Michael F. Robinson is assistant professor of history at the University of Hartford.
"Robinson's account is full and interpretive. It is both exciting
and revealing. It tells us a great deal about the pure scientists
(such as those who today fly off on space adventures) and those who
stay on Earth but fly high by exploiting the discoveries of their
betters."--Ray B. Brown "Journal of American Culture" (3/1/2007
12:00:00 AM)
"This book makes an obvious contribution to the historiography of
nineteenth and twentieth-century America, as well as to polar
studies per se. It also joins a growing body of work that studies
the way a nation's polar expeditions are organized and celebrated
in order to gain a better understanding about the country itself. .
. . Anyone interested in modern U.S. history or the history of
polar exploration will read this book with profit and enjoyment. It
deserves--and will hopefully reach--a wider audience as
well."--John McCannon "American Historical Review"
"This monograph is clear, detailed, meticulously researched, and
elegantly written. . . . [Robinson] offers a new and convincing
interpretation of the cultural significance of Americans' devotion
to Arctic exploration in this period. . . ." --Kathryn Morse
"Reviews in American History" (1/1/2007 12:00:00 AM)
"Others have investigated how the crucible of Arctic exploration
shaped individual explorers, but Michael Robinson imaginatively
turns the frame toward an American public that persisted in
supporting adventurers from Elisha Kane to Robert Peary. Originally
justified as scientific ventures, the expeditions created a
palpable 'Arctic fever' in American public culture which refracted
messages of manliness, the power and limits of technology, and
national ambition. In a narrative analysis alert to symbols as well
as realities, The Coldest Crucible is ultimately about testing the
mettle of the Americans themselves."--Sally Gregory Kohlstedt,
editor of Women in Science
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