Overview

In his search for the North Pole at the turn of the twentieth century, the renowned Robert E. Peary, long celebrated as an icon of modern exploration, used the Eskimos of northwestern Greenland as the human resources for his expeditions. Sailing aboard a ship called ""Hope"" in 1897, Peary entered New York harbor with six Eskimos as his cargo. Depositing them with the American Museum of Natural History as live ""specimens"" to be poked, measured, and observed by the paying public, Peary abruptly abandoned any responsibility for their care. Four of the Eskimos died within a year. One managed to gain passage back to Greenland. Only the sixth, a boy of six or seven with a precociously solemn smile, remained, orphaned and adrift in a bewildering metropolis. His name was Minik. Here, a century after the fact, is his story. A searing true tale of extraordinary darkness told with intensity and vigilance, ""Give Me My Father's Body"" is Kenn Harper's absorbing, intricately documented account of ruthless imperialism in the name of science, of cruel deceptions and false burials, and of the short, strange, and tragic life of the boy known as the New York Eskimo.

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USA Today Fascinating and sad...well-researched and simply told. Give Me My Father's Body is not only about cultural misunderstanding and scientific arrogance, but one man's life as an outsider and his search for a place to call home.

""Parade""Kenn Harper has written a remarkable narrative. ""USA Today""Fascinating and sad...well-researched and simply told. ""Give Me My Father's Body"" is not only about cultural misunderstanding and scientific arrogance, but one man's life as an outsider and his search for a place to call home. Parade Kenn Harper has written a remarkable narrative. The Boston Globe A startling success. USA Today Fascinating and sad...well-researched and simply told. Give Me My Father's Body is not only about cultural misunderstanding and scientific arrogance, but one man's life as an outsider and his search for a place to call home. ""Parade""Kenn Harper has written a remarkable narrative. ""USA Today""Fascinating and sad...well-researched and simply told. ""Give Me My Father's Body"" is not only about cultural misunderstanding and scientific arrogance, but one man's life as an outsider and his search for a place to call home. ""The Boston Globe""A startling success. ""The Boston Globe""A startling success.

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