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 exploration history, David Roberts tells the spellbinding stories of ten men who pursued glory at any cost -- even the truth. He also delves into the psychology behind the stunt: Why would these individuals, all of whom were exceptionally able, perpetrate fraud on such a grand and public scale and defend it to their deaths, even in the face of damning evidence? And why are these dubious achievements 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.