Yuri Rytkheu

When ice traps John MacLennan's ship in the Bering Strait in 1910, the youthful sailor blows up his hands trying to widen a small fissure with dynamite.

Local Chukchi men take him by dogsled to a medicine woman, but gangrene sets in and John's hands have to be amputated. Then strong winds break the ice shelf and his ship sails off without him ...

John gradually adapts to his handicap, adopting Chukchi ways and finding friendship, and love, among his hosts. Even his role in the tragic, accidental death of his best friend pulls him deeper into the community's folds.

A remarkable tale of resilience and reconciliation set in one of the most majestic and inhospitable environments on earth.

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Last modified on April 30, 2008  | © Telegram 2005