Wednesday online event documents a trial by ice

(Photo: St. Martins Press)

Stories of explorers doing great deeds and facing great challenges have always made for great reads. And, apparently, there are as many such stories as there are frontiers to probe.

Some are clearly more famous than others, including – and maybe even especially – the failures. The ill-fated 1912 Scott expedition to the South Pole is a well-documented example.

Author Buddy Levy tells a story that is a bit of both in his nonfiction book “Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition.” Levy and his book will be the focus of a special virtual event that will be held online at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Levy’s book focuses on the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition. Led by U.S. Army Lt. A.W. Greely, a group of 24 scientists and explorers set out during the summer of 1881 to trek farther north than anyone ever had. The intent was both to do science on climate and nature and to win acclaim for the United States.

Misfortune turned the expedition into something of a nightmare, though, delaying the expedition’s return for far longer than anyone dared imagine – and putting the lives of every team member at serious risk.

As critic Gabino Iglesias wrote for National Public Radio , “Levy masterfully retells their story using letters, journals, other books, and telegrams. With cinematic prose, great economy of language, and vivid descriptions, Levy places readers in the middle of the action and makes them see the snow, feel the hunger and the tension, and hear the cracking of the ice, which the men called ‘the Devil’s symphony.’ ”

Levy will be joined by Kim Barnes , author of several book, both fiction and nonfiction. Best known for her 1996 memoir “In the Wilderness.” Her 2012 novel “In the Kingdom of Men” was named a best book by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, and The Oregonian.

You can purchase a copies of both books at Auntie’s Bookstore. The virtual event, though, is free.

Click here to register.