Ada Blackjack Audiobook By Jennifer Niven cover art

Ada Blackjack

A True Story of Survival in the Arctic

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Ada Blackjack

By: Jennifer Niven
Narrated by: Laural Merlington
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About this listen

In September 1921, four young men and Ada Blackjack, a diminutive 25-year-old Eskimo woman, ventured deep into the Arctic in a secret attempt to colonize desolate Wrangel Island for Great Britain. Two years later, Ada Blackjack emerged as the sole survivor of this ambitious polar expedition. This young, unskilled woman - who had headed to the Arctic in search of money and a husband - conquered the seemingly unconquerable north and survived all alone after her male companions had perished.

Following her triumphant return to civilization, the international press proclaimed her the female Robinson Crusoe. But whatever stories the press turned out came from the imaginations of reporters: Ada Blackjack refused to speak to anyone about her horrific two years in the Arctic. Only on one occasion - after charges were published falsely accusing her of causing the death of one her companions - did she speak up for herself.

Jennifer Niven has created a compelling history of this remarkable woman, taking full advantage of the wealth of firsthand resources about Ada that exist, including her never-before-seen diaries, the unpublished diaries from other primary characters, and interviews with Ada's surviving son. Ada Blackjack is more than a rugged tale of a woman battling the elements to survive in the frozen north - it is the story of a hero.

©2003 Jennifer Niven (P)2020 Tantor
Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Arctic & Antarctica Women Polar Region
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Incredible Survival Story • Brave Resilient Heroine • Well-researched Detailed Account • Thrilling Adventure Tale
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I enjoyed listening to a story of how strong and resilient Ada was while faced with so many difficulties in her life.

Ada’s amazing story of survival

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Ada Blackjack’s story is long and enduring, but this book is full of the facts of her life and the circumstances surrounding her heroic survival, as well as the men who played a role in her story. Highly recommend this read.

Inspirational

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What a sad book. It would seem that the story of the actual expedition is sandwiched between numerous accounts of of deceit and greed surrounding it. I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book besides a harrowing adventure tale. What I got was an underlying current of greed.

Exposè on the arctic and human greed

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I write this as a native Alaskan who knew of vilhjalmur stefansson and nothing of Ada Blackjack. The story starts slowly, but is thrilling in it’s detail. It gives much on the ethno-culture of the adventurers and nothing of Ada’s. This would have enlightened the culture clash on Wrangel. Some mispronunciations of Alaska names!

A wonderful woman

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Loved this story. I particularly live how the last section of the book is devoted to what happened after the exploration. If it didn't include that, I would have been on the internet for hours.

Someone we should be learning about in school!

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Always love true stories of long forgotten strong women. Too many are forgotten and or overlooked.

Story of a brave woman

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Reader was a bit deadpan.
Story itself was fascinating. The degree of prejudices and stereotypes in that time period are so disheartening even though many of those still exist today.

Ada’s will to live

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Written and told well. Ada Blackjack is a true survivor and hero. I really enjoyed this book.

Compelling adventure!

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Liked the whole story ads was a very brave woman to be admired and looked up to

Brave woman

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First of all, somebody needs to make this into a movie or Netflix series. This story of a young, insecure "eskimo" woman who endures the most trying life of survival and self discovery should be known to the world. The author does an excellent job of leading you piece by piece through the maze of trials and tribulations of the expedition and the aftermath of societal horrors put upon both Ada and the families of the deceased explorers.

one of the most incredible stories I've ever heard

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