Product Description

The Ship tells the exciting story of Captain James Cook's voyage on the Endeavour and describes what happened when a BBC team of volunteers boarded a magnificent replica of the ship to retrace a dramatic stretch of its route from Cape Grafton in Australia to Jakarta in Indonesia. Simon Baker, author and volunteer able seaman, begins by taking a fresh look at Cook and the origins of his first voyage - how it turned from a scientific expedition to observe an eclipse into a far-reaching quest for the Great Southern Continent. Drawing on original journals, he re-examines Cook's motives and reputation, revealing a more complex character than the hero that history has handed down to us. The replica Endeavour provided a unique opportunity to 'test' the achievements of Cook and his company within an authentic eighteenth-century environment.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #810743 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 223 pages

Review
Accompanying the BBC2 series, this book charts the course of a volunteer crew as they re-create Captain Cook's epic voyage of discovery from Australia in a magnificent replica of the Endeavour.

Published in conjunction with the BBC TV series of the same name, this book brings to life the famous voyage of Captain Cook to the South Pacific aboard the square-rigged ship Endeavour. 230 years after Cook, a volunteer crew, sailing an exact replica of Cook's ship, retraced the most perilous stretch of the original voyage, from the Great Barrier Reef to Indonesia. This book tells the story of Cook's remarkable journey through the experiences of that crew, the replica Endeavour providing a unique opportunity to sample the dubious delights of shipboard life and the problems of 18th-century navigation first-hand. Author Simon Baker, who was one of the crew members, also takes a fresh look at Cook and the origins of the voyage - how it turned from a scientific expedition to observe an eclipse into a far-reaching quest for the mythical Great Southern Continent. Drawing on original journals he re-examines Cook's reputation and motives, revealing a more complex character than the simple hero handed down to us by history. Long seen as one of the world's very greatest explorers, Cook's achievements are here re-assessed in the context of other European 'discoverers' and from the point of view of the indigenous peoples he encountered, the whole shedding valuable if revisionist light on the captain. Simultaneously, the diaries of the scientists and historians on board the modern Endeavour provide a welcome 21st-century perspective. There is a wealth of original drawings, maps and artwork, together with some spectacular new photographs. All in all, this book provides a fascinating account of two parallel voyages, separated by more than two centuries, but unified by common experience and a hunger for discovery. (Kirkus UK)