Account of the 1909 race to the North Pole focuses on exploration and journalism
In the fall of 1909, two different American explorers, Frederick Cook and Robert Peary, each claimed to be the first man to set foot at the North Pole.
History would later challenge both of their statements, as discrepancies in accounts, a lack of scientific data and general dodgy behavior poked massive holes in each explorer’s story. But at the time, the nation was swept up into a battle of allegiances: Team Robert Peary versus Team Frederick Cook.
It was a rivalry that took hold of the popular consciousness, manifesting in lecture circuits, a Congressional hearing, and the possibility of an international diplomatic incident. And at the heart of it all were two rival newspapers; the “New York Herald”and the “New York Times,” each of which threw all their weight into promoting the explorer they backed.
“Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media” by Darrell Hartman tells the story of this 1909 battle in the press and the ensuing controversy of who reached the North Pole first.
Hartman follows four major players through the start of their careers to the book’s present: two polar explorers and two newspaper magnates. Through the lives of these men, Hartman traces the history of Arctic exploration and the growth of the modern news media.
Impressively, Hartman never manages to take sides. Both Cook and Peary’s accounts are treated with a healthy dose of skepticism, even as favor waxed and waned in the public opinion.
While it would be easy to favor the facts-focused leanings of Adolph Ochs, owner of the “New York Times” over the gossip-rag tendencies of James Gordon Bennett Jr. and the “New York Herald,” Hartman treats both newspapers with an even hand.
Bennett’s tendencies toward frivolous spending and occasional bouts of absentee ownership are treated with the same respect as his tenacity when it came to scooping up a story and his focus on international expansion.
Likewise, Ochs’s rags to riches story and his focus on the Times’ objectivity does not absolve him from Hartman repeatedly pointing out that Ochs ignored that goal of objectivity to blatantly promote his polar explorer of choice.
Peary’s notable accomplishments are contrasted with his glory-hound, attention-seeking personality. Admittedly, Cook seems to get the least amount of focus, but Hartman still paints a full picture of the man as a congenial personality with unfortunate con-artist tendencies. All the men involved come off as multi-faceted, well-rounded individuals, letting the reader explore all sides of the conflict.
Like the men, the book itself is truly multi-faceted. If you like polar exploration, you might struggle through chapters on the impact of the telegraph.
Conversely, if you’re here for journalism, you might balk at the chapters exploring various failed expeditions.
Hartman goes in assuming that his audience is relatively fresh to both sides of this book. There is quite a lot of background information — it’s only after the halfway point of the book that we reach 1909.
But the background information is written accessibly and never gets bogged down in the details. Newcomers to the histories of polar expedition or the modern news media will leave the book with a brief overview on the subjects, enough to truly understand the meat of the conflict and why these two men, both relatively forgotten in the present, sparked a monthslong PR campaign that dominated the news cycles of the time.
Perfect for fans of David Grann, Julian Sancton or anyone who enjoys an Oscar-bait movie focused on a newsroom getting the big scoop, “Battle of Ink and Ice”is a wonderful look at an underserved moment in journalism history.
Katie Gill is a cataloging librarian based out of Jackson, Mississippi. Check out her work at The Deadlands, Manor Vellum, and Oh Reader! magazine.