Raising Kane: Elisha Kent Kane and the Culture of Fame in Antebellum America

By Mark Metzler Sawin

Here is the cultural biography of Elisha Kane, a sickly physician, who transformed himself into an internationally celebrated Arctic explorer and author before his untimely death in 1857. This book is an important reinterpretation of the life of a prototypically American figure. Following Kane's exploits from the Mexican War through his arctic adventures and ill-fated romance with the Spiritualist medium Margaret Fox, author Sawin ties this Kane into the main currents of mid-19th cent. popular culture, opening a new vista on the meanings of masculinity, celebrity, and heroism. This is an exhaustive research work into the life and accomplishments of a remarkable adventurer, and a sociological analysis of popular perceptions of Kane's work and feats. Illus.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1606189832
• ISBN13: 9781606189832
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: American Philosophical Society Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.