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Ejnar Mikkelsen

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Against the Ice: The Classic Arctic Survival Story Kindle Edition

by Ejnar Mikkelsen (Author), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Foreword), Maurice Michael (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 372 ratings

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Now a major Netflix film co-written by and starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones)

The harrowing, amazing, and often amusing personal account of two mismatched Arctic explorers who banded together to keep themselves sane on an historic expedition gone horribly wrong

Ejnar Mikkelsen was devoted to Arctic exploration. In 1910 he decided to search for the diaries of the ill-fated Mylius-Erichsen expedition, which had set out to prove that Robert Peary’s outline of the East Greenland coast was a myth, erroneous and presumably self-serving. Iver Iversen was a mechanic who joined Mikkelsen in Iceland when the expedition’s boat needed repair.

Several months later, Mikkelsen and Iversen embarked on an incredible journey during which they would suffer every imaginable Arctic travail: implacable cold, scurvy, starvation, frostbite, snow blindness, plunges into icy seawater, impossible sledding conditions, Vitamin A poisoning, debilitated dogs, apocalyptic storms, gaping crevasses, and assorted mortifications of the flesh. Mikkelsen’s diary was even eaten by a bear.

Three years of this, coupled with seemingly no hope of rescue, would drive most crazy, yet the two retained both their sanity as well as their humor.

Indeed, what may have saved them was their refusal to become as desolate as their surroundings…

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who co-adapted the book into a screenplay, provides the foreword to this new edition of the classic exploration memoir, which was one of The Explorer's Club’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century.

Originally published as Two Against the Ice: A Classic Arctic Survival Story and a Remarkable Account of Companionship in the Face of Adversity. Translated from the Danish by Maurice Michael.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This book can boast one advantage that other recently published titles on Arctic exploration cannot: it comes straight from the author's pen (or rather, the translator's), not from a researcher. Although the events described in the book took place over 90 years ago, this is the first time the account has been published in the U.S. Mikkelsen and Iver Iversen, a ship's mechanic, set off sledging across Greenland to retrieve the diaries of three other Danish explorers who perished during a previous expedition. Mikkelsen wrote that he was the type of person who had his mind on the end goal, and not so much on the immediate details-- not a good trait for an Arctic explorer when even the smallest oversight can be fatal. Amazingly, both he and Iversen survive the two-year jaunt despite frostbite, scurvy, and near-starvation. Readers will be amazed and amused by the way the two explorers keep their spirits about them and downplay the terrifying dangers as though it were all in good fun. Fascinating and fun reading. Gavin Quinn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"One of the Hundred Best Books of Twentieth-Century Exploration"
-- The Explorer's Club

"Readers will be amazed and amused by the way the two explorers keep their spirits about them and downplay the terrifying dangers as though it were all in good fun. Fascinating and fun reading."
-- Booklist

"Mikkelsen is an artisan of cold places, and if his labors are mighty and consuming, they are also of love."
-- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Ejnar Mikkelsen (1880-1971) was a veteran of expeditions to Arctic Greenland, Siberia, and Alaska before directing the ill-fated Alabama expedition. Following that ordeal, Mikkelsen continued to lead expeditions to the "earthly paradise" of Greenland in 1925 and 1932. He made his final trip to that same stretch of inhospitable coast in 1964; by this time Greenlanders were addressing him affectionately as “Grandfather.” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is a Danish actor and producer who co-adapted Mikkelsen’s classic Arctic survival story into the Netflix feature film in which he also stars. Widely known for his work on Game of Thrones, Coster-Waldau is a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, drawing public attention to issues such as gender equality and climate change.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpt from the Foreword by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark was working as the costume designer on an adaptation of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale that was being directed by a good friend of mine, Peter Flinth. During filming, she suggested that the memoir Two Against the Ice by Ejnar Mikkelsen would make a great movie. As a good, proud subject, Peter then sent a copy of the book to me. It was 2011, and I was in Bolivia working on a fictional story about what would have happened if Butch Cassidy had lived out his days in the mountains there. Reading Two Against the Ice, I was struck by how reality often is stranger and more extreme than fiction. I have always been attracted to stories of explorers, tales of men and women who knowingly put themselves in harm’s way in the pursuit of adventure and discovery. Mikkelsen’s story grabbed hold of me and did not let go.
At the turn of the previous century, Arctic explorers — alpha males born with incredible self-belief in their abilities to achieve the impossible — traveled to places where nature held no respect for human life. Risking their lives to go where no man had gone before, many of them perished.
What set the story told in Two Against the Ice apart is that it featured two men who were the unlikeliest of companions. Ejnar Mikkelsen, an experienced explorer, ends up with a young mechanic, Iver Iversen, who only joined the expedition to Greenland that Mikkelsen was leading when its original mechanic turned out to be useless and a drunk. Iver had little if any ambition and zero experience in the Arctic.
So, when Mikkelsen needed a volunteer to accompany him on an arduous journey, it was surprising that it was the rookie Iversen who stepped up and threw himself into what he believed would be a few months of adventure.
These few months became three long years during which the two men battled the ice and deadly cold of the Arctic, managing to survive by virtue of companionship, friendship, and an unwavering trust in each other.
Within this book there is a particular moment that made me want to adapt it into a movie. . .
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Copenhagen
October 2021

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09CKRV6FW
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Steerforth (January 11, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 11, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 13259 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 225 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #680,556 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #45 in History of Arctic & Antarctica
- #290 in Arctic & Antarctica History
- #888 in Expeditions & Discoveries World History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 372 ratings

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4.6 out of 5

372 global ratings

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K

Very good book

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024

Great read

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2023

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After watching the Netflix film of this true story I decided to read the book. The book is a first hand account told by Ejnar. It is an incredible survival ordeal under the harshest of artic conditions imaginable. I know I would have perished on that ice cap after going 50 miles in the storms and freezing climate, not to mention the 700 plus miles these two hardy explorers traveled. I believe the Netflix version is a disservice to Iverson who was a very tough and resilient person. Iverson really saves Ejnar's life by caring for him during his scurvy illness. You have to give those Danes the utmost respect for having the DNA to survive subzero temperatures with hardly any food. It is an incredible tale, Watch the Netflix first, then read the book. Also, Greenlanders should erect a statue of a sled dog to pay tribute to a tough breed of canines.

2 people found this helpful

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Lee

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2023

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Excellent read on early explorers centered on friendship & isolation.

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H-T

Friendship and Trust for Survival

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2023

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I bought this book out of IMPULSE when I was reading White Eskimo (another book about Greenland expedition by Knud Rasmusen). The news of missing Mikkelsen's expedition was lightly mentioned in the book, so I became interested in Mikklesen and bought this book. I was right! I see two great things in Mikkelsen's book.
1. First person writing. The author is Mikkelsen himself who explored and survived three winters in Eat Greenland. It's REAL.
2. The book made me re-think of a spiritual power of true friendship. The human relationship - mutual trust and dedication of Mikkel;sen and Iversen - works as a miracle in dire, seemingly endless, life-death extreme situation. Amazing that they were NOT the friends before this expedition, but their encounter was rather accidental on the way to Greenland. What a life!

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2023

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Despite the negative reviews of the book, and after watch the movie version, I decided to read the book. Classic story of survival and how the will to live pushes the two explores to do whatever is necessary to survive. The reviews that talked negatively about the dogs was not as horrific as some reviews described. I enjoyed the read and would recommend it.

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khp

One of the best reads I have had for a long time

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2022

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The shear will to survive and the distances they traveled is insane. Excellent story from a different time. How they hunted and what they had to eat will make me appreciate every meal I have.

8 people found this helpful

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MXS

Ingrossing

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2022

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Well written, captivating account of adventure. The author must have been a fascinating individual.

6 people found this helpful

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Kari G.

Survival in the most unwelcoming environment

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2022

In Against the Ice, Ejnar Mikkelsen and Iver Iverson head off to northern Greenland to find evidence of what happened to the Mylius-Erichsen expedition. From the start, their expedition is plagued with misfortune. The men find themselves trapped in the article for three years, struggling for survival.

WHAT I LIKED: Why on earth people are so eager to explore the Arctic is beyond me. I’m always amazed when I think about the ability of humans to survive, both physically and emotionally. It took me a while to get into the book, but I ended up really enjoying this tale of Spartan endurance.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: The old-fashioned language was mildly off-putting at first, and the treatment of the sled dogs seemed to border on cruelty at times.

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Debbie Nielsen

book

Reviewed in Canada on August 31, 2023

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husband loves it

Cliente Amazon

Não ficção recomendado aos amantes do desafio só extremo.

Reviewed in Brazil on January 8, 2023

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Me imaginar dentro de um dos personagem é o que me lança a este tipo de literatura não ficcional. O autor foi eroico em manter um diário apesar de todas as adversidades enfrentadas.

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A South pole Inn patron

Epic journey by two intrepid Danes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2023

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Came to the book after watching the Netflix drama, which was quite good in my opinion.....The journey Mikkelsen and Iversen undertook is amazing and could never been accomplished alone, they really helped each other in so many ways in the many months they were in inhospitable Greenland.....The account is even more astounding knowing that Iver was on the expedition as an ship engineer and through the circumstances that befell the party volunteered to go with Mikkelsen just added to this duos kudos in what they accomplished together.....A fantastic read.

Grey Nomad 15

Inspiring

Reviewed in Australia on October 28, 2023

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This is an inspiring account and very well told.

Helmut Grokenberger

Terrific Arctic Adventure

Reviewed in Germany on October 24, 2006

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If you love people like Shackleton, Worsley, Mawson, Johansen, Albanow, and other (ant)arctic explorers, you will like this book too. Very good reading, incredible survival story, plus an often humorous style. Highly recommended.

PS: I wonder why no one thought of turning this into a movie...

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