num_pages: 304
description: A legend, a land once seen and then lost forever, Thule was a place beyond the edge of the maps, a mystery for thousands of years. And to the Nazis, Thule was an icy Eden, birthplace of Nordic “purity.” In this exquisitely written narrative, Joanna Kavenna wanders in search of Thule, to Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Greenland, and Svalbard, unearthing the philosophers, poets, and explorers who claimed Thule for themselves, from Richard Francis Burton to Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. Marked by breathtaking snowscapes, haunting literature, and the cold specter of past tragedies, this is a wondrous blend of travel writing and detective work that is impossible to set down. RVIEW: Thule, real or not, is ripe and beguiling material for a literary and geographic adventurer, and Kavenna is formidable on both fronts. . . . Highly cerebral, erudite, refreshing. (The New York Times Book Review)
language: English
title: The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule
titlecomplete: The Ice Museum: In Search of the Lost Land of Thule
genres: Historical, History, Mythology, Adventure, Memoir, Geography, Nature, Folklore, Travel, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 243
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Guardian First Book Award
category: Longlist, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year
publisher: Penguin Books