Captain James Cook: A Biography - Softcover

Hough, Richard Alexander

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0393315193 ISBN 13: 9780393315196

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997

Synopsis

"[Hough's] thorough and lively biography . . . interprets the life with sympathy and skill. From first page to last, Hough leaves no doubt that he is telling the story not merely of a great sailor but also of a great man."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

James Cook, born in 1728, was one of the most celebrated men of his time, the last and the greatest of the romantic navigator/explorers. His voyages in the Royal Navy to the eastern and western seaboards of North America, the North and South Pacific, the Arctic, and the Antarctic brought a new understanding of the worlds geography and of the peoples, flora, and fauna of the lands he discovered.

Richard Hough's vivid narrative captures all the excitement of this age of discovery and establishes Cook as a link between the vague scientific speculations of the early eighteenth century and the industrial revolution to come. A pioneer in many fields, Cook produced maps of unprecedented accuracy; revolutionized the seaman's diet, all but eliminating scurvy; and exploded the myth of the Great Southern Continent imagined by earlier geographers and scientists.

Hough consulted numerous archives and traveled in Cook's wake from Alaska to Tasmania, visiting many of the Pacific islands--including the spot where Cook was stoned to death by cannibals in the Hawaiian archipelago--to produce a comprehensive and immensely readable biography, full of new insights into the life of one of the worlds greatest mariners. Photographs

About this title

About the Author

Richard Hough, a noted naval historian and author, lives in England.

From Booklist

Long before space travel and long before the proliferation of media made the world a "global village," the most dashing and courageous men in the world were such explorers as Captain James Cook. Hough's easygoing, thorough treatment of the early years of Cook's training and the later years of exploration and discovery spotlights a proud, determined man whose exploring was tightly tied to scientific speculations. Cook's meanderings introduced countless new flora and fauna and acquainted Europeans with the many cultures of the Pacific, among them the Maoris and the Hawaiians, the latter of whom dealt the explorer--literally--a death blow. (A spectacular account of Captain Cook's death at the hands of the islanders is one of the high points of the book.) Hough finishes with a flourish by suggesting that a heretofore unknown health problem may have led to the incident provoking the captain's death. The legacy of Cook, last of the great adventurers of the exploration era, is clearly indicated in his transition from exploration in search of gold and riches to modern scientific exploration. Joe Collins

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0393315193
• ISBN 13: 9780393315196
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 436