Captain James Cook

by Rob Mundle

A biography that puts you on the quarterdeck with history's greatest sailor Captain James Cook is one of the greatest maritime explorers in world history. Over three remarkable voyages of discovery into the Pacific in the latter part of the eighteenth century, Cook unravelled the oldest mystery surrounding the existence of Terra Australis Incognita - the Great South Land. He became the first explorer to circumnavigate New Zealand and establish that it was two main islands; discover the Hawaiian Islands for the British Empire; and left an enduring legacy. Rob Mundle introduces us to an unlikely sailor in a teenage Cook, who, through the combination of hard-won skills as a seafarer, the talents of a self-taught navigator and surveyor, and an exceptional ability to lead and care for his men, climbed the ranks of the Royal Navy to achieve legendary status among all who sailed and mapped the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Australia

Unknown Binding

About the author

Rob Mundle is the author of the highly acclaimed international bestseller Fatal Storm. He has written six other books, including the bestselling Sir James Hardy: An Adventurous Life, Alan Bond’s authorised biography,Bond, and Life at the Extreme, the official record of the 2005/2006 Volvo Ocean Race round the world. He lives in Main Beach, Queensland.

Reviews

[Calzean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author has an affinity with the sea and sailing and an understandable respect of James Cook.
This book explores all of Cook's life, his early days on colliers, in the England-French War that saw the creation of Canada, how he learnt his craft as a navigator and surveyor, his various voyages, those who sailed with him, how the ships he sailed actually sailed and his many achievements. This is a very well written narrative covering Cook and his times. No matter how many times I have read about Cook, he still comes across as an outstanding man of his times whose self-taught knowledge, perseverance and tolerance are so impressive.

[Cliff Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, cover to cover, is a very exciting and interesting read. If you are interested in life on the ocean wave, the great sailing ships, the tradition of English history, or even generally about what life was like in the late 1700s when so much history was being made, this book is for you.
James Cook's story, like the story of virtually all great conquests and achievements, is one of overcoming great odds and showing unending courage and determination when suffering many set-backs and close disasters.
Captain Cook was born in the Yorkshire village of Marton, 7th November 1728. Having moved to Whitby to become an apprentice in a Quaker owned shipping company, he later joined the Royal Navy during the 7 Years War.
In 1768 Cook took the Endeavour on a scientific voyage in the Pacific Ocean. The main purpose was to record the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun which, when combined with observations from other places on Earth, would help to determine the distance of the Earth from the Sun.
After spending abundant time in Tahiti Cook unsealed secret orders to search for the postulated rich southern continent of Terra Australis. He then sailed to New Zealand and was the first European to make contact with the Maoris - several of his crew eaten by them after various interactions.
He then voyaged west, reaching the southeastern coast of Australia on 19th April 1770.
After discovering what is now Sydney, they continued northwards. The ship nearly sank several times on the Great Barrier Reef and many crewmen died of malaria on the journey home. However, Cook was known for his methods in eradicating scurvy and so the British where so much more successful as a seafaring nation at the time, greatly aided by this development.
In his second great voyage in 1773 Cook took the ship Resolution to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible in order to discover whether there was a great southern continent. It was believed at the time the world likely had balanced land masses across it surface in order to maintain its stability in space.
They sailed a very long way south in the Pacific but did not discover Antarctica but Cook predicted it existed beyond the ice barrier.
In the course of the voyage he visited Easter Island, the Marquesas, Tahiti, the Society Islands, Niue, the Tonga Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Palmerston Island, South Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia, many of which he named in the process. During this voyage the
Larcum Kendall K1 chronometer was successfully employed by William Wales to calculate longitude. Wales compiled a log book of the voyage, recording locations and conditions, the use and testing of various instruments, as well as making many observations of the people and places encountered on the voyage.
In his third and final voyage (12th July 1776-4th October 1780) Cook took HMS Resolution to investigate the Northern Passage via the Bering Strait. He sailed from Plymouth via Cape Town and Tenerife to New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands, and along the North American coast.
The North passage was unattainable due to ice and the ship eventually rested in Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii. Cook was to die there after a fight broke out with the local Hawaiians which through many misunderstandings, Cook was violently killed.

[Shirley Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read about Captain James Cook which is one of the greatest maritime explorers in world history!

[Radovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book! It describes the life and voyages of James Cook in a very vivid manner. It describe his extraordinary raise from simple beginnings to navy surveyor in Canada and later commander of three legendary circumnavigations. What is interesting is that these voyages were commissioned as scientific projects of discovery and observation. He charted much of southern ocean in search of Terra Australlis incognita which he did not find but discovered for instance eastern coast of Australia, proved that New Zealand is composed of two islands or discovered Hawai. Overall he named around 300 landmarks around the world. Interestingly, James Cook was one of the first who eradicated scurvy of his ships due to intentional diet of fresh foods for his crew. I only regret that the book is not supplied with more detailed maps of the voyages, but apart from it I highly recommend to everyone interested in history and geography.

[Helen Blunden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously the man was a legend. Reading about the voyages he made, the discoveries and the adventures and all the while just "getting on with it" was awe inspiring.

Even more so when, off his own bat, decided to join the RN at 26. At a time when people were press ganged into service, he seeks out to enlist voluntarily and at a much older age than anyone else. I could just imagine his "recruitment officer" who had probably thought "this guy's a nutter" but he screamed through the ranks because he was a highly skilled sailor and navigator.

I'm in awe of this guy....he's a legend.

I even got a bit emotional learning how he had been killed by the natives of Hawaii and how his children had all passed away too. There are no direct descendants of this amazing man - that's sad...

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Australian history and thought it was time to revisit the story of Captain Cook.
This book was really well written and hard to put down.
Cook himself, was quiet the interesting character. His passion and drive for exploration and the sea, his first class navigation and mapping skills. Married for 16 years, home for 4. The man just burned to be out on the sea, despite freezing conditions, getting stuck on coral reefs, illness, wild storms and cannibal islanders. No surprise when arriving back home after a decade and given an office job, the itch struck and he was back out on the water again.
I really was taking a liking too Cook, his genius and determination, until I learnt of his anger and frustration towards the natives who stole from the ship when it was docked; cutting off their ears, subjecting them to 60 lashes, shooting at them and launching boat hooks into them as they swam away. When two goats were stolen from the shore, he set to burning down their homes and canoes. At this point the crew was questioning his sanity due to his brutality towards the natives who were assisting him with the exploration of nearby islands (Fiji).
Following this, his own murder was quiet savage, having being beaten and stabbed whilst retreating from native Hawaiians, who then took his corpse away and delivered the dismembered parts, piece by piece back to his crew. Lots of adventure and ghastly details.
Really looking forward to reading more by Mundle - Superb.

[Jill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband reads books rarely, but when he does it's significant.

The fact that he kept telling me, James Cook named Point Danger and many of the sights we walk today, and that he enthused about how the journey went. His family and beginnings. He updated me when Cook was up to the last voyage, how he treated his crew, how he met and behaved with indigenous cultures, and the way history has been portrayed maligns this great man's many achievements. He really enjoyed this book and feels that Australian history would be poorer if James Cook had not been the one to make the first contact here.

Now I have this on my to-read list but feel my husbands' viewpoint worth sharing.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book full of nautical terms and sailing ship jargon. Thought it got a little weak and sparse towards the end on his third and last voyage. Also kind of lacking on his home life back in England. Suspect the Captain was a bit of a tyrant but that seemed to show only in his last voyage. I would like to have seen more about this voyage in the area (British Columbia, Alaska, Arctic, Kamchatka, Hawaii are all of much interest to me and the areas of his first two voyages to New Zealand, Australia and the South Seas a little less so.

[Thodoris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cook was undoubtedly a great man of his age. The book is a detailed account of his life. The author seems very familiar with nautical technicalities and this brings an extra dimension in the narrative. Not only you learn about the difficulties of sailing in the 18th century but also you appreciate Cook's decisions and devotion to duty in spite of the apparent dangers. A must read for every adventurous soul.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, with well researched detail and an eloquent and captivating narrative of Cook’s life. I would have liked more about the time spent on Cook’s voyages and the interactions with locals (it’s quite ‘ship-heavy’, which is understandable…) and it’s very favourable towards Cook overall.

[Ned Lipes · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Cook could be a never ending biography - I'd recommend this as good cliff notes. Extremely interesting narrative, mostly from primary sources (journals) and covering all the highlights of the three voyages.

[Arnar Vik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the stories from the time of Exploration. Captain James Cook is one of its very brightest stars, and the tail of how they "found" the Great Barrier reef in the middle of the vast sea is a blast to us expedition fans. A must read!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully narrated, exceptional content. Rob Mundle has exactly the right knowledge of sailing to be able to compile this biography. This is an audio book I will be seeking out again.

[Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

although I'm fascinated by the voyages of Captain Cook, I could have done without the endless descriptions of the rebuilding of his ships.

[Erick Njenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book with a sad ending

[Adam Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid biography that is a bit undermined by its not-infrequent tone of breathless hero-worship for its subject.

[Richard Marney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and well written history of the man and his journeys.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on a legendary British hero.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had zero interest in reading this book and then couldn’t put it down after the first chapter. Definitely a page turner that ignites interest within those that have limited knowledge in maritime history.

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost finished around 3 other books , like history, ships etc, like it coz it's about oz & nz , but also like Cook not a typical upper class officer type I thought he was.

[Rod M]

Facinating insights into much overlooked and misunderstood history of Captain James Cook. Helps to straighten out the facts as gleaned from many and varied sources.