About this item

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 captain 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. The commandant sailed on, and soon the Belgica was stuck fast in the icy hold of the Bellinghausen sea. When the sun set on the magnificent polar landscape one last time, the ship's occupants were condemned to months of endless night.