About the Author

Born in London in 1745, Samuel Hearne joined the Royal Navy at the age of 12 and served under Captain Samuel Hood during the Seven Years War. In 1766, seeking adventure, he joined the Hudson's Bay Company to work as first mate on a whaling ship. He was based at the HBC's northernmost outpost, Prince of Wales fort, and was only 24 when he set out on the quest described in this book. The award-winning author of ten books, Ken McGoogan is best known for Fatal Passage: The Untold Story of John Rae, the Arctic Explorer Who Discovered the Fate of Franklin. That work won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize, the CAA History Award, and an American Christopher Award for "a work of artistic excellence that affirms the highest values of the human spirit." With his related book, Lady Franklin's Revenge, Ken added the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography and the Pierre Berton Award for History. He writes a column for Canada's History magazine, recently published How the Scots Invented Canada, and teaches a creative non-fiction course through the University of Toronto and the New York Times Knowledge Network. Ken also makes a cameo appearance in the acclaimed docudrama Passage, which is based on Fatal Passage. Please visit www.kenmcgoogan.blogspot.com<