Book Talk Tuesday!

Buddy Levy's "Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition"

Those of you who have been with us for a while know that we have a Non-Fiction Book of the Month Club here at JoeBlogs! Yeah, it’s been a while. That’s my fault entirely. Our intrepid book editor, Talia, and our awesome book panels have been working. This was supposed to be our January Book of the Month.

But I’m hoping that now we are back on track.

Before I hand the microphone over to Talia, let me offer up a couple of book thoughts myself.

1. Barnes & Noble is having a special preorder offer for members — if you type in PREORDER25 at checkout, you can get, I don’t know, BIG FAN (out May 19) for 25% off the regular price PLUS you will get your usual 10% off for being a member. So that’s like, um, I’m not good at math, but, like, that’s some money off!

2. My pal Mike Vaccaro’s new book, The Bosses of the Bronx, about the House of Steinbrenner, is now officially on sale. Mike and I talk to Vac on this week’s PosCast.

Oh, and one last thing: Talia has put together a survey for anyone and everyone who would like to be on a book panel and a part of our Non-Fiction Book Club. Now that we’re back up and going, I can promise you that it will be a lot of fun. There really aren’t many non-fiction book clubs out there — in the clubs, it’s mostly romance and fantasy and romantasy and fantance and all that.

And, look, I love fiction. But, obviously, I believe there’s something very special about non-fiction, something about true stories that, when told well, lift us up and break us apart and remind us what it is to be human.

Anyway, fill out Talia’s survey. Come be a part of this.

OK, let’s hand this thing over to Talia, finally. Sorry it took so long!

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Book of the Month: Labrynth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Exploration

The Panel: Destiny of the Republic

The Members: David Matson, Jonathan Levey, Scott Rose, Frank Ackerman, Jeff Hilzinger, Matthew Hemmer, Andrew Lachow, Bill Carmichael, Benjamin Burnham, Alan Elias

The Book: Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy

Content Warning: This book contains mentions of suicide, discussions of mental illness, some upsetting scenes involving sled dogs, and graphic descriptions of injuries, death, and general human suffering. It can be a difficult read at times, so take care when encountering any topics that may be particularly sensitive to you.

Supplemental Reading:

• For an incredibly important reinvestigation of the murder of Emmett Till that refuses to look away and unearths long-hidden truths: The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson

• For some historical potpourri: One Summer: America 1927 by Bill Bryson

• For fans of Transformers — only non-sentient cars become non-sentient planes, and also it’s World War II — The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime

• For those of you who read Tommy Tomlinson’s wonderful Dogland and thought, “I wish Striker was a horse,” Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand

• For a look at the lives of West Point cadets: Absolutely American by David Lipsky

• For an Old West range war, 21st century style: The Crazies: The Cattleman, The Wind Prospector, and a War Out West by Amy Gamerman

Happy New Year, everyone (Joe Note: See, I TOLD YOU this was supposed to run a while ago). Welcome to the first Book of the Month of 2026! My resolution is to make more of my hopes and dreams for this club a reality.

Please keep an eye on your email for panel assignments! I’ll start by inviting the people I already have on my list; if your interests or desired level of participation have changed in any way, please let me know ASAP so I can adjust accordingly.

I’d also like to remind everyone that JoeBlogs still has a Discord Channel (really!) and it’s open for business. I’d really like to get that hopping this year as well. If you’re not a Discord member: Here’s your invitation!

If Discord is not your thing, please email me, and I’ll send you any relevant updates (but I encourage you to join! It’s an easy sign-up and a great way to chat with everyone).

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Now let’s talk about Labyrinth of Ice.

Here’s panel member Bill Carmichael’s delightfully succinct submission message:

“It is an incredible adventure read. Levy is extremely talented when it comes to narrative nonfiction.”

Bill was totally right. Labyrinth of Ice is a detailed account of the 1881 Lady Franklin Bay Expedition led by Lieutenant Adolphus W. Greely of the U.S. Army.

The goals of the expedition were relatively simple:

1. Establish “the northernmost of a chain of a dozen research stations around the Arctic” as part of the International Polar Year effort.

2. Look for the men of the USS Jeannette who had gone missing two years prior on their own voyage to the North Pole.

3. Attain Farthest North, snatching the honor from Britain, the holders of the record for three hundred years.

But it was the 1800s. So nothing was really simple, except for, like, growing an incredible mustache and then dying.

If you’ve ever seen a film by the Coen Brothers, you’ll likely be familiar with this idea: everything that can go wrong will go wrong, especially when there is some sort of ludicrous plan to get rich quick or steal your love rival’s wife.

Here, though, the expedition was meticulously planned, with contingency plans set, resupply ships scheduled, previous failures studied … and still, pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

You’ll get to experience the story from a few perspectives, including: Greely and his expedition team, the men chosen to lead various rescue attempts, and (maybe my favorite) Greely’s devoted wife, Henrietta.

When resupply and rescue missions failed, and the government seemed ready to give up on what they considered a lost cause, Henrietta worked tirelessly to bring her husband and his men home. She reached out to valuable friends and connections working in the government and in the news to build a campaign that put Greely’s name and predicament in the headlines. This eventually reached President Arthur himself. Oh, and she did all this while taking care of two young daughters.

Labrynth of Ice is a remarkable (and incredibly well researched) tale of survival and resilience, but it’s also heavy with unimaginable loss and suffering. If you’ve ever wanted to be made particularly grateful for your favorite reading chair, blanket, and steaming mug of tea, Labyrinth of Ice will help you get there.

And it’s exactly what a JoeBlogs Book of the Month should be — I had to remind myself again and again that it is, in fact, a true story. When you have a story of men stranded on miles-wide ice floes, bulletproof walruses, shipwrecks, threats of mutiny, and literal kegs of lime juice, you’ll also catch yourself thinking this sounds like something only Hollywood could dream up.

The one thing that always feels true is the painfully slow government action and finger-pointing.

I was positively riveted by Labyrinth of Ice, and blasted through hundreds of pages like a steamer through pack ice (arguably with even more efficiency, and fortunately without sinking to the bottom of the ocean).