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Against the Ice
Against the Ice: The Classic Arctic Survival Story | Ejnar Mikkelsen
11 posts | 1 read | 4 to read
Now a major Netflix film co-written by and starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) The harrowing, amazing, and often amusing personal account of two mismatched Arctic explorers who banded together to keep themselves sane on an historic expedition gone horribly wrong Ejnar Mikkelsen was devoted to Arctic exploration. In 1910 he decided to search for the diaries of the ill-fated Mylius-Erichsen expedition, which had set out to prove that Robert Pearys outline of the East Greenland coast was a myth, erroneous and presumably self-serving. Iver Iversen was a mechanic who joined Mikkelsen in Iceland when the expeditions boat needed repair. Several months later, Mikkelsen and Iversen embarked on an incredible journey during which they would suffer every imaginable Arctic travail: implacable cold, scurvy, starvation, frostbite, snow blindness, plunges into icy seawater, impossible sledding conditions, Vitamin A poisoning, debilitated dogs, apocalyptic storms, gaping crevasses, and assorted mortifications of the flesh. Mikkelsens diary was even eaten by a bear. Three years of this, coupled with seemingly no hope of rescue, would drive most crazy, yet the two retained both their sanity as well as their humor. Indeed, what may have saved them was their refusal to become as desolate as their surroundings Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who co-adapted the book into a screenplay, provides a new foreword to this brand-new edition of the classic exploration memoir, which was one of The Explorer's Clubs 100 Best Books of the 20th Century. Originally published as Two Against the Ice: A Classic Arctic Survival Story and a Remarkable Account of Companionship in the Face of Adversity. Translated from the Danish by Maurice Michael.
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Texreader
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In 1910-12, the author Ejnar and a boat mechanic Iver sledge along the west coast of #Greenland looking for notes from previous Danes whose exploration ended in their 3 deaths. Ejnar and Iver brave the coast for well more than a year trying to get back to their ship. They are good partners for this task who have one spat in all this time, over an imaginary girl. It‘s a brutal survival story with an excellent epilogue about how the author ⬇️

Texreader witnessed the militarization of the country during WWII and its population growth. He had thought the land untameable and would remain so forever. This is an excellent read, with short chapters to keep the dread for these men and their dogs under control. Beware the dogs do not survive well.
#foodandlit @Catsandbooks
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Texreader
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Texreader
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Imagine you‘re starving, and the only food you can anticipate is that stored by previous explorers in food caches. And then this…

#Greenland #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

JenlovesJT47 Ooh this sounds intriguing!! 1w
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Texreader
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When you are starving these are your dreams apparently. 😞

#foodandlit #Greenland @Catsandbooks

GingerAntics That is truly heartbreaking. 1w
AnnCrystal 😢... 1w
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Texreader
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Since I‘m reading this book for #foodandlit I feel obligated to describe what these starving men had to do and eat as they trekked across part of #Greenland. I picked this one because I liked the analogy of the “snowball on the fires of hell.” @Catsandbooks

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Texreader
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Oh no! So much for the gorgeous fireworks in the ice (see previous quote I posted)!

#Greenland #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

AnnCrystal Yikes! Would never had considered the danger 😳🎆🧊🎆. 3w
Catsandbooks 😬😬 3w
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Texreader
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Fireworks in the ice! Sounds beautiful!!

#Greenland #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

Catsandbooks ❤️🇬🇱 3w
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Texreader
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And this tropical vegetation is exactly what the characters are facing in my #authoramonth book The Kaiju Preservation Society in #Greenland! So weird having these two books in the same country. #foodandlit @Catsandbooks @Soubhiville

Soubhiville That is such a funny coincidence. 3w
Catsandbooks Wow! 3w
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Texreader
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“…fascinating to see, but highly dangerous.”

#Greenland #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

Catsandbooks 🇬🇱😳 4w
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Texreader
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Texreader
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I‘ve picked out my next book for #Greenland #foodandlit @Catsandbooks

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