Berton has such a gift for giving historical. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909. Pretty much the definitive narrative for Arctic exploration. Quite a story-well written and great reading. 5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anyone interested in the Arctic. But one of Berton’s more noteworthy accomplishments is the credit he gives to the “heathen ” Innuit, whose labors and assistance brought success to the few explorers wise enough to recognize their talent. Several of the Arctic explorers mentioned in this opus were founding members of The American Alpine Club and their achievements well known.

From Sir John Barrow, the bigoted British bureaucrat who never went near the north, to the best analysis I’ve read on the celebrated Cook-Peary controversy, this book is in keeping with the fine yarn-spinning that we have come to expect of Berton. Berton places the explorers-many of whose personal names are on landmarks all about the polar regions-in the contest of their times, noting their foibles, strengths and weaknesses, virtues and vices. It would be niggling to find flaws in this delightful opus because, despite a few minor inaccuracies, this book is the finest piece of Arctic literature that I have read. The Arctic grail the quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909 by Pierre Berton 5.

Pierre Berton, Canada’s sixty-eight-year-old popular historian, brings history to life and portrays the conquest of the lands and seas beyond the Canadian North in this carefully-researched book. Pierre Berton, who won his first Governor General's award for The Mysterious North, here again gives us an important and fascinating history that reads like a novel as he examines the historic events of the golden age of Arctic exploration. The chalice from which Christ served the wine at the last supper was sought, valiently and vainly. 672 pages, illustrations, maps, bibliography. Pierre Berton has written a revisionist history of the search for the Northwest passage and the North Pole. 1990 Pierre Berton The Arctic Grail limited Edition. The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole, 1818-1909.

The arctic grail by pierre berton