Battle of Ink and Ice A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media [Audiobook]

The Times was published by Adolph Ochs, son of Jewish immigrants, who'd improbably rescued the paper from extinction and turned it into an emerging powerhouse. The battle between Cook and Peary would have enormous consequences for both newspapers, and help to determine the future of corporate media. BATTLE OF INK AND ICE presents a frank portrayal of Arctic explorers, brave men who both inspired and deceived the public. It also sketches a vivid portrait of the newspapers that funded, promoted, narrated, and often distorted their exploits. It recounts a sixty-year saga of frostbite and fake news, one that culminates with an unjustly overlooked chapter in the origin story of the modern New York Times. By turns tragic and absurd, BATTLE OF INK AND ICE brims with contemporary relevance, touching as it does on themes of class, celebrity, the ever-quickening news cycle, and the benefits and pitfalls of an increasingly interconnected world. Above all, perhaps, its cast of characters testifies-colorfully and compellingly-to the ongoing role of personality and publicity in American cultural life as the Gilded Age gave way to the twentieth century-the American century.