Captain Cook: Master of the Seas - Hardcover

"Thoroughly researched and sharply opinionated."-Michael J. Ybarra, Wall Street Journal -- Michael J. Ybarra The Wall Street Journal "[A] first-class biography by a prominent British historian, Frank McLynn."-John M. Taylor, The Washington Times -- John M. Taylor Washington Times "McLynn does a yeoman's work in transforming Cook's terse, factual notations in the ships' logs into a much more readable portrayal of his voyages."-Publisher's Weekly Publisher's Weekly "[A]n accessible and exciting popular biography."-Michael Fathers, Literary Review -- Michael Fathers Literary Review "The life and eventual death of one of the most famous explorers in history is thoroughly dissected and brought to vivid colour in this work, which brings alive conditions at sea in an age when sailors were literally at the ends of the Earth."-Kent on Saturday Kent on Saturday "[An] elegant and intriguing biography"-Ross Fitzgerald, Sydney Morning Herald -- Ross Fitzgerald Sydney Morning Herald "A thorough and absorbing account"-Paul Orange, West Australian -- Paul Orange West Australian

The age of discovery was at its peak in the eighteenth century, with heroic adventurers charting the furthest reaches of the globe. Foremost among these explorers was navigator and cartographer Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy. Recent writers have viewed Cook largely through the lens of colonial exploitation, regarding him as a villain and overlooking an important aspect of his identity: his nautical skills. In this authentic, engrossing biography, Frank McLynn reveals Cook's place in history as a brave and brilliant seaman. He shows how the Captain's life was one of struggle--with himself, with institutions, with the environment, with the desire to be remembered--and also one of great success. In Captain Cook, McLynn re-creates the voyages that took the famous navigator from his native England to the outer reaches of the Pacific Ocean. Ultimately, Cook, who began his career as a deckhand, transcended his humble beginnings and triumphed through good fortune, courage, and talent. Although Cook died in a senseless, avoidable conflict with the people of Hawaii, McLynn illustrates that to the men with whom he served, Cook was master of the seas and nothing less than a titan.