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Book Reviews of Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the  South Pole
Ice Bound A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole
Author: Maryanne Vollers, Jerri Nielsen
ISBN-13: 9780786886999
ISBN-10: 0786886994
Publication Date: 1/16/2002
Pages: 377
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 58

4 stars, based on 58 ratings
Publisher: Miramax Books
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

31 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

bookaddict avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on
Helpful Score: 2
A fascinating account of a 47 year old female physician who discovers she has breast cancer while she is "wintering over" at the South Pole, during the 8 or 9 months of the year when the Pole can't be approached by aircraft (or their fuel will freeze). I won't give away what happened next--but it is truly a testament to one woman's strength in the face of adversity. The best part of the book is really the descriptions of what the Pole community is like--bizarrely basic and very close-knit. A terrific read.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is the dramatic and true story of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician stranded at a South Pole research station as she discovers a lump in her breast. Inspiring, funny (Jerri has a great sense of humor), this book recounts the amazing rescue in October 1999 that made headlines around the globe.
I read the Reader's Digest Condensed version years ago, so I picked up this book to read "the rest of the story," and was glad I did!
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 26 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book very intresting It is about Dr. Jerri Nielsen who was sent to the South Pole for rsearch for a year. While there she developed Cancer of the breast and it takes you through the struggle and hardships of her fight against it plus the elements. a true story.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
True story of physician stranded at a South Pole research station who diagnosed and treated her own breast cancer.
Bookfanatic avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on
Helpful Score: 1
I really didn't think I was going to like this book as much as I did. However, when I got started, the memoir grabbed my attention and held it the whole way. This is a memoir of an American doctor's time at a scientific station in the South Pole. The woman at the center of this story is incredibly smart, funny, warm, and fun - just the type of person I would want as a real life friend. Dr. Jerri Nielsen passed away not too long ago, but her account of her time at the South Pole as a doctor is very inspiring. The writing is very personable and amazingly easy to read. You feel as though you're chatting with her over a cup of coffee. If nothing else, this memoir will restore your faith in human nature. She allows us into a world rarely seen - the tiny, but fiercely loyal and incredibly bright people who work at the various research stations at the South Pole.
jazzysmom avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 907 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book. This woman had courage. This is the true story about a woman so strong with the will to live and to finish a job she went to do. The everyday and, out of the ordinary things that could go wrong did, the temps were 100 degrees below zero in the Antarctica with no way in or out before spring, finding breast cancer she must make decissions that will have to be done to save her own life. I have read this book twice and each time it has given me much enjoyment and inspiration.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 72 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The dramatic story of Jerry Nielsen, the doctor stranded at a South Pole research station who is diagnosed and treated her own breast cancer. A wonderful story.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very inspirational story about an amazingly strong woman who did the seemingly impossible: diagnosing and beginning treatment for breast cancer while at the South Pole during the "unreachable" winter months.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 337 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really liked this as an audiobook. Dr. Nielsen - Jerri - reads her own book and does a fine job with it. Of course it kinda gives away the punch line - she does live!

I loved the descriptions of life at the South Pole station, and the cancer storyline was compelling. Sadly, the version I received was badly scratched, and at most key points, so it will be retired from swapping. I hope other versions are out there for other members to enjoy. It was worth the time spent listening.
NoelleSD avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 29 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The dramatic and inspiring true story of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician stranded at a South Pole research station who discovered a lump in her breast, performered a biopsy on herself and began chemo tretaments until she could be rescued. One woman's voyage of self-discovery through an extraordinary struggle for survival.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 4 more book reviews
As I read this book, I became engrossed in the author's personal struggles- not just her cancer.
crackabook avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on
The Antarctic winter, with temperatures of 100 degrees below zero, shuts supply lines down completely. Winter of 1999 Dr. Nielsen, the only Dr. for the staff of 41 people discovered a lump in her breast. Non-fiction, this account is how she handles the cancer and does her own biopsy as she tries to survive until the conditions permit her rescue.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 47 more book reviews
Inspirational story about a doctor's diagnosis and treatment of her own breast cancer while wintering-over on Antarctica.Good read and very visual; she describes the Antarctic landscapes in such great detail that I had dreams about it for weeks after finishing this book. Rest in Peace Jerri Nielson.
jdyinva avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 408 more book reviews
This audio book was fabulous. What a story! To hear the author/victim/hero read her own compelling story about battling breast cancer in such a remote locale kept me actually dreading the end of my morning commute. I never knew much about the Pole but after listening to this riveting biography, I feel as if I've been there. Highly recommended.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 7 more book reviews
What an incredible story of survival and strenth. Dr. Nielsen shares her journey in a way that is touching and enjoyable.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on
This was a Very Good Book. Interesting in terms of the Authors personal life and also living conditions at the South Pole.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on
I have read and reread this book. Its a nonficton I couldn't put down ! The factoids about life in Antarctica [fuel too thick to fly at low negative temps, being allowed 2 two minute showers per week!] give insight to life in this barren place. And yet Jerri Nielsen describes the beauty of the various shades of blue and white in the landscape and makes peace with the dark and various crises in her life. There is humor in the book as she tells the stories of day to day life at the station. Jerri's discovery and treatment of her own breast cancer is an amazing story !!
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 431 more book reviews
interesting descriptions of what it's like to live at the South Pole for a year as well as the drama of discovering breast cancer while there.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 20 more book reviews
after all fo the groundwork was laid for the story, it went much quicker...
RoyalCatwoman avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 278 more book reviews
Serving as doctor to the Americans "wintering over" at the South Pole in 1999, Jerri Nielsen made headlines when she discovered a lump in her breast that a self-administered biopsy revealed to be an aggressive, fast-growing cancer. No flights in or out of Antarctica are possible during the continent's long winter, and Nielsen's account of giving herself chemotherapy while she and her fellow "Polies" waited for the weather to break is even more gripping than the news reports at the time. She's candid about her pain and fear; the media battle waged by her embittered ex-husband makes her ordeal even more challenging. Interestingly enough, however, this high drama does not overshadow Nielsen's deeper narrative of a woman who came "to the Ice" seeking new meaning in a life shattered by divorce and estrangement from her children. In the back-to-basics world of Antarctic medicine, with outdated equipment, few supplies, and no assistants, she rediscovered her vocation as a doctor, free from the imperatives of corporate-directed medicine. More importantly, Nielsen found spiritual solace in the world's most extreme environment, where she was "introduced slowly to the notion of giving more than you have and using less than you need ... of knowing that all you really own are your own thoughts." She makes the glories of the Pole so palpable that, by the end, readers will not even be surprised when she signs an e-mail to her family, "from the wonderful Ice."
tish avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 384 more book reviews
WOW! this is a great story and a great group of people wintering over at the South Pole. I have never read a book like this.
imagine performing minor surgery on yourself...imagine teaching folks who have no medical background, how to start IV's.
this story is not only a medical miracle,it is about the resilancy of mankind. a very good read
booklit avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 473 more book reviews
An incredible story for a woman's battle for survival as well as a look at a changed person. I really enjoyed this book.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 26 more book reviews
A touching and incredible story!
Farmerswife avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 52 more book reviews
The story of a doctor who faces breast cancer while living at the South Pole. I was inspired by her bravery and sense of adventure.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 44 more book reviews
Great book! I couldn't put it down!
redhatter avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 577 more book reviews
The dramatic and true story of Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the physician stranded at a South Pole research station whose amazing rescue in October 1999, made headlines around the globe.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 117 more book reviews
Inspiring story.
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 104 more book reviews
The dramtic and insiring true story of Dr. jerri Neielsen,the physician stranded at a South Pole research station who diagnosed and treated her own breast cancer. This is a new book in great condition.
heavenboundlj avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 232 more book reviews
This was made into a movie. Great story!
reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 35 more book reviews
I loved this book.
tracey13 avatar reviewed Ice Bound : A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole on + 310 more book reviews
True story.