As with the vast majority, but not all, books that bite off huge taxonomic groups this one fails to provide detailed updated information on this group but does provide an overview and excellent illustrations. If you desire more than the basics purchase Johnsgard's books or some other title that limits its treatment. If its the basics that you desire its worth the money.

I know this is supposed to be a 'historical novel' about the famous Franklin Expedition but the author should at least stick to known facts. He has Graham Gore alive until about the last page when he in fact was dead before the trek to Back's Fish River began. Also, Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier - the only true Polar expert in the entire expedition - is portrayed constantly as the bad guy. Captain Crozier had been to the Arctic numerous times with Parry and to the Antarctic with Ross so he had experience in any ice condition. Sir James Clark Ross thought highly of him and called him his 'tried and trusty friend'. John Irving of the Terror wrote his sister how much he liked 'my Skipper'. Sir John Franklin only wanted to lead the expedition because of his political troubles in Tasmania and he was trying to heal his wounded pride. Captain Crozier had, in fact, commanded the Terror during Ross' Antartic expedition and conned his ship through many dangers. I can't understand why Fitzjames is made out to be the big hero when in fact he got where he was because of his friendship with Sir John Barrow's son. If you want to read an outstanding 'historical novel' about this famed expedition, then buy NORTH WITH FRANKLIN: THE LOST JOURNALS OF JAMES FITZJAMES by John Wilson. For the actual historical story itself (not a novel), you can't do any better than ARCTIC GRAIL by Pierre Berton, BARROW'S BOYS by Fergus Fleming and the 2 books by David C. Woodman (by far the best of them all): UNRAVELLING THE FRANKLIN MYSTERY and STRANGERS AMONG US. Don't waste your money buying THE BROKEN LANDS - I'm sorry I did.

The quest for the NorthWest Passage has always fascinated me. Reading accounts of Nansen, Frobisher and Hudson fuelled my early love for adventure and the North.

Broken Lands does not disappoint. This novel tells of an expedition into the Canadian North by the "Lion of the North," Sir John Franklin. The research that author Robert Edric must have done is showcased in the detailed account of the effects of extreme cold on the expedition's ships and sailors. He gives the North a distinct character in Broken Lands: one of a harsh, merciless adversary.

The characters are believable and the story is captivating. the descriptions of the Arctic are evocative and powerful. Edric writes for his audience. The combination of personal struggle and taut action makes Broken Lands immensely readable.

The Franklin expedition may not have happened exactly as Edric presents it, but after reading Broken Lands, it certainly feels possible. An excellent fictional supposition of what the expedition was like.

This short book focuses on what is an oft ignored segment of American History--the Reconstruction effort after the Civil War. Usually, Reconstruction is treated as a final chapter or sort of epilogue to many works on the war, but here Franklin attempts to devote an entire book to the various challenges presented to the North in the matter of reconstructing the shattered Union.

I'm not quite sure Franklin achieves his purpose here. The greater part of this book is confusing and difficult to follow, and in fact seems to state the same facts and cite the same incidents three or four different times. The picture Franklin paints of the post-war South is one of violence and depredations committed by such organizations as the Ku Klux Klan against a poor and defenseless African American class. He also portrays the Radical Republicans as trying to restore order and reconstruct the states, but also as just giving up ten years after the war and the election of Hayes. In between, there is a jumble of facts and incidents which show the inability of both parties (which I agree with) to successfully reconstruct the South. If this was an attempt to expose the injustices done to the Negroes by the ex-Confederate ruling class, I think the book achieved its purpose. If, however, it truly was meant to be a book on Reconstruction as a whole, it falls short. In fact, there is little of historical value that one could not gain by the final chapters in a good Civil War text.

If you are interested in black studies, this book will prove to be very useful. But, if you are seeking a thorough and well-written account of the post Civil War era, I recommend you keep looking.

Vulgar, pornographic, distasteful, has nothing to do with the election. It appears the author took a national near-tragedy and turned it into more of a farce than it was. This book does nothing to uplift the American people. We don't need "literature" like this.