Great Exploration Hoaxes

Written by David Roberts

Narrated by David de Vries

Did Peary reach the North Pole? Was Admiral Byrd the first to fly over it? Did Frederick Cook actually make the first ascent of Mt. McKinley? Spanning 450 years of history, Great Exploration Hoaxes tells the spellbinding stories of ten men who pursued glory at any cost even the truth. Acclaimed author and explorer David Roberts delves deeply into the psychology behind the stunt and asks why these individuals, all of whom were exceptionally able, would perpetrate fraud on such a grand and public scale and defend it to their deaths, even in the face of damning evidence, and why these dubious achievements are still so hotly debated, often hundreds of years afterward.

Demonstrating that the qualities that brought an individual so close to his goal were often the same ones that drove him to fake success, Great Exploration Hoaxes is history at its best: entertaining, provocative, and revealing of human nature.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781799727354

David Roberts

David Roberts (1943–2021) was the author of dozens of books on mountaineering, adventure, and the history of the American Southwest. His essays and articles have appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Adventure, and The Atlantic Monthly, among other publications. 

Reviews for Great Exploration Hoaxes

[amerynth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The opening chapters of David Roberts' book "Great Exploration Hoaxes" were so dry and academic (which is exactly what the author himself admits) that I thought I was really going to hate this book. The later chapters, however, are much more interesting and worthwhile reading -- though they aren't particularly illumination about why these men decided to try and fool the world. I've read the majority of Roberts' books and this isn't one of his best. But if exploration hoaxes are a topic that you find interesting, you won't go wrong reading it either.