-page intro will be much read in years to come. It is an outline of, hopefully, a full-length book on Matt that he should author someday to preserve his wealth of Henson knowledge. There is no one else in the world, writing about this subject, that is in Counter's league.

At long last Matt's 1912 work has been made available to everyone who wants to experience first hand Henson's excellent (and charming) account of reaching the Pole. In this respect he wrote a better, more intriguing, narrative than Peary did. Matt is an inspirational hero for all of us; a man of courage, humility, endurance, and great skill. He is still, to this day, a legend in the Arctic where the Inuit people adore him. His grandchildren live on in Greenland and speak with heart felt pride of Mari-Pahluk, "Matthew the kind one", the first man to stand on top of the world.

I have a feeling this author's friends may have wrote these reviews, because I've read better material in Reader's Digest.

Dr. Lyon's vision of submarines operating under the ice, even before nuclear-powered submarines, was remarkable, and his lifetime persistence to convince the navy to continue under ice operations was unbelievable.

I was fortunate to be aboard Pintado SSN 672 during the 1978 under ice operation with Dr. Lyon aboard. As one of Pintado's diving officers, we had to redefine our idea of shallow water since we often ran with six feet and less under the keel. Previously less than a 1000 feet under the keel was considered very shallow.

When operating under the ice in shallow water, the ship's bubble (fore and aft angle) is very critical. A very small up angle (greater than 1/8 of a degree) could cause the ship's screw to hit the ocean bottom or a very small down angle could cause the screw to hit the bottom of the ice. If you are not familiar with submarines, you might find it interesting that the young men that hold the wheels that control the submarine's depth, angle, and course are the most junior people on board.

But having Dr. Lyon onboard, a very capable ship's captain, and trust in the entire crew, made for a secure feeling and an adventure that the Pintado crew will never forget.

You don't have to be a submariner to enjoy William Leary's, Under Ice.

Reviewed by Capt. Gordon I. Peterson, USN (Ret.), Senior Editor, Sea Power Magazine, Navy League of the United States

It has been said that you can usually determine the caliber of a man by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him. By this measure, William M. Leary's biography of Dr. Waldo Lyon provides an inspiring account of how one man's lifelong tenacity in the face of bureaucratic lethargy and skepticism can make a difference in translating a vision to reality.

During the early years of World War II, Lyon began his quest for the U.S. Navy to develop an Arctic submarine fully capable of operating in one of the most challenging operational environments-beneath the frozen surface of the Arctic Ocean. For 55 years, he championed--at times single-handedly--a research effort to provide the Navy with the information it would need to design a submarine that could operate safely and effectively in the world's most poorly understood ocean.

In the words of retired Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Frank B. Kelso II, "The nuclear submarine made Arctic operations possible, but without the knowledge of Waldo Lyon I doubt our Navy would have ventured under the sea ice to the [North] Pole." Lyon's painstaking efforts to acquire this knowledge are meticulously detailed by reference to numerous interviews with Navy submarine commanders, declassified patrol reports, and the scientific journal that Lyon compiled for more than five decades. As a result, Under Ice provides an authoritative and comprehensive account of the U.S. Navy's under-ice operations and Lyon's pioneering role in making it possible-recognized by the President's Medal for Distinguished Federal Service during the Kennedy administration.

It is noteworthy that prior to the USS Hawkbill's under-ice expedition to the Arctic in 1999, the submarine's commanding officer required every officer on board to read chapter seven of Leary's book--a description of USS Sargo's hazardous 1960 Arctic cruise.

With the design of the Sturgeon-class during the 1960s, the Navy finally constructed nuclear-powered attack submarines with greatly improved under-ice capabilities. Recognition of the strategic importance of the Arctic Ocean had reached new levels during the height of the Cold War-because, as Lyon wrote, "The Arctic Ocean is the submariner's private sea, hence, his sole capability to exploit and control."

In his foreword to Under Ice, Vice Adm. John H. Nicholson writes that the Navy would do well to heed Lyon's warning concerning the need to maintain a robust under-ice capability and not lose its hard-earned expertise. Unfortunately, with the retirement of the Sturgeon class of attack submarines and the reduction of the submarine force to 50 boats by 2003, the Navy's Arctic submarine operations will unavoidably decline in the face of higher priority warfighting and intelligence commitments.

As the number of sophisticated, high-endurance conventional submarines continue to proliferate around the world, it remains to be seen if the Department of Defense and U.S. political leadership will heed Lyon's counsel and restore the submarine force to the numbers required to meet current and projected operational requirements-and sustain the U.S. Navy's Arctic preeminence.

Four stars for the research and the history, one star for the author's attempt to describe their environement. This is an interesting account of the Hall North Pole attempt. For me, the major problem is the flowery descriptions of the weather and landscape he throws in: "The icy breath of the iceberg chilled their lungs.." "The only signs of light consisted of scattered ribbons of violet and purple fluttering briefly behind the sable mountains."

Come on, this is history. The descriptions the author has chosen to add to spice up the book were very hard for me to wade through. I almost gave up because of them, but instead, decided to skip-over and ignore the flowery descriptions and concentrate on what the crew went through and survived!

I did not expect to find "Trial by Ice" so good.
Using very colorful and vivid writing style, author presents events during the ill-fated polar expedition. Action takes place on the deck of steamer Polaris, along the north/west Greenland's shore and on the ice floes of Baffin Bay.
This is a classic tale of survival describing international motley crew of officers, seamen, scientists and Inuits fighting for their lives after Polaris destruction.
Without leadership and teamwork all efforts are difficult and dramatic. Dark human nature and low morality quite often prevails, hardship creates lack of loyalty, national partiality and racism.
This book has an extra flavor - elements of crime and detective story.
Writing and explanations are enhanced by author's scientific and medical knowledge combined with his experience of living in a harsh climate of Alaska. He knows what he is writing about.
The story of Polaris is just another example of how little we usually know about causes and reality of current political, criminal and social events. True facts and motives stay hidden and masked to be fully exposed and published at much later time.
I rank this book in the same category as "Wreck of the Medusa", "In the Heart of the Sea" and "South".
If Dr. Parry was as good surgeon as he is now a writer, then many patients must be missing his medical practice.

It was a great book written by Richard Parry. The decription from the book was very well written and it felt as if you were there on the ship. It was full of surprises and it was amazing to see what the crew went through. Also, how the Captain Hall's murder was very unexpected. I would say this is one of the best books I have read this year. It is so addicting to read so you finish it in a short period.

At the beginging it is slow because of the introduction but, it gets better after that.

As an avid reader of Dean Koontz' novels, I was more than a little disappointed as I "plowed" my way through this tepid "ice-venture". Koontz has always been great at character development and creating gut-churning suspenseful plots, but with "Icebound", he came up about 25 blocks short of an igloo.

Granted, it was a quick read, but very predictable and basically lifeless. The characters were tough to like and even harder to figure out at times. What's the deal with George Lin, anyway? And, way too much time was spent dissecting the problems of the Russian submarine commander.

Hopefully, this won't be your first venture into the world of Dean Koontz because the man is a great writer! Dont' let this book stop you from reading some of his "classics". The list is long, but I definitely recommend "Watchers", "Strangers" (The Dean Koontz version of "The Stand"), "Mr. Murder", "Shattered" "Whispers" and "The Servants of Twilight". Any of these terrific "reads" are a great way to start your Koontz collection.

Not every hit can be a home run, can it, Deano?

1) John Glover reads the audiobook version of this story and like previous readings I've heard from him he does a good job. I always appreciate when an actor goes the "extra mile" to give different accents or speech patterns to different characters so that the audiobook come across more like a play vs. simply a reading.

2) This is not the typical Koontz supernatural story. This is a man vs. nature story that would better play off the submarine movie crowd and/or natural disaster crowd instead of the normal Koontz crowd. This story seemed like a scaled up version of a screenplay or TV made movie and probably would have done better as a movie than a novel.

3) Basically some scientist get stranded on an iceberg and need to get rescued. They have an unidentifiable bad guy in their midst in order to complicate things. A Russian sub is trying to rescue them but gets thwarted at each attempt. Story was fairly predictable and lacked a lot of suspense.

4) On the flip side, Koontz has a couple of strong characters that help keep the story afloat and as the iceberg drifts to its conclusion so the reader in turn will drift along with the story. At points you'll want to dump this book but then you'll realize that you've invested time and need to finish things out.

5) There were a couple of characters totally forgotten and given little if no attention for some reason. And the climax was formularic and in turn anti-climatical.

It wasn't a terrible story, but it wasn't fantastic either. I'm glad I picked this up at the library and didn't pay money for it. Too bad because Koontz has some great books out there; Watchers being one of my favorite books to read and Tick-Tock being in my all time top three audiobooks to listen to.

First of all, I'm a great Koontz fan. He is a superlative writer, and this early book--updated by the author--is an example of his extraordinary talent. FEW writers can combine great adventure and plot WITH excellent characterization. Koontz is a master of doing just this.

Icebound is a departure from Koontz's horror genre. This is strictly a techno-thriller. The action is nonstop--never a dull moment, and all very, very well done. It is about a group of scientists who are carrying out an assignment in the arctic...very believable scenario, I might add. As a result of severe weather storm conditions and sub-oceanic quakes, a large chunk of ice breaks off and they find themselves stranded on an iceberg upon which they had implanted explosives scheduled to go off in 12 hours. There are no American ships that can rescue them because of their distance and the severe weather. Only a Russian sub on a clandestine mission is close enough and has the ability to possibly rescue the team of scientists.

The stories of the men, especially the submarine captain, make you really care about the outcome. Although Koontz, in his afterword, is humble enough to diminish his technological detail as compared with a Tom Clancy, I found the whole thing so real that I was there! I love submarine adventures and to me, this numbers with the best of them.

Noteworthy is the graphic detail of what it must be like to work in such an extreme environment. The descriptions of the arctic and the weather conditions are awesome. Even the death scene where one man dies through drowning is so realistic I could imagine vividly what it felt like to die this way.

On top of the natural perils they face, there is a one twisted mind with them who is obsessively determined to commit murder. This portion of the story is also very well executed.

In short (I should have said this some paragraphs back!), I can find nothing negative to say about this story or writing style. I read it at breakneck speed because it was so riveting. I heartily recommend this book to not only Koontz fans but to anyone who enjoys a techno-thriller.

If you're looking only for a supernatural horror story, this is not the ticket. But...if you love Koontz's immense talent and want to read an exciting thriller, have at it!

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The last few years has seen a spotlight put on Antarctica. We've had the success of all the recent Shackleton books, TV shows and IMAX films on the Frozen South. Is this the explanation for the current level of popularity of polar exploration history? My own fascination in all matters Antarctican stems from a boyhood spent in Hobart Tasmania. It was from this port that many ships head south; south of the Circle. I grew up with tales of Cook, Scott, and Mawson and their Antarctic adventures.

I bought Gurney's book on the strength of the title and the publisher's blurb. On the author's own acknowledgment in the Introduction it was the marketing and publicity department of his publisher who gave the book its title. We have to get through 100 pages of pre-amble before we get to the real subject of his book. Does detail on circumnavigation of Australia by Matthew Flinders in 1802 belong here? This story is better covered elsewhere. The first crossing of Australia on foot by John Eyre is another strange addition particularly when coupled with a parenthetic (and absurd) observation that modern travellers face certain death in this hostile environment if they get off their train in the middle of the Nullarbor Plain.

However, we do get the benefit of Gurney's encyclopedic knowledge, in all matters maritime. We learn that sailors called the weevils in their biscuits, bargemen. We get familiar with all the arcane terminology from the age of sailing ships. His use of extracts from the 1867 "Sailor's Word-Book" at the head of each chapter is a neat touch.

The notes at the end of each chapter add very little that could not otherwise be included in the text. They give a pseudo-academic touch, which is not warranted. Editing of the book is very sloppy, with many typos creeping through. Structurally the text contains many convolute passages and at times, repetitious detail.

His emphasis on the farcical Wilkes' expedition would have been better downplayed with more detail on the efforts of Ross and D'Urville. At no times does the sense of a "Race" really come through. Examining the timing and context of the voyages, it was coincidence that the English, French and Americans were on government expeditions at the same time.

By most people's reckoning, the most exciting phase of Antarctic exploration would have to be the race to the South Pole that took place in the first decade of the 20th Century. Gurney's book serves really only as a preliminary "backgrounder" for readers who wish to understand these later events. The most accessible and delightful encapsulation of Antarctic exploration is found in the 1940-1950's era "The Children's Encyclopedia" edited by Arthur Mee. It's worth digging out Volume 9 and reading "The South Pole Men."

Gurney's book would be a useful addition to the shelves of readers who like histories of scientific and naval exploration. However, many more authoritative and entertaining books on this subject are around.

The race to the white continent...voyages to the antarctic. Alan Gurney. Did like the read. Gurney was good with the James Clark Ross discovery of the magic of the Ross Sea and Mount Erebus. I had the pleasure to live there. With the Royal Society Range for a backdrop, Minna Bluff to the south. A view of a lifetime. Of the coming storms... Great touch on that. I thought a little boring is the take of the Wilkes Expedition. A British viewpoint anyway...I did think the Gurney spill on Dumont D' Urville's was a plus...A good read...Next up try "Barrow's Boys"...by Fergus Fleming. 5 stars...easy.

This is Alan Gurney's second book on Antarctic exploration. His first, "Below the Convergence," covered the early era of Antarctic voyaging, up to the beginning of the 19th century. This book starts with a look at Pacific and Australian explorations to set the scene and bridge the gap, then pulls in to focus on two great Antarctic expeditions of the 1840s, and a third that was less impressive. The great expeditions were the French Navy expedition led by Dumont d'Urville in the Astrolabe and Zelee and the classic Royal Navy explorations of James Clark Ross with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. These two men and their crews of seamen and scientists were the first to begin to make Antarctica a real place, rather than a realm of conjecture, and the names of the ships, the men, and their families remain scattered around the Antarctic to this day, fastened to their discoveries - Adelie Land, the Ross Ice Shelf, Mt. Erebus, McMurdo Sound, to name only a few. Gurney ably tells the tales of these expeditions, from their inception to their return, and the sad fate of their leaders - d'Urville killed in a railway wreck with his wife and son, Ross dead before his time, probably of drink, after the early death of his wife and his unsuccessful search for the lost Franklin expedition in the Arctic. The third expedition is the US Navy expedition led by Lt. Charles Wilkes in USS Vincennes, and if anything Gurney is too kind to this somewhat fraught endeavor. Wilkes, who promptly promoted himself commodore and hoisted a distinguishing pennant as soon as he was out of reach of US Navy authority, treated both his officers and the scientists assigned to the expedition like dirt, discovered a vast amount of entirely imaginary territory, and was courtmartialed on his return (but unfortunately remained in the Navy to commit numerous stupidities during the Civil War). All in all, good reading for anyone interested in Antarctic exploration, and one wonders if Gurney will go for a trilogy with a third book about the Heroic Era of Antarctic exploration.

I am sick and tired of all the people complaining about Ian Slater's errors for units or weapons names or weight! Who cares? The names have nothing to do with the plot!

Now to Arctic Front, it was a interesting well thought out book but lacked action. I also didn't get why one division(31st) would attack Freeman's army? Anyhow I thought the book was good enough to read and I plan to read the sequels

WWIII: Artic Front has many glaring error. For instance, in the previous book there was a nuclear exchange near the end but in this book they are already launching subs from a base that took a direct hit by a nuclear missle. In addition, General Freeman found time to fight in the Gulf War when he was leading the army in korea and europe. He was also able to lead the fighting in Minsk and lead the russian surrender precedings as he was being held captive by the chinese. If you can let go of those error the book is still enjoyable to read.

WW III: Arctic Front, The fourth installment in Ian Slater's WW III series, was sub-average in many areas, including plot, action, and military accuracy (if you've read my reviews of previous books in the WW III series, you'd have guessed this by now). For example, there was a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and the USSR in the author's previous book, WW III: World in Flames, but it seems totally forgotten in Arctic Front. There were some problems regarding equipment names such as the AGM-86B cruise missile (Slater called it the 86-B), and in the text for some reason Slater decided to spell "M1A1" as "M-1 A-1". And what's this? It seems that Ian Slater is under the impression that F-15E Strike Eagles can be launched from aircraft carriers!! @#%&*!!!! How such a glaring error made it past the editor (I sometimes wondered if there IS any for this book) is beyond me. But if you don't mind these defects and errors, and you're a fan of the WW III series (despite all I've just said, I still am to some degree), then read Arctic Front