Four against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World Audiobook, by David Roberts Play Audiobook Sample

Four against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World Audiobook

Four against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World Audiobook, by David Roberts Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Robertson Dean Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 7.17 hours at 1.5x Speed 5.38 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: June 2005 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781624607752

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

12

Longest Chapter Length:

86:29 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

11:26 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

53:44 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

25

Other Audiobooks Written by David Roberts: > View All...

Publisher Description

In 1743, a Russian ship was blown off course and trapped in ice off the coast of Svalbard (Spitzbergen), a barren Arctic island. Four sailors went ashore with only two days' supplies, and only twenty pounds of flour for food. Upon return they found the ship had vanished, apparently crushed and sunk by the ice. Blessed with courage and ingenuity, the men survived more than six years of unimaginable hardship—including polar bear attacks—until another ship blown off course rescued them.

An expert on the literature of adventure, David Roberts was incredulous when he first heard the story. His near-obsessive quest to find the true story culminated with his own journey to the same desolate island. Here, Roberts shares the remarkable story that he discovered, a meditation on the genius of survival against impossible odds.

Riveting and haunting, Four against the Arctic chronicles an incredible true story.

Download and start listening now!

"Fascinating. Amazing to see what people can endure and how "government" lets them down. Also interesting that this story is not as well known as that of the Donner Party. "

— Barbara (5 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “An inspirational survival story.”

    — Publishers Weekly
  • “The tale at the heart of this recording is one of the greatest feats of wilderness survival in history…Robertson Dean’s reading [is] well paced and keeps the narrative moving.”

    — AudioFile
  • “The book is an astonishing story, an almost unbelievable feat of survival.”

    — Booklist
  • “Dogged research and hard travel to distant places make for a gem in the literature of survival under dire conditions.”

    — Kirkus Reviews

Four against the Arctic Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3.27272727272727 out of 53.27272727272727 out of 53.27272727272727 out of 53.27272727272727 out of 53.27272727272727 out of 5 (3.27)
5 Stars: 1
4 Stars: 4
3 Stars: 3
2 Stars: 3
1 Stars: 0
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Author is full of himself "

    — Tim, 12/8/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Too long for its essence. The writer spent way too much time describing himself and his research than the "four against the arctic". The audio book is more than 10 hours long. Fortunately it is an audio book, so the time was not totally wasted, I still got my dishes washed. "

    — Tao, 11/28/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " After reading this book I ate some oranges. Scurvy...OUCH! "

    — Ellis, 1/13/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Interesting story but it was hard to finish and kind if anticlimactic. "

    — Amy, 8/27/2012
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Amazing story, but written a little slow. "

    — Gabrielle, 7/25/2012
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " It took a long time getting to the part I was interested in, which was about the men stranded in the arctic. Therefore, the book didn't turn out to be what I expected. Also, I guess I have a small vocabulary because there were way too many big words I didn't know or understand the meaning of. "

    — Cindy, 10/9/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Be warned, it doesn't resolve. The author puts as much research into learning about this obscure survival tale, even going so far as to visit the island where it was supposed to have occurred. But there is no definite detail or factual knowledge imparted regarding the supposed survival experience. "

    — Tim, 3/31/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I spend a good portion of my life telling this story...and I have done quite a bit of research regarding this event. He had some interesting sources, some of them not reliable. I think hindsight in any and all tragedies is 20/20. "

    — Heather, 4/19/2010
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Strangely fascinating, I would recommend this to anyone who wants to read about Mormons. I'm not sure if I really know anyone who does, but . . . . "

    — Colette, 3/10/2010
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Really Interesting. I had not idea about this part of American History. faith is faith. "

    — Amy, 7/22/2009
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Facinating! I learned a lot about the Mormons, both good and bad. I liked how the author got the last laugh in the editorial chapter. "

    — Marieke, 4/14/2009

About David Roberts

David Roberts (1943–2021) was the author of thirty books on mountaineering, exploration, and anthropology. His books won the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature and the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Book Competition.

About Robertson Dean

Robertson Dean has played leading roles on and off Broadway and at dozens of regional theaters throughout the country. He has a BA from Tufts University and an MFA from Yale. His audiobook narration has garnered ten AudioFile Earphones Awards. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he works in film and television in addition to narrating.