Lost Beneath the Ice: The Story of HMS Investigator
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by Andrew Cohen
Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2013 152 pp., illus., $29.99 hardcover
Most Canadians will never explore the vast islands and archipelagos of our northern territories. The Arctic is simply too isolated, too difficult to reach.
But if we can’t easily explore the North, we can at least learn its history. And much of that tale has been fuelled by the hunt for the fabled Northwest Passage.
Lost Beneath the Ice: The Story of the HMS Investigator is a great primer for readers unfamiliar with the Arctic exploration story. Commissioned by Parks Canada and published by Dundurn Press, the coffee-tablestyle book is filled with photos and paintings that are accompanied by a gripping but brisk text written by Ottawa author and journalist Andrew Cohen.
The Investigator was one of the many ships that sailed in the mid-1800s in search of the lost Franklin expedition. In 2010, Parks Canada archeologists discovered the wreckage of the ship.
The book is divided into two parts — the first provides a history of the ship, and its captain and crew, and the second tells the story of the exploration of the wreck site. Aficionados of Arctic history may find this light reading. But newcomers to the story of the North will find plenty to hold their interest.
— Mark Collin Reid (Read bio)
Mark Collin Reid is the Editor-in-Chief of Canada's History.