Stranded at the Top of the World

Mary R. Tahan is a Writer, Producer, and Documentarian, with a professional background in journalism and marketing.  Internationally renowned for her informational and educational series, she has authored scholarly articles and historical books, and produced/directed documentary films.  Her books, articles, and lectures/presentations focus on Antarctica and the Arctic.  As part of her research for her films and books on Polar exploration, Mary R. Tahan was awarded a residency and traveled to Antarctica by invitation of the Direccio n Nacional del Anta rtico (Instituto Anta rtico Argentino), where she performed on-site photography and videography of the Antarctic landscape, wildlife, and historical sites, as well as conducted interviews with scientists and curators. Her research has also taken her to Argentina, Norway, France, Russia, and England, where she has also interviewed descendants of early explorers of the Arctic and Antarctic.  She has presented her work at SCAR and EHAL  conferences, as well as at other international venues, and at CADIC-CONICET. 
Cornelia Lüdecke is a retired Professor for History of Natural Sciences at the University of Hamburg. She focuses on the history of polar research, meteorology, and oceanography. Since 1991, she is leading the German History of Polar Research Working Group. In 2001, she became Vice President and (2006-2009) President of the International Commission on History of Meteorology. In 2004, she founded the Action (later Expert) Group on History of Antarctic Research within SCAR, which she led until 2018. From 2012-2021, she was one of Vice Presidents of the International Commission on History of Oceanography. In the same year, she became Corresponding Member of the International Academy of the History of Science in Paris. She received the Reinhard Süring Medal in 2010 and the Paulus Award in 2019 both from the German Meteorological Society.

Chapter 1:  Introduction:  Norwegians and Germans in Spitsbergen (Svalbard).- Part I:  Visions of Northeast Land:  The Failed Herbert Schröder-Stranz Expedition.- Chapter 2:  German Interest in Spitsbergen.- Chapter 3:  Herbert Schröder-Stranz's Training Expedition for His Planned Northeast Passage (1912).- Chapter 4:  Three Long Christmas Treks, Wilhelm Eberhard's Disappearance, and Captain Alfred Ritscher's Lonely Journey Across the Ice.- Part II:  The Stranded:  Seven Men Marooned on an Iced-In Ship and in Hunter's Huts.- Chapter 5:  The Remaining Expeditioners:  Hermann Rüdiger, Christopher Rave, Einar Rotvold, Knut Stave, August Stenersen, and Julius and Jørgen Jensen.- Chapter 6:  The Scramble to Form Rescue Expeditions, and the Plight of the Stranded Expeditioners (February 1913).- Chapter 7:  The Arve Staxrud Expedition Coalesces:  Local Norwegian Experts, Sa mi Guides, Experienced Sled Dogs, Reliable Reindeer, and an Ice-Worthy Vessel.- Chapter 8:  The Stranded Expeditioners' Efforts to Save Themselves, and the Detrimental Rescue Activities of the Kurt Wegener Expedition.- Chapter 9:  The Arrival of the Schröder-Stranz Expedition's Four Norwegians in Advent Bay, and the Welcoming of Staxrud's Hertha at Green Harbour.- Part III:  Interspecies Cooperation and Perseverance:  The Arve Staxrud Rescue Expedition.- Chapter 10:  Staxrud's Rescue Expedition:  Embarking on the Northward Journey to Treurenberg Bay - with Daniel Nøis, Per Hansen, Klemet Samuelsen, Lussi, and Storm.