Bering

David Eltis, David Richardson

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Year: 2003
• eBook ISBN: 9780300144024
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

A joint biography of three extraordinary sisters and the tumultuous century that they helped to shape

Vitus Jonassen Bering (1681–1741) is a towering figure in the history of exploration. In the course of two expeditions that consumed most of his adult life—and eventually led to his death—he journeyed from St. Petersburg to Siberia and ultimately to the northwest coast of America. Along with the members of his expedition (thousands participated in the second expedition), Bering greatly expanded the Russian empire, pioneered the geography of the North Pacific Ocean, and laid the groundwork for Russian trade and settlement in the American West. In the first biography of Bering written in over a century, Orcutt Frost chronicles the life of this extraordinary explorer. Drawing on a wide range of new evidence—including personal letters and archaeological evidence derived from the recent discovery of Bering’s grave site—the author reconstructs Bering’s personality, his perilous voyages, and his uneasy relationship with the naturalist Georg Steller, who unobtrusively guided the stranded expedition as Bering lay dying. A riveting narrative of adventure and disaster on the high seas, this biography is also a major contribution to the history of maritime exploration.

Orcutt Frost, emeritus professor of the humanities at Alaska Pacific University, is an authority on Bering’s voyages and has written numerous books and articles on the subject.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Illustrations
• Preface
• Chronology of Events
• INTRODUCTION
• PART ONE: CROSSING SIBERIA
• CHAPTER ONE. VITUS BERING SIGNS ON WITH RUSSIA
• CHAPTER TWO. NEVER ON LAND HAD SO MANY GONE SO FAR
• CHAPTER THREE. INTO THE ICY SEA
• CHAPTER FOUR. A DREAM OF EMPIRE
• CHAPTER FIVE. SET UP TO FAIL
• CHAPTER SIX. LETTERS HOME: Anna Bering in Command
• PART TWO: VOYAGE TO AMERICA
• CHAPTER SEVEN. STELLER SIGNS ON WITH BERING
• CHAPTER EIGHT. FROM KAMCHATKA TO NORTH AMERICA
• CHAPTER NINE. FIRST LANDING: Kayak Island
• CHAPTER TEN. SCURVY
• CHAPTER ELEVEN. NATIVE AMERICANS
• CHAPTER TWELVE. CRUEL WAVES
• PART THREE. SHIPWRECK AND SURVIVAL
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN. DECISION TO LAND: Bering Island
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN. DEATH CAMP
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN. BERING’S DEATH
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN. HOW BERING’S MEN GOT OFF THE ISLAND
• CONCLUSION
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgments
• Index