Was Peary the first man to reach the North Pole, as he claimed, on April 6, 1909? Rival explorer Frederick Cook, who claimed to have beaten Perry to the goal, called the announcement a hoax. The conflict ignited the greatest dispute in thehistory of exploration, one that continues today. Here is Peary's own account, written in 1910 and including hotly contested evidence. Includes bonus PDF e-book.