Author: Jennifer Niven

A note in the cover of the book says Pat and I gave it to Dad for Father’s Day in 2004; I brought it back from Saskatchewan on a recent trip. I read very little non-fiction but I needed a book for the trip home and this fit better in my carry-on bag than some of the others I brought back. I started it on the plane and then couldn’t put it down.

Ada Blackjack was an native woman from Alaska who was persuaded to join an expedition to Wrangle Island in the Arctic Ocean. Stefansson launched two expeditions to the Island; Ada joined the second expedition in 1921 and lived on the island for two years before being rescued. She was the lone survivor of the five member crew.

As well as hearing Ada’s sad story, there was a lot of information about Stefansson and Noice, the man who ran the rescue operation to Wrangle. Each man was out for their own glory and in turn vilified Ada, as well as the members of the crew who were lost on the expedition.

Dad also had (and now I have) a book by the same author that deals with the first Wrangle Island expedition and I’m anxious to read it.