MacMillan used the journal he kept during the expedition to provide an intimate view of day-to-day activities and relationships with other members of the party, detailing how he learned to drive dog teams, camp in sub-zero temperatures, and travel safely across the ice-covered Polar Sea. MacMillan's experiences and deep admiration for Peary's methods, leadership, and many accomplishments make for fascinating reading.
How Peary Reached the Pole allows us to see Arctic landscapes and Inughuit culture as MacMillan experienced them, providing a perspective from which to consider the northern environmental and cultural issues that continue to concern individuals and nations today, one hundred years after Peary's historic expedition.