The Great Polar Fraud

In 1910 Roald Amundsen set off from Oslo toward the North Pole but soon received word that two Americans—Frederick Cook and Robert Peary—each claimed to have reached the Pole ahead of him. Devastated, Amundsen famously went south. For years Cook and Peary tried to convince the world of their claims. Finally the National Geographic Society endorsed Peary, and the matter seemed settled. In May 1926 an American airman, Richard Byrd, flew north in a three-engine plane, and returned with a log showing that he had flow exactly over the geographical North Pole, becoming the third man to reach that mythical spot. National Geographic again supported the claim. However, it is now obvious that Peary claimed distances he could not possibly have achieved, and it is doubtful that Cooke, who had a history of fraud, ever got even close to the pole. Byrd flew further north than anyone before, but he did not have the fuel to have made the journey he claimed—his log was falsified. Just three days after Byrd’s flight, Amundsen reenters the story on an airship traveling across the pole from Svalbard to Alaska, unknowingly passing directly over the pole, becoming the true first to reach it—just as he had been the first at the South Pole. The Great Polar Fraud explores the history of the three men who claimed the pole, their claims, and the subsequent doubts of those claims, effectively rewriting the history of polar exploration and putting Amundsen center stage as the rightful conqueror of both poles. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

The North Pole is a book by Robert E. Peary. It presents the discovery of The North Pole in 1909 under the auspices of the Peary Arctic Club in colorful fashion.

Not just the final word on what Cook and Peary did and did not do, but is also a full, fair examination of their lives. A finely drawn picture of the last days of the great expeditions, when explorers willingly risked their lives in pursuit of intangible and impossible goals.

Roberts dissects 10 famous exploration hoaxes, ranging chronologically from Cabot's disputed voyage down the east coast of North America in 1508 to Donald Crowhurst suicidal bid to win the Times singlehanded sailboat circumnavigation race in 1968.

Autobiography.

Polar Explorer is an inspiring and empowering story by sixteen-year-old Jade Hameister, chronicling her feat of being the youngest person to complete the Polar Hat Trick... From her first trip to Everest Base Camp as a young woman, Jade Hameister knew what she wanted to achieve - the impossible. Jade began her quest to complete the Polar Hat Trick in April 2016 when she was fourteen. She became the youngest person to ski to the North Pole from anywhere outside the last degree - the point where most people begin - and was named Australian Geographic Society’s Young Adventurer of the Year. But that was just the beginning. In June of 2017, she became the youngest woman to complete the crossing of Greenland, the second largest ice cap on the planet. On January 11, 2018, she arrived at the South Pole after an epic 37 day journey through Antarctica, becoming the youngest person to ski to both Poles and the youngest person to complete the Polar Hat Trick. This book will motivate and encourage young people to follow their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem.

Extreme Environment promises to provoke fresh – and spirited – debate about the modern environmental movement and the many ways in which environmentalism, media, economics, public policy and the politics of liberty intersect. In order to reduce poverty and continue to raise living standards requires a sensible, balanced approach to a healthy, productive environment. No country, but especially not those in the developing world, can afford to be manipulated by the self-interested moralising and alarmism perpetrated by some special interest groups. Exaggeration by environmentalists, many journalists and even some scientists causes undue fear and anxiety among those who don’t already dismiss the green lobby for crying wolf. Worse, misinformation affects regulation and policymaking in ways that actively harm developing economies. Starting with well-researched work questioning the claims of opponents to shale-gas drilling, or ‘fracking’, Ivo Vegter argues that public opinion and policy ought to be informed by accurate data and reasoned argument. Using a wide range of examples, from nuclear accidents and oil spills to food additives and agricultural chemicals, he demonstrates why we should be as sceptical of the emotive rhetoric of environmentalists, which just as often turns out to be alarmist, or even false, as we are of corporate spin. Globally relevant, but offering a unique perspective from a developing country – South Africa – this book is a must-read for every thinking person who cares about the world we live in.