Frederick Albert Cook (1865-1940) was the first American to explore both Polar regions and the first to spend forced winters in the Antarctic (1897-99) and the Arctic (1907-09). The subzero temperatures were only one of the dangers Cook faced in his attempts to reach the North Pole in 1908. During his extraordinary and harrowing journey, he fought off arctic wolves and polar bears, lived through ice storms, almost starved on several occasions, and faced long and lonely hours of isolation. His book relates how he learned from Eskimos how to survive in the Arctic, hunting musk ox to survive, harpooning walruses, and traveling by dog sled. After his journey, he defended himself against the charges of fellow explorer Robert Peary, who claimed that Cook had lied about reaching the Pole. My Attainment of the Pole is not only a great read for any armchair explorer, but it is also a controversial work that contributed to a dispute that lasted for decades and continues to resonate to this day.
