A must read... or must listen.

This book is an excellent insight into the life of Cpt. James Cook. The man has recently been demonised by popular belief and his deeds and thoughts misquoted and misconstrued . His thoughts and nature have been fairly discussed and documented in this book and that may surprise some readers (listeners).

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3 people found this helpful

Great story of a legend we didnt really know.

Loved been on board Endeavour for the voyage if only i bought more nails!
Dont past this book by, beautiful narrative, great research full of facts and a ripping story
cheers peter

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1 person found this helpful

Fantastic

So well written like all your books that I’ve read so far Peter FitzSimons- well done. To Michael the narrator- this was superbly read, could not stop listening. Thank you.

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1 person found this helpful

great historical book

an excellent book documenting the whole life of Captain Cook. also very interesting his views on Aboriginal Australians as well as other natives. definitely worth the read.

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Another stellar achievement

Well done Peter Fitzsimmons, beautifully portrayed, thoroughly researched and a joy to listen to. If I didn’t have your next book ready to start reading I’d listen to captain at once again and again.

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Informative, a great listen….but

I learnt so much about Cook, his men, his family and his voyages. It’s not often I’m inclined to listen in bed at night but I did for this. The stories draw you in, but unfortunately the accounts of what the Aboriginals thought, did and said while none of Cook’s crew were about are pure fantasy. There is no written record of their actions because they didn’t have a written language. Even what they said to Cook and his party on the few occasions they had interacted, could not be verified as their language was not understood. These accounts rely on stories supposedly handed down over 250 years and as such should be taken for what they are; just stories to support the modern narrative.

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Fine reading of entertaining biography

I began listening to this book with a somewhat heavy heart - could anyone make Captain Cook interesting as well as admirable? The answer is yes, Peter FitzSimons can, with the aid of his numerous researchers who dug out information from obscure sources, Peter tell us. There is so much extra stuff I had not heard about or imagined - details of naval procedure and exploration, customs of the inhabitants of Pacific islands, differences between Cook and Banks, info about the other men on the Endeavour etc. etc. Peter's narrative style is quirky but always engaging, even gripping. I am so glad I read it, or heard the reading. Michael Carman does a great job narrating the book, with many thorny pronunciations to deal with.
One question remains: when Cook was sailing up the 2000-mile eastern coast of Australia, why did he continue to deny the possibility of a Great South Land? Was he expecting something the size of Asia? It was 'only New Holland', he says, more or less. What did he think New Holland consisted of?

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1 person found this helpful

The current confusion over the actions of Captain James Cook

As a global traveller, not tourist, of many years, James Cook’s (spirit) often accompanies me as I describe to him in my mind the goings on of the moment. At 35,000 feet in an aircraft, sailing a catamaran in the Mediterranean, spear fishing in the Red Sea and so on. I explain the workings of an internal combustion engine, an IPhone and it’s feature, how I can watch a cricket match in real time taking place on the other side of the world an so on. In this way I remain constantly fascinated in everything as I’m sure he would be and I believe he would be one of the only humans should he be reincarnated today that would not die of shock at the technical advancements, particularly around navigation. The confusion mentioned in the heading here comes from the current perception of the man. When I encouraged my 15 and 13 year old kids to read the book, they were perplexed. “Why would you want to read about a man who ordered his men to slaughter aboriginals as soon as he set foot in Australia?”
When I asked where they got this information from they replied that it is taught to them at school. The school being an expensive and well respected private college in Queensland.
I explained that it was those that came after Cook that did this but to no avail. I believe that we do need to reset and fully acknowledge the truth of our past but I emphasise the word ‘truth’ specially about Captain James Cook.
However, this is a really good and satisfying read and now that it is read, the only way to fill the void is to start another of Peter FitzSimons’ works. Awesome book thanks Peter. Greg

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Most engaging history I've ever heard

It felt like listening to a Grandfather tell a fascinating story.
The narration is very good too, entertaining but not overdone.
Although we had learnt some of the history of Captain Cook in school, this rendition added so much detail, context, and humanity that it really brought alive just what an incredible feat these men embarked upon, and how inevitable were the misunderstandings and conflicts that arose when different cultures and worldviews encountered each other for the first time.
Beautifully told, and a great way for a New Zealander or Australian to easily understand more about their history.

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Great read!

This was the first Peter FitzSimons book that I have read (or listened too) – I’m sure the first of many more! I really enjoyed his style of writing- you really felt at times you were amongst Cook and his crew; in the story.
I was fascinated by the whole tale and hartly recommend this book to anyone with a mild interest in Australian history and the genius of Cook portrayed so well in this interesting and well researched book.

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