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Peary at the North Pole;: Fact or fiction?
Rawlins, Dennis, Peary At The North Fact Or Fiction?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
June 20, 2025
Author Dennis Rawlins comes across as a rabid junk-yard dog in his attack on Robert Peary and the various geographical and exploration organizations like the National Geographic that enabled Peary to pull off his fraud. This is no less than what Peary and his backers deserve. I've been aware of the Peary and Cook controversy for many years and have read extensively about it but Rawlins provided further background and insights.
Rawlins goes over the old-boy networks that were the enablers for frauds like Peary; the Peary Arctic Club, the National Geographic and the Explorers Club and their financial backers. That same old-boy network also flourished in England with the Royal Geographic Society. Despite evidence contrary to the claims they stood behind their members of the club. In the USA this also included another exploration fraud, Richard Byrd. The author touches on that controversy as well.
Rawlins also makes a very harsh assessment of Frederick Cook and his claim to having reached the North Pole. I vehemently disagree with the author on Cook, both on the man and his achievements, but I still found the book very informative. See my review of "True North" by Bruce Henderson. The contumely heaped on Peary was very well deserved.
I found some of the additional information interesting and amusing. Matthew Henson comes across as a very able navigator and explorer overall. He knew how to take astronomical readings and instrument navigation. The reason he didn't or any other members of the party was because there was only one set of instruments that Peary would not share with any other member of the expedition. The married Peary had an affair with a 14 year old eskimo girl (perhaps others as well) and impregnated her. This is well known and it is also well known that he published nude photos of her in one of his books. The amusing part is that the National Geographic noticed the positive impact on sales because of the nude photos and at that point forward decided to include them too in their magazine as well.
In sum, the book further confirms what is known about Peary; that he was a liar, fraud, inept polar explorer and an overall despicable human being.
Rawlins goes over the old-boy networks that were the enablers for frauds like Peary; the Peary Arctic Club, the National Geographic and the Explorers Club and their financial backers. That same old-boy network also flourished in England with the Royal Geographic Society. Despite evidence contrary to the claims they stood behind their members of the club. In the USA this also included another exploration fraud, Richard Byrd. The author touches on that controversy as well.
Rawlins also makes a very harsh assessment of Frederick Cook and his claim to having reached the North Pole. I vehemently disagree with the author on Cook, both on the man and his achievements, but I still found the book very informative. See my review of "True North" by Bruce Henderson. The contumely heaped on Peary was very well deserved.
I found some of the additional information interesting and amusing. Matthew Henson comes across as a very able navigator and explorer overall. He knew how to take astronomical readings and instrument navigation. The reason he didn't or any other members of the party was because there was only one set of instruments that Peary would not share with any other member of the expedition. The married Peary had an affair with a 14 year old eskimo girl (perhaps others as well) and impregnated her. This is well known and it is also well known that he published nude photos of her in one of his books. The amusing part is that the National Geographic noticed the positive impact on sales because of the nude photos and at that point forward decided to include them too in their magazine as well.
In sum, the book further confirms what is known about Peary; that he was a liar, fraud, inept polar explorer and an overall despicable human being.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review