Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World - Softcover

Moore, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1250619432 ISBN 13: 9781250619433

Publisher: Picador, 2020

Synopsis

"An immense treasure trove of fact-filled and highly readable fun.” --Simon Winchester, The New York Times Book Review

A Sunday Times (U.K.) Best Book of 2018 and Winner of the Mary Soames Award for History

An unprecedented history of the storied ship that Darwin said helped add a hemisphere to the civilized world

The Enlightenment was an age of endeavors, with Britain consumed by the impulse for grand projects undertaken at speed. Endeavour was also the name given to a collier bought by the Royal Navy in 1768. It was a commonplace coal-carrying vessel that no one could have guessed would go on to become the most significant ship in the chronicle of British exploration.

The first history of its kind, Peter Moore’s Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is a revealing and comprehensive account of the storied ship’s role in shaping the Western world. Endeavour famously carried James Cook on his first major voyage, charting for the first time New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia. Yet it was a ship with many lives: During the battles for control of New York in 1776, she witnessed the bloody birth of the republic. As well as carrying botanists, a Polynesian priest, and the remains of the first kangaroo to arrive in Britain, she transported Newcastle coal and Hessian soldiers. NASA ultimately named a space shuttle in her honor. But to others she would be a toxic symbol of imperialism.

Through careful research, Moore tells the story of one of history’s most important sailing ships, and in turn shines new light on the ambition and consequences of the Age of Enlightenment.

About this title

About the Author

Peter Moore is an English writer, historian and lecturer. He is the author of Endeavour (2018) and The Weather Experiment (2015), which were both Sunday Times bestsellers in the United Kingdom. The Weather Experiment was also chosen as one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2015. He teaches at the University of Oxford, has lectured internationally on eighteenth century history, and hosts a history podcast called Travels Through Time.

Edition details

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1250619432
• ISBN 13: 9781250619433
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448