Ken McGoogan has done it againwritten a vivid, real-life adventure that restores an extraordinary yet forgotten figure to his rightful place in exploration history. Among fur-trade experts, Samuel Hearne is grudgingly recognized as the eighteenth-century British adventurer who, during a remarkable three-year odyssey, became the first European to reach the Arctic coast of North America. In Ancient Mariner, McGoogan demonstrates that Hearne was far more complex, accomplished and influential than the history books suggest.
Beginning with Hearne’s entry into the Royal Navy at twelve years of age, McGoogan paints an authentic portrait of eighteenth-century British life, both on and off the wooden sailing ships. After serving as a midshipman during the tumultuous Seven Years’ War, Hearne moved to London and, in 1766, just twenty-one, joined the Hudson’s Bay Company. Based at the company’s northernmost fort, an ambitious Hearne embarked on an overland quest for rich veins of copper supposedly located “far to the northward where the sun don’t set”and also to discover the Northwest Passage.
In his posthumously published journal, Hearne described the three-year odysseya harrowing journey marked by hardship, hunger and disappointment, and mitigated only by his friendship with the legendary Dene leader Matonabbee. Hearne trekked more than 3,500 miles. His epic adventure culminated in the infamous and still-controversial massacre at “Bloody Falls”an event that, as McGoogan shows, changed him forever.
Drawing on naval history, fur-trade history and literary history, McGoogan portrays Hearne as a skilled navigator, a pioneering anthropologist, a ground-breaking naturalist and a gifted natural artist. He fell in love with a native woman and never fully recovered after she died tragically.
 In a fascinating bit of literary detective work, McGoogan also determines that, having returned to London to live out his final days, Hearne met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and inspired the poet to write “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” Suffused with McGoogan’s inimitable passion and insight, sparkling with discoveries and reinterpretations, Ancient Mariner is destined to become the non-fiction book of the fall season.

Ancient Mariner

McGoogan, Ken

History

Phyllis Bruce Books

With Lady Franklin’s Revenge, bestselling author KenMcGoogan (Fatal Passage, Ancient Mariner) delivers another pageturning biography that brings a remarkable historical figure vividly to life.Denied a role in Victorian England’s male-dominated society, Jane Franklin(17911875) took her revenge by seizing control of that most masculine ofpursuits, Arctic exploration, and shaping its history to her own ends.
Arguably the greatest woman traveller of the 19th century, LadyFranklin rode a donkey into Nazareth, sailed a rat-infested boat up the Nile,climbed mountains in Africa and the Holy Land, and, wearing petticoats, beat herway through the Tasmanian bush. 
When Sir John Franklin, her husband, disappeared into the Arcticin 1845, she orchestrated an unprecedented 12-year search, contributing more tothe discovery of the North than any celebrated explorer. Having failed to rescuethe hapless Franklin, she turned failure into triumph by creating a legend.
Richly detailed, panoramic in scope, this biography of theunforgettable Jane Franklin is destined to become a classic.

Lady Franklins Revenge

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Elisha Kent Kane, scion of a wealthy and influential Philadelphia family, became a legend of 19th-century America. Before he was 30, he had descended into a volcano in the Philippines, infiltrated a company of slave traders in West Africa and narrowly survived hand-to-hand combat in the Sierra Madre while carrying a secret message from the president of the United States. Yet Kane would achieve his greatest fame by exploring the High Arctic, an adventure that began when he sailed in search of the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin and the open water of an alleged “polar sea” around the North Pole. In the mid-1850s, Kane pushed farther north than any other voyager, then spent two years trapped in the ice before leading a desperate but heroic retreat that only added to his legend. Kane also enjoyed a secret love affair with a young Canadian-born spiritualist named Maggie Fox, a celebrated “spirit rapper” deemed unsuitable by his family. How this relationship combined with Kane’s tragic early death to deny him his rightful place in history is one of the most dramatic aspects of the book. Race to the Polar Sea tells the story of a romantic adventurer driven by dreams of glory. It is a tale of heroism, courage and conspiracy that evokes an age when the Arctic seemed a white, booming emptiness, beautiful and unknowable.

Race To The Polar Sea: The Heroic Voyage Of Elisha Kent Kane

World

The truth is that John Rae solved the two great mysteries ofnineteenth-century Arctic exploration: during a single expedition in 1854, hediscovered both the fate of the Franklin expedition and the only NorthwestPassage navigable by the ships of that time ― the fatal passage explorers hadbeen seeking for centuries. ― from Fatal Passage
Not long after he began reading the handwritten, 820-page diary of Scottishexplorer John Rae, Ken McGoogan realized that here was an astonishing story,hidden from the world for almost 150 years. McGoogan, who was originallyconducting research for a novel, recognized the injustice committed against Rae.He was determined to restore the adventurer’s rightful place in history as theman who discovered not only the grisly truth about the lost Franklin expedition,but also the final link in the elusive Northwest Passage.
Fatal Passage is McGoogan’s completely absorbing account of John Rae’sincredible accomplishments and his undeserved and wholesale discreditation atthe hands of polite Victorian society. After sifting through thousands of pagesof research, maps and charts, and traveling to England, Scotland and the Arcticto visit the places Rae knew, McGoogan has produced a book that reads like afast-paced novel ― a smooth synthesis of adventure story, travelogue andhistorical biography. Fatal Passage is a richly detailed portrait of a time whenthe ambitions of the Empire knew no bounds.
John Rae was an adventurous young medical doctor from Orkney who signed onwith the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1833. He lived in the Canadian wilds for morethan two decades, becoming legendary as a hunter and snowshoer, before he turnedto exploration. Famous for what was then a unique attitude ― a willingness tolearn from and use the knowledge and skills of aboriginal peoples ― Rae becamethe first European to survive an Arctic winter while living solely off the land.
One of dozens of explorers and naval men commissioned by the BritishAdmiralty to find out what became of Sir John Franklin and his two ships, Raereturned from the Arctic to report that the most glorious expedition everlaunched had ended with no survivors ― and worse, that it had degenerated intocannibalism. Unwilling to accept that verdict, Victorian England not onlyostracized Rae, but ignored his achievements, and credited Franklin with thediscovery of the Passage.
Fatal Passage is Ken McGoogan’s brilliant vindication of John Rae’slife and rightful place in history, a book for armchair adventurers, Arcticenthusiasts, lovers of Canadian history, and all those who revel in a story of physical courage andmoral integrity. Read an opinion piece by Ken McGoogan: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion1/stories/010415/5013219.html

Fatal Passage

Phyllis Bruce Books Perennial

PUBLISHED TO GREAT REVIEWS in Canada, the US and the UK, Ancient Mariner tells the riveting story of how Samuel Hearne―a sailor at 12, a northern explorer at 24, an admirer of Native peoples―became the first European to reach the Arctic coast of North America. Yet, as Ken McGoogan reveals, Samuel Hearne’s place in the history books has been a subject hotly disputed over the past two centuries. This fascinating saga, a skillful blend of literary detective work and finely imagined narrative, delights and surprises as it restores Hearne’s rightful place in history. 
PREVIOUS EDITION: 0-00-200098-9 
 PRAISE FOR ANCIENT MARINER “Brisk, readable books about great Englishmen don’t come much better than this. The story of Samuel Hearne has something for everyone.” The Observer (UK) “Compelling.... [Ancient Mariner] relates an often brutal tale with a surprising amount of grace and poetry.” Publishers Weekly

Lady Franklin's Revenge

When Sir John Franklin disappeared into the Arctic in 1845, it was his adventurouswife, Jane Franklin, who kept the search for him alive and, as a result, contributedmore to the discovery and mapping of the North than any explorer. A thirdmasterful biography from historian Ken McGoogan, Lady Franklin’s Revenge isthe richly documented story of a complex, ambitious Victorian―arguably thegreatest woman traveller of the 19th century― and the transformation of a failedexpedition into a triumphant legend. A Globe and Mail Book of the Year, andshortlisted for the Ontario Libraries Evergreen Award, Lady Franklin’s Revenge isan exquisitely illustrated epic adventure.

The true story of the remarkable John Rae - Arctic traveller and Hudson's Bay Company doctor - a tale of imperial ambition and high adventure. In 1854 Rae solved the two great Arctic mysteries: the fate of the doomed Franklin expedition and the location of the last navigable link in the Northwest Passage. But Rae was to be denied the recognition he so richly deserved. On returning to London, he faced a campaign of denial and vilification led by two of the most powerful people in Victorian England: Lady Jane Franklin, the widow of the lost Sir John, and Charles Dickens, the most influential writer of the age. With this is story of courage and determination, McGoogan aims to capture the essence of one man's indomitable spirit. It is his redemption of Rae's rightful place in history.

Reference

Transworld Publishers

Ken McGoogan chronicles Hearne's harrowing odyssey, which was marked by hardship, hunger and disappointment, and mitigated only by his friendship with the legendary Indian leader Matonabbee. Hearne's epic adventure culminated in the infamous massacre by the Coppermine River an event that became the cornerstone of his own book, Journey to the Northern Ocean, and changed his life forever. It was Hearne's own account of this atrocity that McGoogan believes inspired Samuel Coleridge's famous poem the "Time Of The Ancient Mariner". Haunted by guilt and sorrow, the explorer shared his story with the poet when they met in London.

BANTAM PRESS

When Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan carried the Maple Leaf into the Salt Lake City arena at the opening of the XIX Winter Olympic Games, she carried with her the hopes and dreams of a nation. The Canadian speed queen, famous for her 1,000-watt smile, had so dominated the 500-metre sprints during recent years that she was known as the Fastest Woman in the World. But Le May Doan was battling a famous jinx – the curse of the flag-bearer. In 2002, the jinx was broken, and Catriona thrilled Canadians at home and in Salt Lake City when she won the 500 metre race. In Going For Gold, Catriona tells the story of her life with assistance from Calgary writer Ken McGoogan. Born and raised in Saskatoon, by age 15 she already was a track star provincially. At 18, she joined Canada’s Olympic Team and began competing internationally. Then, at the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994, with experts predicting that she would reach the podium, the 23-year-old athlete crashed in her best event. She describes her dark night of the soul, and how, eventually, she emerged to skate faster than ever – faster than any other woman has ever skated. She writes of becoming a committed Christian and how that has changed her; of meeting and marrying Bart Doan, a black-hatted rodeo cowboy who wrestles steers, coaches hockey, and drives a Zamboni at the Calgary Olympic Oval. She writes of winning world cup races and world championships and Olympic gold medals, of driving world records down and down and down again to levels undreamed of even a few years ago. Catriona Le May Doan will be competing at the ISU world sprint championships in Calgary in January 2003 and, perhaps has her swan song at the world world championships in Berlin, Germany, in March 2003. A true star, Catriona values all these stunning accomplishments less than the letters she receives from young Canadians who look to her as a role model.

Going for Gold

Le May Doan, Catriona

MCCLELLAND STEWART

When Canadian speed skater Catriona Le May Doan carried the Maple Leaf into the Salt Lake City arena at the opening of the XIX Winter Olympic Games, she carried with her the hopes and dreams of a nation. The Canadian speed queen, famous for her 1,000-watt smile, had so dominated the 500-metre sprints during recent years that she was known as the Fastest Woman in the World. But Le May Doan was battling a famous jinx – the curse of the flag-bearer. In 2002, the jinx was broken, and Catriona thrilled Canadians at home and in Salt Lake City when she won the 500 metre race. In Going For Gold, Catriona tells the story of her life with assistance from Calgary writer Ken McGoogan. Born and raised in Saskatoon, by age 15 she already was a track star provincially. At 18, she joined Canada’s Olympic Team and began competing internationally. Then, at the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994, with experts predicting that she would reach the podium, the 23-year-old athlete crashed in her best event. She describes her dark night of the soul, and how, eventually, she emerged to skate faster than ever – faster than any other woman has ever skated. She writes of becoming a committed Christian and how that has changed her; of meeting and marrying Bart Doan, a black-hatted rodeo cowboy who wrestles steers, coaches hockey, and drives a Zamboni at the Calgary Olympic Oval. She writes of winning world cup races and world championships and Olympic gold medals, of driving world records down and down and down again to levels undreamed of even a few years ago. Catriona Le May Doan will be competing at the ISU world sprint championships in Calgary in January 2003 and, perhaps has her swan song at the world world championships in Berlin, Germany, in March 2003. A true star, Catriona values all these stunning accomplishments less than the letters she receives from young Canadians who look to her as a role model. From the Hardcover edition.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McGoogan, Ken. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McGoogan, Ken

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McGoogan, Ken. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Ancient Mariner

Lady Franklins Revenge

Race To The Polar Sea: The Heroic Voyage Of Elisha Kent Kane

Fatal Passage

Ancient Mariner

Lady Franklin's Revenge

Fatal Passage

Ancient Mariner

Going for Gold

Going for Gold