Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk

by Buddy Levy

When The Friendly Arctic came out, Bartlett wrote to McKinlay about his reaction: “I was so damned mad that I went over to the Harvard Club where Stefansson was staying; fortunately for me he was not in. Had we met I believe that I could have killed him.” Bartlett held Stefansson in such low regard that he even threatened to start a petition to have him expelled from the prestigious Explorers Club, though he never formally followed up on it. Later, he heard that Stefansson had been spreading rumors that Bartlett should be sent to jail for losing the Karluk. Livid, Bartlett confided to McKinlay: “My day will come if I ever get him alone. I will beat him to within an inch of his life.”