Publishers Weekly
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In a masterful retelling, Sides (Hellhound on His Trail) chronicles American naval officer George Washington De Long's harrowing 1879 expedition to the North Pole, an account as frightening as it is fascinating. Each page envelops readers in the bravery of De Long and the crew of the Jeannette, their indefatigable quest for the "Polar Grail," and their dogged will to survive. News mogul James Gordon Bennett Jr., a colorful personality who famously sent Sir Henry Stanley to Dr. David Livingstone, was De Long's patron, mostly because he desired another front-page stunner for his paper. De Long's journal entries are mixed in with Sides's description of a voyage fraught with peril-their steamboat was wedged in ice for two winters and,upon released, was crushed. Seeking rescue, the crew hauled supplies hundreds of miles across Arctic ice fields. Weather was harsh, erratic, and frigid with food and shelter scarce; many succumbed to frostbite and madness. Flawed theories of Siberian geography and settlements caused further setbacks. (Disastrously, De Long had already discovered that prevailing theories about warm currents under Polar icecaps were incorrect.) Impeccable writing, a vivid re-creation of the expedition and the Victorian era, and a taut conclusion make this an exciting gem. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Another crackling tale of adventure from journalist/explorer Sides (Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin, 2010, etc.), this one focusing on a frigid disaster nearly 150 years ago.When the Jeannette, commanded by a dashing officer named George De Long, disappeared in the Arctic waters of Russia on a long expeditionary voyage that began in the summer of 1879, American newspapers thought it did not necessarily mean disaster: They preferred to see it as a sign that the ship had broken through the dreaded polar ice and was now sailing freely, if without communication, in the open polar sea. No such luck: As Sides documents, the Jeannette and its crew met a gruesome end; toward the end of his narrative, we tour their icy cemetery, here the Chinese cook gazing serenely into the sky, there De Long lying barehanded with arm upraised, as if he "had raised his left arm and flung his journal behind him in the snow, away from the embers of the fire." When contemporaries took that tour and reports came out, the newspapers were full of speculation about even more gruesome possibilities, which Sides, on considering the evidence, dismisses. Given that a bad outcome is promised in the book's subtitle, readers should not find such things too surprising. The better part of the narrative is not in the sad climax but in the events leading up to it, from De Long's life and education at sea to the outfitting of the ship (complete with a storeroom full of "barrels of brandy, porter, ale, sherry, whiskey, rum, and cases of Budweiser beer"), personality clashes among members of the crew, and the long, tragic history of polar expedition.A grand and grim narrative of thrilling exploration for fans of Into Thin Air, Mountains of the Moon and the like. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In 1879, U.S. naval officer and explorer George W. De Long (1844-81) set off on a highly publicized attempt to reach the uncharted and mysterious North Pole. Sides (Hellhound on His Trail; editor, Outside magazine) presents a lengthy, gripping, and well-written account of De Long's treacherous expedition. Backed by the vast wealth of newspaper magnate James Gordon Bennett, De Long's voyage aboard the USS Jeannette ground to a grim halt when the vessel became trapped in the ice for two interminable years and later sank. After abandoning ship onto the frigid ice fields, De Long and his crew embarked on a desperate trek toward rescue in distant Siberia. Suspenseful and well grounded with biographical and historical context, Sides's work skillfully captures the passionate essence of determined explorer De Long, his indomitable compatriots, and the public's fascination with his quest. VERDICT Using De Long's correspondence with his wife as an especially effective tool to bring the explorer to life, this title will appeal to adventure fans and recreational readers interested in polar exploration, Gilded Age society, or naval history. Readers may also consider Leonard F. Guttridge's Icebound: The Jeannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole.-Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Starred Review. Sides's (Hellbound on His Trail) latest nonfiction thriller is a spellbinding account of the U.S. Navy's ill-fated 1879 expedition to the North Pole. The author explains that many respected 19th-century geologists believed warm ocean currents combined to create what they called the "Open Polar Sea" at the North Pole. James Gordon Bennett, the wealthy, flamboyant publisher of the New York Herald who sponsored Henry Morton Stanley's 1871 hunt for David Livingstone in Africa, approached naval officer George W. De Long about leading a voyage to this mysterious oasis at the top of the world. Hoping for publicity for his newspaper, Bennett financed the voyage of the USS Jeannette, though the expedition was officially a navy operation. Attempting to reach the Open Polar Sea via the Bering Strait, the Jeannette became trapped in the ice for two winters. The wooden steamship was eventually crushed, and De Long and his crew set off across 1,000 miles of ice fields for Siberia, showing inspirational courage in the face of unimaginable peril. Narrator Arthur Morey offers a brilliant performance; his readings from the crew's journals and the letters from Emma De Long to her husband are especially moving. VERDICT Recommend this high-adrenaline, impressively thorough history to fans of adventure fiction as well as nonfiction. ["This title will appeal to adventure fans and recreational readers interested in polar exploration, Gilded Age society, or naval history," read the review of the Doubleday hc, LJ 6/15/14; a "More of the Best 2014" pick.]-Beth Farrell, Cleveland State Univ. Law Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The author of such best sellers as Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin, Sides writes history that gets the pulse going. Here, he recounts the voyage of the U.S.S. Jeannette, a U.S. Naval expedition aimed at discovering the North Pole and funded by the New York Herald owner who also backed Henry Morton Stanley's trip to Africa. Sailing from San Francisco in 1879, the ship quickly became trapped in ice and drifted for nearly two years before suddenly splintering-which left the crew abandoned in a frozen wasteland 1,000 miles north of Siberia. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

*Starred Review* With its western frontiers explored and the idea of Manifest Destiny still beckoning, the U.S. in the Gilded Age looked to the North Pole for adventure and conquest. U.S. naval officer George DeLong approached James Gordon Bennett, the wealthy and eccentric publisher of the New York Herald, to finance an expedition. After all, Bennett had sponsored the expedition for Stanley to find Livingstone in Africa and was forever on the hunt for the next sensational story. In July 1879, the USS Jeannette set sail with a crew of 32 men for uncharted waters. It was an extraordinary expedition, cheered on by scientists and adventurers around the world, hoping to verify the theory that beyond the polar ice girdle were warm currents and a habitable climate. Instead, the ill-fated ship found impassable ice pack that trapped it for two years until the hull was finally breached, and the men were forced to find their way across ice floes, 1,000 miles from Siberia. Facing snow blindness, frigid storms, polar bears, scarcity of food and water, and creeping madness, the men fought desperately to survive. Sides (Hellhound on His Trail, 2010) tapped amazing archival material, including diaries, letters, and the ship logs, to render a completely thrilling saga of survival in unbelievably harsh conditions.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2014 Booklist