True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole

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Author: Bruce Henderson

ISBN-10: 0393327388

ISBN-13: 9780393327380

Category: Historical Biography - Explorers

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"Nail-biting true adventure."—Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly On April 21, 1908, American explorer Frederick Cook reached the North Pole. A year later, fellow Arctic pioneer Robert Peary denounced him, claiming to have reached the Pole first. In this first-rate tale of adventure, bravery and perfidy, Henderson (And the Sea Will Tell) attempts to identify the winner. In 1891, Cook, recovering from the deaths of both his wife and child and seeking adventure, was hired by Peary as chief medical officer on an expedition to Greenland. The men clashed, setting the stage for later conflict (and providing excellent fodder for this exciting book). Hooked on extreme cold weather quests, Cook journeyed to the Antarctic and was also the first to summit Mount McKinley. In Henderson's telling, Peary too craved adventure, but his insatiable desire for fame was his driving force. "Remember, mother, I must have fame," Henderson quotes Peary saying in a letter to his mother. When Peary learned Cook had reached the Pole before him, Peary painted Cook as a liar and a fraud. According to Henderson, Cook reacted to the barrage by going into seclusion, and when he emerged, it was too late to save his reputation. Peary's claim to the Pole was later dismissed, but Cook's achievement was never recognized. This adventure yarn delivers as both a cautionary tale and a fitting memorial to polar exploration. Illus. Agent, Michael Carlisle. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Author's Note11Prologue17Part 1Men of DestinyChapter 1Call of the Northland29Chapter 2North Greenland Expedition42Chapter 3Arctic Tenderfoots50Chapter 4Death on a Glacier68Chapter 5Ruled with an Iron Hand78Chapter 6The Snow Baby89Chapter 7"Polar Summer Resort"101Chapter 8Bounty Hunting109Chapter 9Destination Antarctica116Chapter 10The Ice Man133Chapter 11Roof of the Continent143Chapter 12Farthest North156Part 2To the PoleChapter 13"A Crazy Hunger"173Chapter 14"I Shall Win This Time"185Chapter 15Polar Quest194Chapter 16"Forward! March!"206Chapter 17"I Have Reached the Pole"224Chapter 18"Nailed to the Pole"244Chapter 19Seized by a "Heartsickness"261Aftermath272Source Notes297Bibliography315Index319