ePub Why Be Jewish?: A Testament by Edgar Bronfman in History

Description

The story of the bold voyage of HMS Investigator and the modern-day discovery of its wreck by Parks Canada’s underwater archaeologists. When Sir John Franklin disappeared in the Arctic in the 1840s; the British Admiralty launched the largest rescue mission in its history. Among the search vessels was HMS Investigator; which left England in 1850 under the command of Captain Robert McClure. While the ambitious McClure never found Franklin; he and his crew did discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Like Franklin’s ships; though; Investigator disappeared in the most remote; bleak and unknown place on Earth. For three winters; its 66 souls were trapped in the unforgiving ice of Mercy Bay. They suffered cold; darkness; starvation; scurvy; boredom; depression and madness. When they were rescued in 1853; Investigator was abandoned. For more than a century and a half; the ship’s fate remained a mystery. Had it been crushed by the ice or swept out to sea? In 2010; Parks Canada sent a team of archaeologists to Mercy Bay to find out. It was a formidable challenge; demanding expertise and patience. There; off the shores of Aulavik National Park; they found Investigator. Lost Beneath the Ice is a tale of endurance; daring; deceit; courage; and irony. It is a story about a tempestuous crew; their mercurial captain; cynical surgeon and kind-hearted missionary. In the end; McClure found fame but lost his ship; some of his crew and much of his honour. Written with elegance and authority; illustrated with archival imagery and startling underwater photographs of Investigator and its artifacts; this is a sensational story of discovery and intrigue in Canada’s Arctic. Andrew Cohen is a best-selling author and award-winning journalist. Among his books are While Canada Slept; a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award; The Unfinished Canadian; and Extraordinary Canadians: Lester B. Pearson. He writes a nationally syndicated column for The Ottawa Citizen and comments regularly on CTV. A professor of journalism and international affairs at Carleton University; he is founding president of the Historica-Dominion Institute. He has twice received Queen’s Jubilee Medals.