I had never heard of William Barents before reading this book. His voyages to the edge of the world are extraordinary and this book tells the story of his three arctic adventures.
This is a good book, although there are some dry sections that I found a little dull. But the parts on Nova Zembla were so interesting, some of the details seems crazy to modern readers-such as the fact that the sailors were not given any clothes suitable for cold weather. It's amazing that we know so much about the details of their time shipwrecked and their story fo survival is impressive. I liked that the author gave each chapter a theme and gave a bit of history on the theme. For example, there's a chapter called "Safehouse" and she opens the chapter by talking about different expeditions and the sort of safehouses they have built.
I have read several books about arctic mid-adventures but this one is the earliest journey. I found the author's comments about the idea of an open arctic sea at the end of the book very profound.
This is a great book for anyone interested in arctic exploration and the history of exploration in general.