Madhouse at the End of the Earth - Julian Sancton

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Rebecca)

A new boat enters the fray! This was the (true) story of the Belgica, a Belgian expedition to discover, they hoped, the magnetic south pole, among other things. The Belgica set sail in the late 1890s, so only a couple decades before the Endurance, and like her, she got VERY stuck in the ice. It was really fascinating to read about two VERY similar stories, and how wildly different they turned out. The story of the Belgica really hinged on the psychological effects of being helplessly stranded in the Antarctic for two years, and how much isolation can effect people, especially in the cold and dark--several of the men experienced psychotic breaks. It was often a bummer to read (although almost everyone survived), and really just read like a real-life series of unfortunate events right from the beginning, but it was incredibly interesting. But seriously though, what a ride from start to finish.