Henry Hudson

by Ronald Syme

A biography of the explorer whose search for a shorter route to the Far East led him to discover a bay, a strait, and a river on the northeastern coast of America.

Genres: History

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Sir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he is widely regarded as the 20th century's greatest historian of ancient Rome. His great work was The Roman Revolution (1939), a masterly and controversial analysis of Roman political life in the period following the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biography of the life of Henry Hudson and his explorations. Of the different books on Henry Hudson I have found and read this is by far the best. It reads like an interesting story. I learned a lot, and it was surprisingly tempered and respectful in its approach to first nations people for the time it was written, suggesting all were intelligent and deserving of respect whether it was given to them or not. I enjoyed this book. I read, or tried to read, 9 different books on him. In all the rest he felt like a historic figure, not a person and the book just felt like a lesson rather than a story. This book can be difficult to find but worth the search.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learn so much about Henry Hudson and what it was like on a ship at that time. Kids enjoyed this read aloud and fit well into our exploration unit. I enjoyed the story style and not just facts. I also liked the journal quotes which were really interesting. More history books should be written in this style so the characters of those involved can be seen alongside the facts.

[Ela Bělíková · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably not biography

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book while in elementary school and I must say that books of this sort have shaped and altered the course of those which I read today. I find it very intesting to look back at those books we read as children and compare them to what we find interesting now.