This is the story of a crew who tested the theory that the polar ice moves over the north pole and melts away again on the other side. By building a sturdy ship that could withstand the shifting of large blocks of ice and allow itself to be pushed up on top of them, they rode the ice over the top of the earth and emerged on the other side. It's not as harrowing a tale as some of the expeditions that ended in disaster, but I found it lovely to vicariously experience this voyage from over a hundred years ago.