- Author : Jennifer Niven
- Binding : Hardcover
- Dewey Decimal Number : 915.77
- EAN : 9780786868636
- Edition : 1
- ISBN : 0786868635
- Label : Hyperion
- List Price : $32.95 (USD)
- Manufacturer : Hyperion
- Number Of Items : 1
- Number Of Pages : 448
- Package Dimensions : 1.34 inches (Height) x 9.48 inches (Length) x 1.63 pounds (Weight) x 6.60 inches (Width)
- Publication Date : 2003-11-12
- Publisher : Hyperion
- Release Date : 2003-11-12
- Studio : Hyperion
From the author of The Ice Master comes the remarkable true story of a young Inuit woman who survived six months alone on a desolate, uninhabited Arctic island n September 1921, four young men and Ada Blackjack, a diminutive 25-year-old Eskimo woman, ventured deep into the Arctic in a secret attempt to colonize desolate Wrangel Island for Great Britain. Two years later, Ada Blackjack emerged as the sole survivor of this ambitious polar expedition. This young, unskilled woman-who had headed to the Arctic in search of money and a husband-conquered the seemingly unconquerable north and survived all alone after her male companions had perished. Following her triumphant return to civilization, the international press proclaimed her the female Robinson Crusoe. But whatever stories the press turned out came from the imaginations of reporters: Ada Blackjack refused to speak to anyone about her horrific two years in the Arctic. Only on one occasion-after charges were published falsely accusing her of causing the death of one her companions-did she speak up for herself. Jennifer Niven has created an absorbing, compelling history of this remarkable woman, taking full advantage of the wealth of first-hand resources about Ada that exist, including her never-before-seen diaries, the unpublished diaries from other primary characters, and interviews with Ada's surviving son. Ada Blackjack is more than a rugged tale of a woman battling the elements to survive in the frozen north-it is the story of a hero.
- Product Description
Customer Reviews:
Customers rated Ada Blackjack: A True Story of Survival in the Arctic 4.5 stars out of 5.0 based on 33 reviews:Fast paced read; engaging story well rendered . . . .
by Kay M (Southeastern Pennsylvania) - 2010-07-21
Based on diaries, journals, historical documents, and interviews with family and descendants, this story was capably extracted and retold in a way that brings to vivid life a story of insurmountable odds, and the sole woman survivor. Ada Blackjack is an absorbing page-turner. This would be a good novel for a teen-aged girl, imho. The circumstances of being alone in a world that challenges, threatens & demands submission will resonate. The fact that Ada Blackjack overcomes great fear and unfamiliarity or simple ignorance of survival techniques with primitive and minimal gear will surely inspire. I bought this up in Denali at the bookstore, and it did not disappoint. Unwilling to part with my copy yet, I just bought another to send to a friend. I am also getting Niven's fact-based book on the Karluk expedition to read.Almost As Good as Ice Master
by S. Griffith (San Francisco, CA) - 2010-04-21
I read & loved Ice Master, the adventure of the Karluk, because I love Arctic adventure. Then read Ada Blackjack because Jennifer Niven wrote it. This lady can write. I am now reading her Aqua Net book & it is fun. I hope she will write many more.Jennifer Niven...ROCKS!
by Chuckwagon - 2009-12-05
Jennifer Niven did a SUPERB job with research on this book! The way she covered all the details of the parents of the explorers added greatly to this wonderful book! Jennifer Niven takes the reader into the thoughts and feelings of each character by showing the letters that were written through the years by all concerned. This is one book that I have read 4 times and enjoy it as much on the last as I did on the first! Jennifer Niven has my vote for superb, well-researched material....brought together in a manner to hold your interest from the first word to the last period!Ada Blackjack is a courageous, determined, very likeable woman
by Adelphos T. Avthrwpou - 2009-09-05
Ada Blackjack A True Story of Survival in the Arctic, by Jennifer Niven, 394 pp. plus end-notes. This book is a history of the bravery and courage four young men and one women, a native Alaskan, who endured two years on Wrangell Island in the Arctic above Siberia when the ship that was to arrive and return them to their homes could not push through the iced-over sea . It is also, unfortunately, the history of the treachery and lies of those whose aim was to gain money and fame through the misfortunes of these young explorers, namely Vihjahmur Stefansson, the disorganized "organizer" (who stayed safely home) and of Noice who commanded the rescue ship and who defaced and destroyed parts of the dairy of the one of the explorers. Of the many Eskimos signed up to go with them, Ada was the only one to show up when the ship left Alaska. She went only because she needed the money to care for her son Bennett who had tuberculosis, and because she was one to keep her word. Her job was to sew warm clothing from the skins of the animals they would use for food. The four men perished. Three in an effort to walk on the ice to Siberia, one from scurvy. Ada took care of the sick man doing all the chores when he was too sick to leave his bed. She had to learn to shoot, to hunt and to trap. Plus chop wood, cook, melt snow for water, repair the shelters, deal with polar bears. All the tasks that were done formerly by four men. It was a fascinating story of time spent in the Arctic; and also a warning about humans whose desire for honor and wealth cause them to treat unfairly those whom they use to achieve their goals.High drama, tedious read
by Cecil Bothwell (Asheville, NC USA) - 2009-04-18
Author Jennifer Niven discovered a truly remarkable and sadly under-reported tale when she stumbled on references to Ada BlackJack in the course of her previous writing work. It is to her credit that she recognized the importance of the story and did the work necessary to bring the saga to light. As other reviewers have long since noted, this is the history of an ill-fated expedition to Wrangell Island in which four young white men failed to succeed leaving their hired seamstress, an Inuit woman with no wilderness experience whatsoever, and expedition cat as the only survivors. The story is gripping. The telling? Not so much. While the question of the fate of the participants in the ill-conceived venture draws one on to finish reading the story, the inclusion of too much verbatim material from letters and diaries drags the whole thing down. A book half as long would have served readers better.
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