Product Description

Cook's three voyages of discovery, which took place between 1768 and 1779, are among the most remarkable achievements in the history of exploration. Cook charted vast areas of the globe with astonishing accuracy, and the voyages also made a significant contribution towards solving some of the great problems of cartography and navigation. With crews containing gifted sailors and navigators, as well as botanists, painters and scientists, Cook provides the link between the speculative, profit-hungry voyages of the Elizabethan seafarers and the scientific expeditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137168 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Customer Reviews

Interesting ethnic and antropological information
This book offers an interesting insight in how islanders (often referred to as Indians) where living up to the point where they made first contact with Europeans. Detailed descriptions tell the reader about the clothes, habits, weapons, food, etc of the tribes they meet. It also gives you a look at how life on board of the Endeavour and Resolution was regulated. How captain cook successfully developed anti scorbutic measures. How they introduced European animal and plant breeds into Islands and isolated communities (with or without success and without the slightest consideration of disturbing ecosystems). How they did research on establishing longitude and latitude (Captain Cook being one of the greatest navigators), etc.

However, this book is sometimes a tedious read.
Too many times the reader gets to read how many coconuts, hogs and yams have been traded for axes and nails on this or that island. The book also lacks good maps. It does include 3 maps with an overall view of the travels but if you are not an expert on 18th century geography you will often find yourself wondering where exactly they are.

All in all this is an essential read and yields great information on 18th century travel.

A truly fascinating insight into Cook's voyages, but at times tedious
This is a good book. If you are a disciple of maritime history or the history of the world in general, then you will find this to be an interesting read. If however you are looking for a story of swashbuckling and Hook-esque leadership, you may want to buy the DVD Pirates of Caribbean.

The book reads very well (voyages 1 & 2 are the best, in my opinion. As mentioned in the above review it does get tedious in places. I personally became very bored with the repetition of "we exchange four nails for 2 hogs, the savages were most please with this" or "two canoes came toward the Discovery in a threatening manner. We fired musket shot over their heads, to no avail. We fired the four-pounder, which, I say with great pride, had them returning to the shore with haste".

Nonetheless, this is still a good book. Voyages 1 and 2 are without doubt the most intriguing. Voyage three will drain the old grey matter somewhat, but stick with it.