James Cook - The Voyages

by William Frame and Laura Walker

The twenty-fifth of August 2018 marks the 250th anniversary of the departure of the Endeavour from Plymouth, England, and the first of three voyages by James Cook that would nearly complete the map of the world. Interweaving accounts of scientific discovery with the personal stories of the voyages’ key participants, William Frame and Laura Walker explore the charting of the Pacific and the natural world, the first encounters and exchange between Western and indigenous cultures, and the representation of the voyages in art. The illustrations, many of which have never before been published, include drawings by all the artists employed on the voyages, including Alexander Buchan, Sydney Parkinson, William Hodges, and John Webber. It also includes the only surviving paintings by Tupaia, a Polynesian high priest and navigator who joined the first voyage at Tahiti and sailed with Cook to New Zealand and Australia. A stunningly illustrated object-centred history, James The Voyages offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to discover the extensive Captain Cook collection of the British Library, including original maps, artworks, journals, and printed books.

Genres: History, Australia

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

JAMES COOK - The voyages
By William Frame with Laura Walker

This book, edited in 2018 is an explicitly and colourfully illustrated book about the three voyages around the world of exploration by James Cook. The sources of journals and artwork are based on original documents created during the sailings by artists and botanical scientists on board.
It broadly follows the chronological order of events; however, some images, themes and episodes are treated more in detail.
The authors have chosen to highlight excerpts of the notes and reports produced by the scientific staff as these are not included in Cook’s Journal and, the views and interpretations of events with indigenous populations sometimes differ from the captain's view.
This edition is a perfect read together with the personal Logbook “The Journals” by James Cook which contains every navigational and explorational detail but is not illustrated.
I am planning to go into more detail about the routes taken in my review to follow shortly of “The Journal” by James Cook.

[Warren Wulff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent general introduction to Captain Cooks’ voyages. As a book sold as part of a British Library exhibit, it is typical and appropriate that brevity is to the fore and lots of art and maps included. This makes for a fast paced read that nonetheless leaves one with a very good overview of the three voyages. Solid bibliography given to propel further reading in areas of interest. The authors did a good job providing a holistic view of Cook, his crew, and the various indigenous people they met, although they are up front that they are largely restricted to a British viewpoint. That’s fine given the balance they do provide.

There are a few errors in mixing up east and west directions and in one case saying “northwest Siberia” when northeast is plainly meant. But this does not detract from the whole. High recommend.

[Shatterlings · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully presented and interesting account of the James Cook voyages. I am now ready for my trip to the exhibition.