Madhouse at the End of the Earth—Julian Sancton’s exquisitely researched and deeply engrossing account of the Belgica’s disastrous Antarctic expedition—is a narrative of cascading system failures.

Bringing forward the release of Madhouse at the End of the Earth before Covid restrictions were eased on the grounds that it was the ultimate lockdown read. Or maybe now is the perfect time to publish it as, venturing gingerly out again, we find ourselves succumbing to lockdown nostalgia.

In graphic and meticulously researched detail Sancton describes the countless impediments that pushed these men to the brink of insanity.

Mr. Sancton conjures the fug of pipe smoke and unwashed men in the unventilated wardroom, the taste of kjøttboller—spongy canned meatballs resembling 'soft, colorless gobs'—and the pearly sheen of fluted icebergs.

... enthralling and beautifully written.

... a hair-raising study.

Sancton gives this extraordinary saga its first book-length treatment.

With a cast of intriguing characters and drama galore, this history reads like fiction and will thrill fans of Endurance and In the Kingdom of Ice. A rousing, suspenseful adventure tale..

Journalist Sancton debuts with a riveting account of the first polar expedition to spend the winter south of the Antarctic Circle.