A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media
by Darrell Hartman
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2023
400 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
A sixty-year saga of frostbite and fake news that follows the no-holds-barred battle between two legendary explorers to reach the North Pole, and the newspapers which stopped at nothing to get–and sell–the story.
In the fall of 1909, a pair of bitter contests captured the world's attention. The American explorers Robert Peary and Frederick Cook both claimed to have discovered the North Pole, sparking a vicious feud that was unprecedented in international scientific and geographic circles. At the same time, the rivalry between two powerful New York City newspapers—the storied Herald and the ascendant Times—fanned the flames of the so-called polar controversy, as each paper financially and reputationally committed itself to an opposing explorer and fought desperately to defend him.
The Herald was owned and edited by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., an eccentric playboy whose nose for news was matched only by his appetite for debauchery and champagne. The Times was published by Adolph Ochs, son of Jewish immigrants, who'd improbably rescued the paper from extinction and turned it into an emerging powerhouse. The battle between Cook and Peary would have enormous consequences for both newspapers, and help to determine the future of corporate media.
Battle of Ink and Ice presents a frank portrayal of Arctic explorers, brave men who both inspired and deceived the public. It also sketches a vivid portrait of the newspapers that funded, promoted, narrated, and often distorted their exploits. It recounts a sixty-year saga of frostbite and fake news, one that culminates with an unjustly overlooked chapter in the origin story of the modern New York Times.
By turns tragic and absurd, Battle of Ink and Ice brims with contemporary relevance, touching as it does on themes of class, celebrity, the ever-quickening news cycle, and the benefits and pitfalls of an increasingly interconnected world. Above all, perhaps, its cast of characters testifies—colorfully and compellingly—to the ongoing role of personality and publicity in American cultural life as the Gilded Age gave way to the twentieth century—the American century.
"Engrossing...[Hartman] is a natural storyteller who breathes life into the most obscure details, keeping readers invested as the tale progresses." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Polar controversy fuels the rise of the New York Times in this energetic debut from journalist Hartman...It's as bracing as a blast of Arctic air." —Publishers Weekly
"A first-rate title for readers fascinated by history and all who love a good dishy true story." —Booklist
"This two-tiered tale of furred explorers and ink-stained wretches is a rollicking good narrative from the Gilded Age and the early 1900s. Through immersive research, Darrell Hartman has uncovered a fascinating time capsule from a frenzied, romantic era when the grand enigma of the North Pole captivated newspaper readers around the world—and Arctic wanderers were celebrated as the knights-errant of their day." —Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of On Desperate Ground and In the Kingdom Ice
"The Battle of Ink and Ice tells the absolutely gripping story of the greatest disputation in the history of exploration: the battle between Cook and Peary over the discovery of the North Pole. But what takes this story to another level is the role that two big newspapers played in the controversy, taking opposite sides. The book paints unforgettable portraits of the outrageous, incendiary and drunken James Gordon Bennett Jr., publisher of the New York Herald, versus the upstanding and capable Adolph Ochs, founder of the modern New York Times. Beautifully written and researched, this book is a perfectly splendid read—I highly, highly recommend it." —Douglas Preston, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Lost City of the Monkey God
"It's hard to say what milieu drew the more outlandish and deceitful characters at the turn of the twentieth century: the small, cutthroat club of polar explorers or the dog-eat-dog world of New York newspapers. That the fate of each depended so deeply on the other is the brilliant insight that provides the narrative fuel for Hartman, who thanks to his painstaking research and his lucid, fast-paced prose has pulled off one of the most engrossing split-screen dramas since Erik Larson's Devil in the White City." —Julian Sancton, author of Madhouse at the End of the Earth
This information about Battle of Ink and Ice was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Darrell Hartman has written for The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Paris Review, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and Granta. He holds a B.A. in literature from Yale University and is a member of The Explorers Club in New York. A native Mainer, he now lives with his wife, Dana, in the Catskills region of New York.
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