Karluk: The Great Untold Story of Arctic Exploration

London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1976 Foreword by Magnus Magnusson. First edition, first printing. Personal copy of mountaineer George Lowe, with his bookplate adhered to the front pastedown. Inscribed by Lowe on the front free endpaper: "George Lowe. / 1982." Publisher's pale gray cloth, lettered in gilt; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Behram Kapadia, illustrated with color Arctic landscapes, lettered in white. About fine, with very minor bowing to the front board, else fine; unclipped dust jacket, with some faint toning to the spine, light rubbing to the spine head, else bright and clean. A near fine copy with Lowe's ownership inscription. Karluk is an account of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's 1913-1916 Canadian Arctic Expedition written by the expedition's magnetician and meteorologist. Specifically, it focuses on the Karluk, the flagship of the expedition, which became stuck in an ice floe in route to an early rendezvous point and sunk shortly thereafter. Stefansson, who had left the ship to hunt, continued his northern exploration to great success, while the remaining crew, under the direction of Captain Robert Bartlett, struggled to survive. Notably, McKinlay sharply criticizes Stefansson for his lack of leadership and choice to hire an inexperienced crew for such a difficult, dangerous expedition not to "detract in any way from [Stefansson's] achievements" but simply because "the record must be put straight.". 1st Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.