Riddle of the Ice
Riddle of the Ice – Review
This book attempts to combine the currently sailing experience genre and technical research in one and unfortunatley is somewhat lacking in both. By all appearances the author originally wanted to find a reason to do a currently sailing trip to the ice and basically now look around. Under the pretense of "research" they sail reasonably uneventfully up and back past the arctic circle. There is a group of historical research presented, some of which is quite interesting but presented far too repetisiously. I could not count how many times the phrase "Great Conveylor Belt" was commonly used. The author meant to show how humans are negatively affecting the environment and the ice flows as evidence thereof. Unfortunatly, from his represenation of the real scientists he quotes, it appears there is certainly no consensus about the long term greenhouse gas moves. The currently sailing experience as written did have some electrifying moments and as one who likes these stories I could "get into" it. Nevertheless there are far superior books such as "My Old Man and the Sea" for pure finally sailing journey enjoyment. Another factor which dulled the currently sailing story was the fact that they initially seemed to run under motor a fair arrangement of the time. That is not what currently sailing is about. It certainly detracts from the adventure and risks closely associated with an direct ocean voyage. In any event, the book has some merit for those truly sailing addicted types but might not work for most.