Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone BeforeIn an exhilarating tale of historic adventure, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Confederates in the Attic retraces the voyages of Captain James Cook, the Yorkshire farm boy who drew the map of the modern world Captain James Cook's three epic journeys in the 18th century were the last great voyages of discovery. His ships sailed 150,000 miles, from the Artic to the Antarctic, from Tasmania to Oregon, from Easter Island to Siberia. When Cook set off

In an exhilarating tale of historic adventure, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Confederates in the Attic retraces the voyages of Captain James Cook, the Yorkshire farm boy who drew the map of the modern world

Captain James Cook's three epic journeys in the 18th century were the last great voyages of discovery. His ships sailed 150,000 miles, from the Artic to the Antarctic, from Tasmania to Oregon, from Easter Island to Siberia. When Cook set off for the Pacific in 1768, a third of the globe remained blank. By the time he died in Hawaii in 1779, the map of the world was substantially complete.

Tony Horwitz vividly recounts Cook's voyages and the exotic scenes the captain encountered: tropical orgies, taboo rituals, cannibal feasts, human sacrifice. He also relives Cook's adventures by following in the captain's wake to places such as Tahiti, Savage Island, and the Great Barrier Reef to discover Cook's embattled legacy in the present day. Signing on as a working crewman aboard a replica of Cook's vessel, Horwitz experiences the thrill and terror of sailing a tall ship. He also explores Cook the man: an impoverished farmboy who broke through the barriers of his class and time to become the greatest navigator in British history.

By turns harrowing and hilarious, insightful and entertaining, BLUE LATITUDES brings to life a man whose voyages helped create the 'global village' we know today.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Picador USA
Published: 08/01/2003
ISBN: 9780312422608
Pages: 496
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 8.28h x 5.58w x 0.94d

Review Citations: BookPage 08/01/2003 pg. 25
New York Times 08/03/2003 pg. 20
Booksense '76 Sep/Oct 2003 09/01/2003 pg. 1
Booksense '76 Reading Grp 04 05/01/2004 pg. 1

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 79568 / Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before
Reading Level: 8.2 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 30