"No man ever did more to alter and correct the map of the Earth," writes Percy Adams in his new Introduction, than James Cook, the Scotland-born British naval commander who rose from humble beginnings to pilot three great eighteenth-century voyages of discovery in the then practically uncharted Pacific. His explorations of the eastern coastline of Australia, leading to its eventual British colonization; his thorough charting of New Zealand, discovery of the Hawaiian Island, and his investigation of both the mythical 'Terra Incognita' in the southern ocean and the equally mythical Northwest Passage, as well as his contributions to cartography and to the cure and prevention of sea disease were all of immense scientific and political significance. Though lacking in formal education, Cook was a man of great intelligence and unbounded curiosity, and his journals reflect a wide-ranging interest in everything from island customs to specific problems of navigation, charting, command, and diplomacy.
This reprinting of selections from Cook's journals, edited by A. Grenfell Price, celebrates the bicentennial anniversary of his explorations. It abounds in descriptions of newly discovered plant species, particulars of coastline and land features, details of navigation, and impressions of the various Pacific peoples he encountered. Cook's was a many-faceted genius, able at once to grasp the complexities of mathematics necessary for navigation and mapping and the subtle intricacies of politics and negotiation. He often recorded his keen judgments of both subordinates and native chieftains and priests in a way that displays his own great spirit and humanity. Always solicitous of the health of his crewmen, he took great pains to insure proper diet and conditions of cleanliness, and he carefully described these measures in his journal. His tragic death at the hands of Hawaiian islanders is fully rendered from eyewitness accounts, and the implications of his discoveries to the expansion of scientific knowledge are clearly presented by the editor.
Although Cook's journals will prove of inestimable value to historians, anthropologists, and students of the history of science, they can be enjoyed equally as lively narratives of high adventure and discovery. Any sympathetically roving imagination will take unbounded delight in this great classic of exploration by a most "curious and restless son of Earth."
INTRODUCTORY Chapter I OCEAN PROBLEMS OF THE 18TH CENTURY Chapter II COOK'S EARLY LIFE AND CAREER "THE FIRST VOYAGE, 1786-1771" Chapter III PREPARATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS "Chapter IV TAHITI, 1769" "Chapter V NEW ZEALAND, 1769-70" "Chapter VI EASTERN AUSTRALIA, 1770" Chapter VII THE VOYAGE CONCLUDED "THE SECOND VOYAGE, 1772-1775" Chapter VIII SEEKING THE SOUTHERN CONTINENT "Chapter IX THE ANTARCTIC, 1772-3" "Chapter X SEARCHING THE PACIFIC, 1773" "Chapter XI THE ANTARCTIC, 1773-4" "Chapter XII SEARCHING THE PACIFIC, 1774" "Chapter XIII THE ANTARCTIC AND HOME, 1774-5" Chapter XIV COOK HONOURED IN ENGLAND "THE THIRD VOYAGE, 1776-1780" Chapter XV PREPARATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS Chapter XVI THE CENTRAL PACIFIC "Chapter XVII THE DISCOVERY OF HAWAII, 1778" "Chapter XVIII THE NORTH AMERICAN COAST, 1779" "Chapter XIX THE DEATH OF JAMES COOK, 1780" CONCLUSION Chapter XX THE MAN AND HIS ACHIEVEMENTS
