“Charting Crocker Land” Is Begun and Last Year’s BBB Best Sellers

I’ve done enough work on my “Charting Crocker Land” project to open it to public perusal. So far, I’ve discovered that Robert Peary’s 1907 claim of glimpsing previously undiscovered territory near the North Pole fits pretty well with what others were saying about what’s likely to be found in the Arctic Sea. In addition, some important folks defended the probability that Crocker Land was real. Meanwhile, other important folks suggested it was unlikely.

Frederick Cook, Peary’s rival in the race to the North Pole, changed his stance regarding Crocker Land as time passed. At first, he gave Peary the benefit of the doubt. Once Donald MacMillan returned empty-handed from his 1913 Crocker Land Expedition, Cook said he knew all along Peary had been mistaken. I’m learning that Cook — and probably Peary — were a couple of rascals. Here’s Cook in his civies and his work clothes:

In other news, this has been the first time in Brom Bones Books’ two-years-and-some-change history that I can look at the previous year and draw some meaningful conclusions. I’m pleased to announce the BBB Best Sellers List:

1. 1. The Lost Limericks of Edgar Allan Poe
   2. The Victorian Ghost Hunters Casebook
   3. Ghostly Clients & Demonic Culprits: The Roots of Occult Detective Fiction

Exactly how much this will shape my future book projects, I don’t know. Probably very little.

Here’s the link to the Charting Crocker Land main page. The links to the books are above.

— Tim