How Peary Reached the Pole: The Personal Story of His Assistant

In 1934 Donald B. MacMillan, an accomplished explorer, wrote about his early career as a member of Robert E. Peary's 1908-09 North Pole Expedition. Now available for the first time since its original publication, this expanded edition of How Peary Reached the Pole features a biography of MacMillan and thirty-six images from his hand-tinted lantern slides.

MacMillan used the journal he kept during the expedition to provide an intimate view of day-to-day activities and relationships with other members of the party, detailing how he learned to drive dog teams, camp in sub-zero temperatures, and travel safely across the ice-covered Polar Sea. MacMillan's experiences and deep admiration for Peary's methods, leadership, and many accomplishments make for fascinating reading.

How Peary Reached the Pole allows us to see Arctic landscapes and Inughuit culture as MacMillan experienced them, providing a perspective from which to consider the northern environmental and cultural issues that continue to concern individuals and nations today, one hundred years after Peary's historic expedition.