Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media

by Darrell Hartman Narrated by Mack Sanderson

Overview

New York Times Book Review's "100 Notable Books of 2023"

"Absolutely gripping... 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

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.

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Mack Sanderson's voice provides a luxurious soundscape. This is not typical for a historical nonfiction audiobook, but listeners will find it enjoyable. Hartman's account of the turn-of-the-century proliferation of print media is a fascinating framing of the world's interest in "firsts," as explorers seek to reach the North Pole. The big media outlets of the day contend with either giving the public drama they want or sticking more closely to the facts. The limited information flow of the period exacerbates these choices; why wait for accurate information when people want to read updates now? Sanderson's rich, enveloping timbre and confident gravitas are undeniably engaging as he unwinds these dual narratives of media and exploration. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

04/03/2023

Polar controversy fuels the rise of the New York Times in this energetic debut from journalist Hartman. In September 1909, the New York Herald surprised the world by publishing an exclusive account of surgeon and explorer Frederick Cook’s unlikely discovery of the North Pole. Meanwhile, its archrival, the New York Times, had invested in a higher-profile expedition, led by veteran Arctic adventurer Robert Peary, which had set out a year later than Cook’s. Less than a week after Cook and the Herald claimed victory, Peary sent a telegram from Newfoundland asserting that he’d reached the North Pole. A vicious feud then unfolded, as Peary and the Times appealed to the National Geographic Society and other scientific institutions and publicly accused Cook of fraud. The controversy drove sales for both newspapers until it seemed to be resolved in December 1909 by a commission at the University of Copenhagen, which ruled that Cook had not proven he’d reached the North Pole; today it is widely believed that both men fell short of the mark. Hartman dramatically recounts the claims and counterclaims; draws colorful profiles of the explorers and their chief backers, the Herald’s James Bennett Jr. and the Times’s Albert Ochs; and incisively analyzes the populist vs. establishment aspect of the controversy. It’s as bracing as a blast of Arctic air. (June)

From the Publisher

New York Times Book Review’s "100 Notable Books of 2023"

Winner of the 27th National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature

“Diligently researched and crafted…a juicy yarn about two towering egos and their race to the ends of the earth.”
—The New York Times

“Mr. Hartman adroitly re-animates a colorful and courageous era in American history.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“A first-rate title for readers fascinated by history and all who love a good dishy true story.”
—Booklist

"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

“Engrossing...[Hartman] is a natural storyteller who breathes life into the most obscure details, keeping readers invested as the tale progresses.”
—Kirkus *Starred Review*

"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
 
"In his debut book, Hartman paints a rich, luminous panorama of a turn-of-the-century global drama, from the bleak pack-ice of the Arctic to the glittering capitals of Europe to the smoke-filled newsrooms of New York. A riveting juxtaposition of gilded glamor and grim struggles for survival. A talented adventure writer, Hartman shows us what happens to people (good, bad, and everything in between) when they push themselves to their personal and professional limits."
—Steven Ujifusa, author of A Man and His Ship and Barons of the Sea

AUGUST 2023 - AudioFile

Mack Sanderson's voice provides a luxurious soundscape. This is not typical for a historical nonfiction audiobook, but listeners will find it enjoyable. Hartman's account of the turn-of-the-century proliferation of print media is a fascinating framing of the world's interest in "firsts," as explorers seek to reach the North Pole. The big media outlets of the day contend with either giving the public drama they want or sticking more closely to the facts. The limited information flow of the period exacerbates these choices; why wait for accurate information when people want to read updates now? Sanderson's rich, enveloping timbre and confident gravitas are undeniably engaging as he unwinds these dual narratives of media and exploration. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2023-03-21
A thorough account of the unexpected connection between American media and Arctic exploration at the turn of the 20th century.

Hartman, who has written for the Paris Review, Travel + Leisure, and the Wall Street Journal, pulls back the curtain on an era in which newspapers not only paid for exclusive rights to explorers’ reports; they also funded full expeditions. He deftly links the dual narratives of Arctic exploration and the emergence of modern media in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. When “comparatively unknown southerner” Adolph Ochs assumed control of the New York Times—a newspaper many thought was beyond saving—near the end of the century, James Gordon Bennett Jr. and the New York Herald’s domination of the market began to slip. Ochs chose the paper’s new slogan, “All the News That’s Fit to Print,” and wanted the paper to become a respected “national authority” and an “impartial arbiter of ideas.” Bennett, meanwhile, planned to “give the public what it craved” and “achieve unprecedented circulation.” In spite of these varied approaches, the Times and Herald both found the quest for the North Pole newsworthy. Ochs and Bennett were on opposing sides as Arctic explorers Frederick Cook and Robert Peary asserted competing claims of reaching the North Pole. The ensuing battle featured payouts for damning proof that an explorer had invented his data, a nasty confrontation at a public lecture, and the stunningly flimsy presentation of evidence from both explorers. Though Hartman occasionally succumbs to the challenge of keeping dual subjects on track, he is a natural storyteller who breathes life into the most obscure details, keeping readers invested as the tale progresses. This is an engrossing and readable account of polar exploration, the birth of the modern newspaper, and media wars that feel all too familiar to modern readers.

Brace for media feuds and frostbite as Hartman entertains on the trail between New York City newspapers and the North Pole.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176827699
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/06/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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