Into the Ice

“Part travelogue, part historical mystery and part memoir, “Into the Ice” will appeal to fans of extreme adventure stories, nearly all of whom will never sail a boat through the Northwest Passage.” —Associated Press

“Many people reassessed their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mark Synnott, an accomplished mountaineer and writer, decided it was a good time to refit his sailboat, the Polar Sun, and navigate the Northwest Passage—the icy arctic waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans…. Mr. Synnott’s narrative often brings readers onto the boat with him, sluicing through the icy waters.”—Wall Street Journal

“You can fill a lot of shelves with books about Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition…and whenever I see a new one I wonder: How will this be different? But Mark Synnott’s Into the Ice really is different—as well as informative, refreshingly honest, and page-turning.” —Sail Magazine

“This thrill ride of a voyage should please history buffs and armchair travelers alike.” —Shelf Awareness

“What an adventure this book is! There are those who love danger—the more extreme the better—and those whose idea of peril is taking the subway instead of an Uber. Both types will be enthralled by Mark Synnott’s book.” —Air Mail

“[A] swashbuckling tale.” —Conde Nast Traveler

“Synnott delivers a thrilling account of his 2022 journey through Canada’s inhospitable Arctic islands… while recapping heart-pounding encounters with blizzards, gales, polar bears, and an Arctic typhoon—all in a 47-foot fiberglass sailboat that could crack open like a walnut if caught in the ice…a page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A breathtaking journey through the far north! Boats, bears, bros, and the belated investigation of a century-old history mystery… What a book!” —Dana Snitzky, history and current affairs reviews editor, PW Picks

“Good history and a compelling extreme adventure.” —Kirkus

“Part historical detective story, part modern-day seafaring saga, Into the Ice paints an indelible portrait of the delicate yet perilous world of the Arctic. But Mark Synnott has also done something else. Out of gin-clear fjords, ice floes the size of Walmart Supercenters, and century-old Inuit tales of marooned British mariners, he’s crafted a moving parable on ambition, hubris, and the price of ignoring Indigenous voices in a beautiful yet haunted land.” —Scott Ellsworth, bestselling author of The Ground Breaking

“An extraordinary account of expedition sailing and painstaking historic detective work. Synnott writes with humility and grace born of deep experience in difficult situations. He’s as tough as they come but this voyage, the harrowing and heroic story of piloting Polar Sun, a 47′ fiberglass sailboat, through the Northwest Passage will leave you shivering and awestruck. Synnott and crew display a raw tenacity that rivals the early explorers they retrace, pressing on as the forbidding Arctic throws all it has at them. You will have to read the book to see if Synnott finds the lost tomb of Sir John Franklin, but there’s no doubt he rediscovers his spirit. Into the Ice will join the ranks of classic arctic literature, it’s a hell of a read.” —John Kretschmer, author of Sailing to the Edge of Time

“Weaving together maritime history, Inuit oral traditions, and modern climate science, Mark Synnott crafts a gripping tale of human ambition and folly in one of Earth’s most unforgiving environments. Into the Ice is both a thrilling modern adventure and a haunting meditation on how the Arctic shapes the destinies of those drawn to its icy waters, just as it did tragically nearly two centuries ago.” —Neil Shubin, author of the national bestseller Your Inner Fish and Ends of the Earth

“A reaffirmation that the spirit of exploration is thriving in the 21st Century. Into the Ice is a meeting of history, adventure and whodunnit that extends the thread of Arctic exploration from the first European expeditions to the present day, revealing how much has evolved over the centuries and how much remains unchanged.” —Felicity Aston, explorer and author of Polar Exposure