Sean Gursky reviewed Frozen in time by Mitchell Zuckoff
Review of 'Frozen in time' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
In February 2021 a polar vortex gripped the Canadian prairies and record low temperatures were recorded. For a week temperatures were in the -30°C range and accompanied by wind and flurries. Each time I had to go outside and face the elements I was able to wear layers, move quickly and know that the warm comforts of home were waiting for me.
The cold winter conditions of Canada helped set the stage for this remarkable tale of survival and rescue in the barren Greenland landscape.
I have had this story on my 'to read' list for so long I don't remember what triggered it to be added, but if it was recommended because of similarities to "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer that wouldn't be misplaced.
In layman's terms, Bill O'Hara's feet fell off into his boots. The last thing he ever felt on his feet were Clarence Wedel's hands …
In February 2021 a polar vortex gripped the Canadian prairies and record low temperatures were recorded. For a week temperatures were in the -30°C range and accompanied by wind and flurries. Each time I had to go outside and face the elements I was able to wear layers, move quickly and know that the warm comforts of home were waiting for me.
The cold winter conditions of Canada helped set the stage for this remarkable tale of survival and rescue in the barren Greenland landscape.
I have had this story on my 'to read' list for so long I don't remember what triggered it to be added, but if it was recommended because of similarities to "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer that wouldn't be misplaced.
In layman's terms, Bill O'Hara's feet fell off into his boots. The last thing he ever felt on his feet were Clarence Wedel's hands sliding across them as Wedel fell in to the crevasse.
The story started off at a casual pace and I found my attention casually held. The pace was slow and intentional, to introduce the politics, players and conditions. Once the dominoes started to fall the pace accelerated and I couldn't put the book down. The phrase "calamity of errors" came to mind frequently during the book, and just when I thought the situation couldn't get any worse for those in 1942, it did. And the troubles continued to mount.
If this was a work of fiction I would say the author was fanciful and had a wonderful imagination. Zuckoff has noted there were no liberties taken and details were not embellished, which makes this worthy of the title "epic story".
The story unfolding across two timelines made for a nice contrast and reprieve had the story been rooted entirely in 1942. The story wasn't entirely one setback after another, this was a tale of perseverance, a willingness to see the job finished and problem solving. Zuckoff does an excellent job describing conditions of the survivors and the elements they had to battle.
This was a fun read and I am glad this book survived any purges on my 'to read' list over the last eight years.
