"We did not all come back." Thus begins the rare firsthand account of the extraordinary ordeal of the Karluk, the flagship of explorer Vilhjalmar Stefansson's Arctic expedition of 1913-1916. When ice trapped the Karluk, Stefansson abandoned Captain Robert A. Bartlett and the crew-eleven of whom perished-to their fate. When the ice crushed the Karluk and sank her, Bartlett led the shipwrecked survivors safely to Wrangell Island. From there, with one Inuit companion, he journeyed across 700 miles of frozen seas and Siberian wilderness to return with rescuers. It is a feat that rivals Shackleton's own celebrated efforts to seek for the crew of the Endurance.

Here are the most remarkable stories imaginable of maroons, castaways, and other survivors from the 1500s to the present - their moral dilemmas, their personalities, and their influence on society, literature, and art.

"We did not all come back." Thus begins this firsthand account of the extraordinary adventure of the Karluk, the flagship of explorer Vilhjalmar Steffanson's Arctic expedition of 1913-1916. When the Karluk became trapped in the ice, Steffanson abandoned Captain Robert A. Bartlett and his crew, nearly half of whom perished before the ordeal ended. Accompanied by one Eskimo, Bartlett made the treacherous journey across the ice to Siberia to find help, and returned with rescuers to collect the survivors.