Martin W. Sandler
A riveting true adventure storyâ€¦.,An award-winning, bestselling authorâ€¦,A page-turner thatâ€™s impossible to put down.,Â ,Almost everyone knows the photo of John F. Kennedy, Jr., as a young boy, peering out from under his fatherâ€™s desk in the Oval Office. But few realize that the desk itself plays a part in one of the worldâ€™s most extraordinary mysteriesâ€”a dramatic tale that has never before been told in its full scope. Acclaimed historian Martin Sandlerâ€”a two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, winner of seven EmmyÂ® Awards, and author of more than 50 booksâ€”finally brings the entire story to light. This amazing high-seas adventure encompasses the search for the Northwest Passage in the early 1800s; a renowned explorer and his crew of 128 men who vanish during an 1845 expedition; 39 incredible, heroic attempted rescue missions; a ghost ship that drifts for more than 1,200 miles; a queenâ€™s gratitude; and that famous desk. Fascinating rare photographs, paintings, engravings, and maps illustrate the book throughout.,It all began when, in one of the biggest news stories of the 19th century, Sir John Franklin and his ships the ,Erebus ,and the ,Terror, disappeared while attempting to locate the fabled Northwest Passage. At the request of Franklinâ€™s wife, Lady Jane, the first mission set out from England in hopes of finding him; many others followed in its wake, none successful.,Among these was the ,Resolute,, the finest vessel in Queen Victoriaâ€™s Navy. But in 1854 it became locked in Arctic ice and was abandoned by its captain. A year later, a Connecticut whaler discovered it 1,200 miles awayâ€”drifting and deserted, a 600-ton ghost ship. He and his small crew boarded the, Resolute,, and steered it through a ferocious hurricane back to New London, Connecticut. The United States government then reoutfitted the ship and returned it to the thankful Queen. In 1879, when the ,Resolute ,was finally retired, she had the best timbers made into a desk for then-President Rutherford B. Hayes. It is still used by U.S. presidents today...one of the most celebrated pieces of furniture in the White House.
History,Nonfiction,Adventure,Travel,Adventure,Maritime,Historical,Adventure,Survival,North American Hi...,American History,Science,Literature,19th Century
Resolute: The Epic Search for the Northwest Passage and John Franklin, and the Discovery of the Queen's Ghost Ship