TRIAL BY ICE The True Story of Murder and Survival on the 1871 POLARIS Expedition

Eager for a nation-building quest to bolster the country after the Civil War, the United States organized an expedition to the North Pole in 1871. The POLARIS fell well short of its goal, and its captain, Charles Francis Hall, died mysteriously only a few months into the journey. Paul Hecht's timbre is pleasing (essential in a 12-hour recording), his tone measured, and his misreadings few. It's too bad he doesn't put a little more into his narrative, though. Parry has deftly sketched the characters in this real-life murder mystery (it turns out Hall was poisoned), but Hecht doesn't capitalize on the inherent drama in the text. D.B. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]