Only July 27, 1991, the Sovetskiyok/Soyuz , a Russian nuclear-powered ship, sailed from Murmansk on a three-week luxury cruise across the polar ice cap. Fisher, a nuclear physicist from the University of Miami, was among the passengers. Into this engaging day-by-day account of the voyage, he deftly intersperses stories of earlier expeditions in search of the Pole--those of Hansen, Andree, Peary, Cook, Byrd and others.

 

To Fisher, the cruise was of scientific interest; to most of his fellow-passengers, it was simply an exciting trip to nowhere, with the thrill of danger. Fisher found his cabin too hot, the menus elaborate, the food awful. The early explorers experienced life-threatening situations daily; the cruise passengers enjoyed champagne-and-vodka parties on the ice. The voyage ended at Provideniya, easternmost city in Siberia. Fisher gives a vivid portrait of the extensive pollution there. Hardcover, DJ, New.