Julian Sancton

August 1897: The Belgica set sail, eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. But the ship soon became stuck fast in the ice of the Bellinghausen sea, condemning the ship's crew to overwintering in Antarctica and months of endless polar night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness, their minds ravaged by the sound of dozens of rats teeming in the hold, they descended into madness.In this epic tale, Julian Sancton unfolds a story of adventure gone horribly awry. As the crew teetered on the brink, the Captain increasingly relied on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in captivity - Dr. Frederick Cook, the wild American whose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica; and the ship's first mate, soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, who later raced Captain Scott to the South Pole. Together, Cook and Amundsen would plan a last-ditch, desperate escape from the ice-one that would either etch their names into history or doom them to a terrible fate in the frozen ocean.

Un huis clos sur la banquise ! Une fascinante histoire d’ambition, d’héroïsme et de survie en Antarctique qui se lit comme un roman. En 1897, la Belgica quitte Anvers avec Adrien de Gerlache, jeune

Un huis clos sur la banquise ! Une fascinante histoire d’ambition, d’héroïsme et de survie en Antarctique qui se lit comme un roman. En 1897, la Belgica quitte Anvers avec Adrien de Gerlache, jeune

Ein Blick hinter die glanzenden Fassaden des Kolonialreichtums8. Juni 1708, Hochphase kolonialer Gewalt in der Karibik und Sudamerika: Der britische Commodore Charles Wager greift mit seiner Flotte die San Jose an, eine der letzten groen Galeonen. Denn er wei, das Flaggschiff der Silberflotte ist bis unters Deck mit Silber, Gold und Edelsteinen beladen. Beim Versuch, die San Jose zu entern/kapern, gelangt jedoch eine Kugel in die Pulverkammer mit einer gewaltigen Explosion sinkt das uberladene Schiff samt seiner Besatzung und seinem Schatz. Ein Zeitalter der Seefahrt geht zu Ende.Erbitterter WettstreitKnapp 300 Jahre spater: Der Unterwasserarchaologe Roger Dooley stot in einem Archiv auf Informationen zum Untergang der sagenumwobenen San Jose. Mit Feuereifer macht er sich auf die jahrzehntelange Suche nach dem Wrack und seinem milliardenschweren Schatz. Doch der vom Erfolg besessene Dooley ist nicht der Einzige, der alles auf eine Karte setzt der Wettlauf um die Bergung beginnt Hightech-SchatzsucheMit modernsten archaologischen Techniken und ausgefeilter Kartierung kommen Dooley und seine Rivalen dem Wrack immer naher. Doch wem gehort der Schatz heute uberhaupt? Es entfacht ein politischer und ethischer Konflikt um Eigentum und Kulturerbe, der bis heute rechtlich ungeklart ist.Das Gold der Karibik ist ein Drama aus dem echten Leben, ein maritimes Ratsel, ein wagemutiges Abenteuer und vor allem eine fesselnde Geschichte. Susan Casey, NY-Times-Bestsellerautorin von The Underworld

En agosto de 1897, el joven comandante belga Adrien de Gerlache partió para una expedición de tres años a bordo del barco Bélgica con sueños de gloria. Su destino era el extremo inexplorado de la Tierra: el continente helado de la Antartida.Pero los planes de Gerlache de ser el primero en llegar al Polo Sur magnetico se torcerian rapidamente. Tras una serie de costosos contratiempos, el comandante se enfrento a dos malas opciones: dar marcha atras derrotado y evitar a sus hombres el devastador invierno antartico, o perseguir temerariamente la fama adentrandose en las gelidas aguas. De Gerlache siguio navegando y pronto el Belgica quedo atrapado en las heladas aguas del mar de Bellingshausen. Cuando el sol se puso por ultima vez sobre el magnifico paisaje polar, los ocupantes del barco fueron condenados a meses de noche interminable. En la oscuridad, acosados por una misteriosa enfermedad y asediados por la monotonia, descendieron a la locura.En Manicomio del fin del mundo, Julian Sancton despliega una historia epica de aventuras y horror para la posteridad. Mientras los hombres de la Belgica se tambaleaban al borde del abismo, de Gerlache se apoyo cada vez mas en dos jovenes oficiales cuya amistad habia florecido en cautiverio: el unico estadounidense de la expedicion, el Dr. Frederick Cook -mitad genio, mitad estafador-, cuya infamia posterior eclipsaria su brillantez en la Belgica; y el primer oficial del barco, el que pronto seria legendario Roald Amundsen, incluso en su juventud la imagen de un marinero de libro de cuentos. Juntos planearian una huida del hielo a la desesperada, casi segura de fracasar, que grabaria sus nombres en la historia o los condenaria a un terrible destino en el fondo del oceano.Basandose en los diarios y cronicas de la tripulacion del Belgica y con acceso exclusivo al diario de a bordo, Sancton aporta un toque novelesco a una historia de extremos humanos, tan extraordinaria que aun hoy la NASA la estudia para investigar el aislamiento en futuras misiones a Marte. A partes iguales thriller maritimo y horror gotico, Manicomio del fin del mundo es un inolvidable viaje a las profundidades.

An epic of survival -- MICHAEL PALINA "grade-A classic" -- SUNDAY TIMESUtterly enthralling -- GEOFF DYER, GUARDIANDeeply engrossing -- NEW YORK TIMESLISTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, NEW STATESMAN, SUNDAY TIMESThe harrowing, survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly wrong, with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter.August 1897: The Belgica set sail, eager to become the first scientific expedition to reach the white wilderness of the South Pole. But the ship soon became stuck fast in the ice of the Bellinghausen sea, condemning the ships crew to overwintering in Antarctica and months of endless polar night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness, their minds ravaged by the sound of dozens of rats teeming in the hold, they descended into madness.In this epic tale, Julian Sancton unfolds a story of adventure gone horribly awry. As the crew teetered on the brink, the Captain increasingly relied on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in captivity - Dr. Frederick Cook, the wild American whose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica; and the ships first mate, soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, who later raced Captain Scott to the South Pole. Together, Cook and Amundsen would plan a last-ditch, desperate escape from the ice-one that would either etch their names into history or doom them to a terrible fate in the frozen ocean.Drawing on first-hand crew diaries and journals, and exclusive access to the ships logbook, the result is equal parts maritime thriller and gothic horror. This is an unforgettable journey into the deep.

full of heroism, greed, piracy, sunken treasure and adventure on the high seas... its even more remarkable because its true ERIC SCHLOSSER New York Times bestselling author of Command and Control and Fast Food Nationa splendid historical tale thats been researched meticulously and told exceptionally wellHAMPTON SIDES, New York Times bestselling author of The Wide Wide Seaa rousing slice of narrative history, and a rip-roaring tale from bow to sternTELEGRAPHThe riveting true story of a legendary Spanish galleon that sunk with over $1 billion in gold and silverand one mans obsessive quest to find itfrom the Sunday Times bestselling author of Madhouse at the End of the EarthRoger Dooley wasnt looking for the San Jose. But an accidental discovery in the dusty stacks of a Spanish archive in the 1980s led him to the story of a lifetimethe journey of a ship that had gathered a mountain of riches from the New World for a long-awaited delivery to the King of Spain nearly three centuries earlier. But that ship, the galleon San Jose, never reached its destination. Instead, the Spanish treasure fleet was drawn into a pitched battle with British ships of war off the coast of Cartagena. When the smoke cleared, the San Jose had disappeared into the ocean.Though a diver at heart, Dooley was an unlikely candidate to find the San Jose. Half Cuban by birth, he lived a life that stretched from the ballfields of Brooklyn to the shores of Castros Havana at the dawn of revolution, where he would help birth a fledgling nations diving program and make films with Jacques Cousteau, before finding himself placed on an international watch list and barred from the United States. Dooley had little in the way of serious credentials, yet his tenacity and single-minded devotion to finding the San Jose led him to breakthroughs once thought impossible. As he jousted with famous treasure hunters and well-funded competitors, Dooley ultimately homed in on a patch of sea that might contain a three-hundred-year-old shipwreckor nothing at all.Neptunes Fortune plunges into a rarified world through the eyes of an idiosyncratic protagonist, one whose work would spark the hopes of presidents and make real the dreams of a nation. This tale of temerity and treasure is a one-of-a-kind story of a lost fortune and the decades-long quest to shine a light on the bounty at the bottom of the sea.brilliantly written... if I were to choose one book to exemplify the fascination and folly of treasure-hunting, this would be it DAVID GIBBINS, author of A History of the World in Twleve Shipwrecksa thoroughly engrossing read SUSAN ORLEAN, bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library BookSancton is a masterful storyteller... Readers are in for a rare treat SCOTT ANDERSON, New York Times bestselling author of Lawrence in Arabia

En agosto de 1897, el joven comandante belga Adrien de Gerlache partió para una expedición de tres años a bordo del barco Bélgica con sueños de gloria. Su destino era el extremo inexplorado de la Tierra: el continente helado de la Antartida.Pero los planes de Gerlache de ser el primero en llegar al Polo Sur magnetico se torcerian rapidamente. Tras una serie de costosos contratiempos, el comandante se enfrento a dos malas opciones: dar marcha atras derrotado y evitar a sus hombres el devastador invierno antartico, o perseguir temerariamente la fama adentrandose en las gelidas aguas. De Gerlache siguio navegando y pronto el Belgica quedo atrapado en las heladas aguas del mar de Bellingshausen. Cuando el sol se puso por ultima vez sobre el magnifico paisaje polar, los ocupantes del barco fueron condenados a meses de noche interminable. En la oscuridad, acosados por una misteriosa enfermedad y asediados por la monotonia, descendieron a la locura.En Manicomio del fin del mundo, Julian Sancton despliega una historia epica de aventuras y horror para la posteridad. Mientras los hombres de la Belgica se tambaleaban al borde del abismo, de Gerlache se apoyo cada vez mas en dos jovenes oficiales cuya amistad habia florecido en cautiverio: el unico estadounidense de la expedicion, el Dr. Frederick Cook -mitad genio, mitad estafador-, cuya infamia posterior eclipsaria su brillantez en la Belgica; y el primer oficial del barco, el que pronto seria legendario Roald Amundsen, incluso en su juventud la imagen de un marinero de libro de cuentos. Juntos planearian una huida del hielo a la desesperada, casi segura de fracasar, que grabaria sus nombres en la historia o los condenaria a un terrible destino en el fondo del oceano.Basandose en los diarios y cronicas de la tripulacion del Belgica y con acceso exclusivo al diario de a bordo, Sancton aporta un toque novelesco a una historia de extremos humanos, tan extraordinaria que aun hoy la NASA la estudia para investigar el aislamiento en futuras misiones a Marte. A partes iguales thriller maritimo y horror gotico, Manicomio del fin del mundo es un inolvidable viaje a las profundidades.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The "exquisitely researched and deeply engrossing" (The New York Times) true survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly awry--with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter"The energy of the narrative never flags. . . . Sancton has produced a thriller."--The Wall Street JournalIn August 1897, the young Belgian commandant Adrien de Gerlache set sail for a three-year expedition aboard the good ship Belgica with dreams of glory. His destination was the uncharted end of the earth: the icy continent of Antarctica.But de Gerlache's plans to be first to the magnetic South Pole would swiftly go awry. After a series of costly setbacks, the commandant faced two bad options: turn back in defeat and spare his men the devastating Antarctic winter, or recklessly chase fame by sailing deeper into the freezing waters. De Gerlache sailed on, and soon the Belgica was stuck fast in the icy hold of the Bellingshausen Sea. When the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, the ship's occupants were condemned to months of endless night. In the darkness, plagued by a mysterious illness and besieged by monotony, they descended into madness.In Madhouse at the End of the Earth, Julian Sancton unfolds an epic story of adventure and horror for the ages. As the Belgica's men teetered on the brink, de Gerlache relied increasingly on two young officers whose friendship had blossomed in captivity: the expedition's lone American, Dr. Frederick Cook--half genius, half con man--whose later infamy would overshadow his brilliance on the Belgica; and the ship's first mate, soon-to-be legendary Roald Amundsen, even in his youth the storybook picture of a sailor. Together, they would plan a last-ditch, nearly certain-to-fail escape from the ice--one that would either etch their names in history or doom them to a terrible fate at the ocean's bottom.Drawing on the diaries and journals of the Belgica's crew and with exclusive access to the ship's logbook, Sancton brings novelistic flair to a story of human extremes, one so remarkable that even today NASA studies it for research on isolation for future missions to Mars. Equal parts maritime thriller and gothic horror, Madhouse at the End of the Earth is an unforgettable journey into the deep.