Captain Cook's World

Book excerpt: James Cook, sailor, surveyor, cartographer, and explorer, was born in 1728 in Yorkshire. In the course of his illustrious career, he sailed into every ocean and was one of the first, if not the first, British explorers to set foot on most of the world's major continents. He was also the first to cross both the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. Captain Cook's World is an atlas, chronology, and biography of the life and voyages of this celebrated explorer. A set of 128 specially drawn maps and accompanying text give a detailed overview of his life, including his early years in England, his time in the North Sea coal trade and with the Royal Navy in Canada, and his three great voyages around the world in HMB Endeavour and HMS Resolution. Included on the maps are locations visited, named, or surveyed by Cook; the routes of his voyages; and sites that have been marked in his honor, such as monuments. Based on meticulous scholarship but aimed at a general audience, Captain Cook's World is a fascinating and accessible record of Cook's life and travels.