A Negro Explorer at the North Pole - Softcover

Henson, Matthew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0815411251 ISBN 13: 9780815411253

Publisher: Cooper Square Press, 2001

Synopsis

Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary originally hired Matthew Henson to be his valet, but Henson's intelligence and ability distinguished him and he became an invaluable addition to Peary's expeditions to the North Pole. Unlike Peary, Henson learned the Inuit language and trained himself to be an expert dog-sled driver. On the 1909 expedition when Peary claimed to have reached the Pole, it was Henson who drove the sled in which Peary, crippled and frostbitten, was a passenger. In this book, Henson tells of his years as a sailor and his subsequent meeting of Peary, which led to decades of dangerous journeys to the Arctic Sea and the shifting ice of the Pole. A close friend of many Inuit, Henson carefully records their culture and methods of survival, and gives accounts of the times that they saved his life.

About this title

About the Author:

Matthew Henson (1866-1955) accompanied Robert Peary on eight hazardous Arctic expeditions. Robert M. Bryce is the author of Cook and Peary: The Polar Controversy, Resolved. He lives in Monrovia, Maryland, near Washington, DC.

From Publishers Weekly:

Robert Peary is remembered as the intrepid explorer who successfully reached the North Pole in 1909. Far less celebrated is his companion, Matthew Henson, a black man from Maryland. A Negro Explorer at the North Pole: The Autobiography of Matthew Henson, first published in 1912 and now re-issued, tells this unsung hero's story in his own words. Henson, who was paid only minimum wages throughout two decades of his association with Peary, was indispensable to the famous explorer's journey; he learned the language of the Eskimos, was an expert dog-sled driver and even built the sleds. But after they reached the North Pole, Peary stole the black man's photographs, barely spoke to him and refused to recognize his importance to the expedition. This edition contains rare photos of the journey and an introduction by S. Allen Counter, author of North Pole Legacy: Black, White, and Eskimo

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cooper Square Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0815411251
• ISBN 13: 9780815411253
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272