Madhouse at the End of the Earth Audiobook By Julian Sancton cover art

Madhouse at the End of the Earth

The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night

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Madhouse at the End of the Earth

By: Julian Sancton
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
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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 Journal

In 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.

©2021 Julian Sancton (P)2021 Random House Audio
Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Arctic & Antarctica Expeditions & Discoveries Historical World Polar Region Sailing Polar Exploration

Critic reviews

Madhouse at the End of the Earth [is an] exquisitely researched and deeply engrossing account of the Belgica’s disastrous Antarctic expedition. Sancton uses...an extraordinary treasure trove...to tease out the personalities and fears and rivalries of his subjects [in] his increasingly harrowing descriptions of life on the Belgica.” (The New York Times)

“An extraordinary tale of ambition, folly, heroism and survival, superbly told by Julian Sancton, who has rescued the Belgica’s story from relative obscurity and brought it to magnificent life...[a] splendid, beautifully written book.” (The Spectator)

“I started reading Madhouse at the End of the Earth...and I couldn’t stop. [It] reads like an adventure novel [and] is so detailed you can almost smell and taste it.” (Bon Appétit)

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Fascinating Expedition • Well-researched Account • Excellent Performance • Gripping Survival Tale • Historical Significance
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boldly written. succinctly performed. fast paced. the story kept me on the edge of my seat, I think most readers of adventure novels will enjoy it.

terror on the high seas

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Very good book on a little known chapter in the known history of the earth.

Loved the thorough research

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I loved every bit of it. the author and the narrator did a great job of telling this story. I was captivated from the beginning to end. it was exciting and suspenseful. Recommended for anyone interested in exploration.

worth it

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one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. the performance, the story, and especially the vivid descriptions of the crew are impeccable.

amazing

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Compelling account of the Belgica’s voyage, but found the narration irritating. Should have read the book so I could see Racovita’s cartoons. Had no idea Cook was a flim-flam man or that Amundsen vanished on a plane (spoiler alert). Good starting point for further polar explorations.

Great history, bad narrator

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Writing in an almost too hyperbolic and at times editorialized manner, often mirroring the florid style of Cook and no doubt other primary accounts, this is an excellent book. Well researched, down to even minute detail, and pulled together into a riveting and suspenseful story. I’d say the title is hyperbolic as the insanity portion of the book was a rather small (say 1/5th) component of the expedition. That said, the book is comprehensive and I love that it shows the Belgica’s and explorers’ expedition in a wider context of exploration, world politics, and ongoing and future maritime and polar conditions.

Narration is excellent and riveting. Looking forward to finding other books narrated by him.

Comprehensive, well researched, detailed, and riveting

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Fascinating account on exploration into uncharted and unknown waters of the Antarctic. I have read several narrations on Polar ventures. This one by Julian Sancton is one of the best.

Well read account by Vikas Adam

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Great story, well written…but poorly directed for the audiobook. Judging by the high reviews, I may be the only one who feel like this, but man…the reader is waaaay over the top on every. Single. Sentence.

Great story, overly dramatic reader

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The narration was a little overdramatic. But, it’s a great story, well-researched, and well-written.

Amazing story

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Too much detail in the beginning but once the ship is trapped very engrossing. Interesting characters. If you are familiar with Shackleton you will appreciate the critical difference of good vs poor leadership. Impressive job of research.

Engrossing tale once it gets going

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