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Hero in Disgrace: The Life of Arctic Explorer Frederick A. Cook
Examines the exploits of the explorer Frederick A. Cook and offers new evidence supporting his claim to discovery of the North Pole
250 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 20, 2015
Having recently read The Navigator of New York, I was interested in reading more about polar explorer Dr. Frederick Cook, who plays a prominent role in that novel. Unfortunately, I found this biography disappointing.
Abramson has a very vivid style of writing that works quite well when describing Cook's expeditions. However, when he gets to the Peary/Cook controversy, he jumps from vivid to over the top conspiracy theorist. It's a shame, because it detracts from the evidence he presents. I find it hard to take an author seriously when he refers to the National Geographic Society as "pseudoscientists and mail-order salesmen;" apparently he has some sort of beef with the NGS, since he's also written a book about them. I am also not sure how much original research Abramson actually did for this biography, since most of his sources are previously published books or articles; although he did speak with Cook's granddaughter, and does cite Cook's unpublished autobiography.
I also thought the book was structured oddly. Abramson waits until chapter 8 to discuss Cook's childhood and education. Then in chapter 15 he talks about previous arctic expeditions. Both of these would have been better placed in the beginning of the book, to provide context to Cook and his life. There are also several glaring grammatical errors ("ringing water" out of their clothes? Is that like ringing a bell?).
I vacillated between 1 and 2 stars, and ultimately I think I'd give it 1.5 were that an option. It would be okay considered with other material about Cook, but don't take this as the final word.
N.B.: The full title of this book is Hero in Disgrace: The Life of Arctic Explorer Frederick A. Cook, from the title page. There seems to be a reprint (Hero in Disgrace: The True Discoverer of the North Pole Frederick A. Cook) from a different publisher.
Abramson has a very vivid style of writing that works quite well when describing Cook's expeditions. However, when he gets to the Peary/Cook controversy, he jumps from vivid to over the top conspiracy theorist. It's a shame, because it detracts from the evidence he presents. I find it hard to take an author seriously when he refers to the National Geographic Society as "pseudoscientists and mail-order salesmen;" apparently he has some sort of beef with the NGS, since he's also written a book about them. I am also not sure how much original research Abramson actually did for this biography, since most of his sources are previously published books or articles; although he did speak with Cook's granddaughter, and does cite Cook's unpublished autobiography.
I also thought the book was structured oddly. Abramson waits until chapter 8 to discuss Cook's childhood and education. Then in chapter 15 he talks about previous arctic expeditions. Both of these would have been better placed in the beginning of the book, to provide context to Cook and his life. There are also several glaring grammatical errors ("ringing water" out of their clothes? Is that like ringing a bell?).
I vacillated between 1 and 2 stars, and ultimately I think I'd give it 1.5 were that an option. It would be okay considered with other material about Cook, but don't take this as the final word.
N.B.: The full title of this book is Hero in Disgrace: The Life of Arctic Explorer Frederick A. Cook, from the title page. There seems to be a reprint (Hero in Disgrace: The True Discoverer of the North Pole Frederick A. Cook) from a different publisher.
December 6, 2012
A dubious line of reasoning is taken to reach some shaky conclusions.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews