The USS Jeannette was constructed at Pembroke Dockyard in 1860, and began service as a British gunboat. The ship was called HMS Pandora while still in British service. The ship was purchased in 1875 by Allen Young, who wanted to use the ship on an expedition to uncover the whereabouts of the Franklin Expedition from 30 years before. Young was unsuccessful in his attempts, ultimately selling the ship to one of his financial backers. That man, James Gordon Bennett, renamed the ship after his sister, and set off on his own expedition. The ship became trapped in the ice in 1879, drifting with the current for months before finally breaking under the tremendous force generated by the ice and sinking. The expedition party and crew managed to disembark before the ship sank, and their struggle to survive in this inhospitable climate was dramatic and tense.

I found this book in the disaster section of my local used bookstore, McKays, that I love to frequent. I believe I paid seventy five cents for this book, and it was a wonderful purchase. I really enjoyed learning about this expedition, and I was very hooked on the story of the people that were aboard the ship. I thought the author did a great job in telling this historical narrative in a way that kept the attention of the reader and also conveyed a lot of information about ships and expeditions during this time period. If you are into ships or ship-related disasters, this might be of interest to you.