Customer Reviews

My Attainment of the Pole

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I've read "The Polar Controversy resolved" by Bryce before reading "My attainment of the Pole" by Cook.

On the negative side, you can feel the hand of Everett Harry (or Harré) all through the narrative. He's the man who "organized" and edited the work for Cook. However, when the times comes to explain his case, when the times comes to convice the reader of his claim, Dr Cook does a mighty good job.

Every modern writer or historian agrees, even if Dr Cook may not have reach the Pole, his Polar journey of 1908-09 is one of the most remarquable feat of Polar exploration, North or South. On that basis alone, the book is worth reading.

Cook had an understanding of Eskimo's, he was deeply human in all his dealings. He was also a man of tremendous ressource, drive, strenght and courage.

Although I'm still not convince 100% that he did reach the Pole, he earned my admiration.

Doctor Frederick Albert Cook is a man who deserves to be know. Do yourself a favor, know him.

Excellent book and excellent adventure book. I especially enjoyed the updates provided in the book which is a reprint by the Cook Society. I am only vaguely aware of the controversy because of a friend who is invloved in high arctic camping. No matter what, Dr. Cook and his Inuit friends are cut of exceptional cloth to have endured so much, almost casually. However, I will say that Dr. Cook appears to be a more pleasant person than Admiral Peary.

Although the Cook/Peary North Pole controversy still rages after over 90 years, I believe that this republication of Frederick A. Cook's My Attainment of the Pole should help immeasurably in eliminating all doubt about Cook's accomplishment.

The book not only is a faithful, easy-to-read republication of Cook's 1911 opus, it contains up-to-date data from well-established polar explorers and historians that validate Cook's original observations. It also confronts the Peary arguments (and what appear to be "dirty tricks") head-on, and emergesw victorious.

After reading the book, I was convinced that Cook was the first to attain the Pole and believe you will reach the same conclusion.