Joseph Banks: A Life

One of our greatest writers about the sea has written an engrossing story of one of history's most legendary maritime explorers. Patrick O'Brian's biography of naturalist, explorer and co-founder of Australia, Joseph Banks, is narrative history at its finest. Published to rave reviews, it reveals Banks to be a man of enduring importance, and establishes itself as a classic of exploration.

"It is in his description of that arduous three-year voyage [on the ship Endeavor] that Mr. O'Brian is at his most brilliant. . . . He makes us understand what life within this wooden world was like, with its 94 male souls, two dogs, a cat and a goat."Linda Colley, New York Times

"An absorbing, finely written overview, meant for the general reader, of a major figure in the history of natural science."Frank Stewart, Los Angeles Times

"[This book is] the definitive biography of an extraordinary subject."Robert Taylor, Boston Globe

"His skill at narrative and his extensive knowledge of the maritime history . . . give him a definite leg up in telling this . . . story."Tom Clark, San Francisco Chronicle

Preface

1: Origins. Education. Botany

2: Newfoundland and Labrador

3: The Royal Society. Solander. the Endeavour Voyage

4: Tahiti and the Transit of Venus

5: New Zealand. Botany Bay and the Great Barrier Reef

6: Home Again. Resolution. Iceland

7: The Great Florilegium. Omai. Soho Square

8: President of the Royal Society. Marriage. the King and Kew. Botany Bay

9: HM's Sheep. Plant Collectors. Bligh and Bounty. Revolution in France

10: War. New South Wales. the Privy Council

11: Trouble in Sydney and Iceland. Declining Health. the End

12: His Will, and some Letters

Notes

Bibliography

Index