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More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Beforeby Tony Horwitz
Staff Pick
Blue Latitudes is an enjoyable and often hilarious journey into the amazing life and adventures of Captain James Cook and his crew. There is no better way to learn nautical history than to bring an Aussie, and a bottle of grog, along. Synopses & ReviewsFrom Powells.com: When in 1768 Captain James Cook set off on his first circumnavigation, "roughly
a third of the world's map remained blank," Horwitz writes. Cook would
sail more than 200,000 miles in his career, from the Arctic to the Antarctic,
from Easter Island to Indonesia. Over the course of three great voyages,
he not only mapped those vast, unknown lands with astounding precision (Horwitz
notes that some of Cook's charts stayed in use until the 1990s), he also
introduced the West to the lifestyles and customs of countless unimaginable,
distant cultures. In Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook
Has Gone Before, Horwitz traces Captain Cook's path around the globe,
exploring how the lands he visited have changed, for better and — too
often — for worse, since Cook's landing. With his trademark blend of
hilarity and insight, Horwitz brings us the life and legacy of one of history's
preeminent explorers. Nathaniel Philbrick cheered, "Blue Latitudes
is a rollicking read that is also a sneaky work of scholarship, providing
new and unexpected insights into the man who out-discovered Columbus." Dave, Powells.com Publisher Comments:In an exhilarating tale of historic adventure, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Confederates in the Attic retraces the voyages of Captain James Cook, the Yorkshire farm boy who drew the map of the modern world.
Captain James Cook's three epic journeys in the 18th century were the last great voyages of discovery. His ships sailed 150,000 miles, from the Artic to the Antarctic, from Tasmania to Oregon, from Easter Island to Siberia. When Cook set off for the Pacific in 1768, a third of the globe remained blank. By the time he died in Hawaii in 1779, the map of the world was substantially complete. Tony Horwitz vividly recounts Cook's voyages and the exotic scenes the captain encountered: tropical orgies, taboo rituals, cannibal feasts, human sacrifice. He also relives Cook's adventures by following in the captain's wake to places such as Tahiti, Savage Island, and the Great Barrier Reef to discover Cook's embattled legacy in the present day. Signing on as a working crewman aboard a replica of Cook's vessel, Horwitz experiences the thrill and terror of sailing a tall ship. He also explores Cook the man: an impoverished farmboy who broke through the barriers of his class and time to become the greatest navigator in British history. By turns harrowing and hilarious, insightful and entertaining, Blue Latitudes brings to life a man whose voyages helped create the 'global village' we know today. Review:"Blue Latitudes is a rollicking read that is also a sneaky work of scholarship, providing new and unexpected insights into the man who out-discovered Columbus. A terrific book--I inhaled it in one weekend." --Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea Synopsis:Includes bibliographical references (p. 453-459) and index.
About the AuthorTony Horwitz is the best-selling author of Confederates in the Attic, Baghdad Without a Map and One for the Road. He is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has worked as a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and a staff writer for the New Yorker. He lives in Virginia with his wife, novelist Geraldine Brooks, and their son, Nathaniel. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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