Overview

In the late 1800s, “Arctic Fever” swept across the nation as dozens of American expeditions sailed north to the Arctic to find a sea route to Asia and, ultimately, to stand at the North Pole. Few of these missions were successful, and many men lost their lives en route. Yet failure did little to dampen the enthusiasm of new explorers or the crowds at home that cheered them on. Arctic exploration, Michael F. Robinson argues, was an activity that unfolded in America as much as it did in the wintry hinterland. Paying particular attention to the perils facing explorers at home, The Coldest Crucible examines their struggles to build support for the expeditions before departure, defend their claims upon their return, and cast themselves as men worthy of the nation’s full attention. In so doing, this book paints a new portrait of polar voyagers, one that removes them from the icy backdrop of the Arctic and sets them within the tempests of American cultural life.  With chronological chapters featuring emblematic Arctic explorers—including Elisha Kent Kane, Charles Hall, and Robert Peary—The Coldest Crucible reveals why the North Pole, a region so geographically removed from Americans, became an iconic destination for discovery.

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9780226214153

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Reviews

Concerned with the perception of Arctic exploration in the United States, rather than with the exploration itself, [Robinson]... lays greater emphasis on the role of elites-whether politicians, scientists, or newspaper owners-in supporting and financing the expeditions.... Robinson has a real thesis, and he presents it with admirable clarity and a firm understanding of its shadings and nuances. (Times Literary Supplement)

For too long, American Arctic history has seemed separated from the narrative of national identity--a list of epic tragedies or an endless controversy surrounding Frederick Cook's and Robert Peary's enduring dual claims for the North Pole. Robinson has done an admirable job of placing that history within a cultural framework. . . . The ideal book for those who want to understand why Arctic exploration mattered to generations of Americans . . . and how that story revealed far more about the United States than it did about the Arctic. --Kelly L. Lankford Journal of American History

Author Information

Michael F. Robinson is associate professor of history at the University of Hartford.

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