Captain James Cook - Softcover

Hough, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340825561 ISBN 13: 9780340825563

Publisher: Coronet Books, 2003

Synopsis

In Cook's relatively short and adventurous life (1728-79) he voyaged to the eastern and western sea boards of North America, the North and South Pacific and the Arctic and Antarctic bringing about a new comprehension of the world's geography and its people's. He was the linking figure between the grey speculation of the early eighteenth century and the industrial age of the first half of the nineteenth century. Richard Hough's biography is full of new insights and interpretations of one of the world's greatest mariners.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard Hough with his high reputation as a biographer and naval historian, is the author of many books. He wrote THE MURDER OF CAPTAIN COOK in 1979 to mark the bicentenary of the explorer's death in that year.

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: Coronet Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0340825561
• ISBN 13: 9780340825563
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512