Overview

Each year, for generations, poor, ill-clad Newfoundland fishermen sailed out “to the ice” to hunt seals in the hope of a few pennies in wages from the prosperous merchants of St. John’s. The year 1914 witnessed the worst in the long line of tragedies that were part of their harsh way of life.             For two long days and nights a party of seal hunters—132 men—were left stranded on an icefield floating in the North Atlantic in winter. They were thinly dressed, with almost no food, and with no hope of shelter against the snow or the constant, bitter winds. To survive they had to keep moving, always moving. Those who lay down to rest died.             This is an incredible story of bungling and greed, of suffering and heroism. With the aid of compelling, contemporary photographs, the book paints an unforgettable portrait of the bloody trade of seal hunting among the icefields when ships—and men—were expendable.

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9780385685061

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Reviews

Cassie Brown has done a magnificent job. It's been a long time since the appearance of a Canadian book that so graphically describes the horrible abuse and disdain with which the working man was treated in the early part of this century. - Calgary Herald Death on the Ice succeeds not only in capturing the essence of the event, but maintains an atmosphere of taut suspense up to the climactic rescue. A thriller. - Financial Post A compelling reconstruction of the 1914 'Newfoundland' disaster...invites comparison with The Naked and the Dead... - Newfoundland Herald

Cassie Brown has done a magnificent job. It's been a long time since the appearance of a Canadian book that so graphically describes the horrible abuse and disdain with which the working man was treated in the early part of this century. - Calgary Herald Death on the Ice succeeds not only in capturing the essence of the event, but maintains an atmosphere of taut suspense up to the climactic rescue. A thriller. - Financial Post A compelling reconstruction of the 1914 'Newfoundland' disaster...invites comparison with The Naked and the Dead... - Newfoundland Herald

Author Information

Cassie Brown was a Newfoundlander, born and bred. A successful writer of stage and radio plays, she was also a reporter and columnist for the Daily News in St. John’s for seven years. Her other works include A Winter’s Tale and Standing Into Danger.   Harold Horwood was also a native of Newfoundland. He is the author of several books.

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