I’m pleased to release my first “Wet Lunch on the High Seas” author interview. The guest is Darrell Hartman, author of the acclaimed Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media (Penguin Random House, 2023). The book chronicles the disputed 1909 North Pole expeditions of Robert Peary and Frederick Cook, and the prominent news barons (Adolph Ochs and James Gordon Bennett) who financed the voyages of these rival explorers.
The New York Times named Battle of Ink and Ice as one of its “notable books of 2023.” Bestselling historian Hampton Sides declared that Hartman, “has uncovered a fascinating time capsule from a frenzied, romantic era when the grand enigma of the North Pole captivated newspaper readers around the world—and Arctic wanderers were celebrated as the knights-errant of their day.”
A native of Maine, Darrell Hartman received his B.A. in literature from Yale University. He has published articles in The Wall Street Journal, The Paris Review, Travel + Leisure, and Condé Nast Traveler. He is a member of the Explorers Club. He lives with his wife in Dana in New York City and Livingston Manor, New York.
This episode of “Wet Lunch on the High Seas” is co-hosted by David Letourneau. He is an entrepreneur, outdoorsman, and accomplished professional athlete. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Princeton University, where he was captain of the men’s squash team.
Interview with Darrell Hartman, Author of 'Battle of Ink and Ice'