It's really refreshing to get a different kind of perspective on the doomed Franklin Expedition. A biographical sketch of the man who the expedition fell to after Franklin perished. He was the man that made the decision to attempt the unfathomable trek through the Arctic south to save his crew. You really get a sense of the man, a seasoned polar explorer who's melancholy career in the Navy as well as his personal life led him to make the fateful mistake of taking on this voyage. I very much enjoyed the narrative that shed new light to me on this subject. ( )

F. R. M. Crozier was born with one great advantage: His mind. He was born with two great disadvantages: His family -- and his mind.

The family disadvantage was more obvious. Frank Crozier, the Irishman, joined the British navy at a young age -- and, lacking family connections, found it hard to rise. This even though he quickly proved himself a more competent officer than many of those with better "blood."

As the years passed, he also developed a specialty: The Arctic. Other than his friend and commander, James Clark Ross, he was the best Arctic expert the British Navy had. That competence earned him a lunar crater and a place in the Royal Society. It didn't earn him promotion or recognition.

And that's where his mind held him back. Frank Crozier was an introvert, and he clearly suffered from more than a touch of depression. He couldn't speak for himself; his accomplishments had to do it. And, in a navy that was a tight little social club, accomplishments didn't speak all that loudly. As Crozier got older, and found it impossible to marry, and began to fall in love with women who were simply beyond his reach, he became more and more depressed.

Finally, he was chosen second-in-command of Sir John Franklin's Northwest Passage expedition. This was a strange, tossed-together affair. Crozier and Franklin got along well, even though Crozier was in love with Franklin's niece, but Crozier went to the Arctic in despair. 129 men went to the ice. Crozier may have been the only one who didn't want to make it back. When Franklin died, Crozier took charge. Given the mental state shown in his last letters, he may not have been up to the task. And, indeed, no one on the expedition survived.

This well-told book cannot read Frank Crozier's soul. We do not know, and probably will never know, exactly what happened. But if you want to make your own guesses, all the information you will need is here. ( )

Now this was a biography! Of all the books I've read this year on polar exploration and the Arctic/Antarctic, I would say this was the best. It definitely tops Fluhmann's Second in Command: A Biography of Captain Francis Crozier by a long shot. Written in a very readable style, this book tells up of Crozier's life.

The main difference between this book and Fluhmann's book was the amount of information given to the reader about Crozier's life before the Franklin Expedition. I was, quite frankly, amazed at how much this man accomplished and how little credit he was given. And Smith writes in such as manner as to make this work of nonfiction exciting! It was a page-turner and I didn't want to put it down. He doesn't bore you with extra facts, attempting to show you how much research he did to write this either. You get the facts you need to understand what happened and every once in a while, an interesting little fact (did you know there's a crater on the moon named after Crozier?).

If you want a comprehensive look at one of the most accomplished and least acknowledged explorers, I would definitely look into this book. It will definitely be one of my in the near future. ( )