Customer Reviews

Cook : The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this book based on the recommendations here; unfortunately I have to say it's been a disappointment, and I feel compelled to write my own review too. While the book is obviously well researched and rich in details, the author interferes too much in the narrative -- I am frankly not very interested in Nicholas Thomas' personal relationship with Cook and Australian history. He claims in the introduction that he wants to stay away from the hero and anti-hero biases, but the whole book is very judgmental of Cook and his crew. In trying to be politically correct in 21st-century terms, the author fails to capture the 18th-century spirit of the voyages. Indeed, he paints a dark, boring picture of Cook that doesn't coincide with the exciting contemporary reception the navigator had in the second half of the 18th century. The style is poor, with long, convoluted sentences that take re-reading to decypher. Most annoyingly, there are several typos of foreign words, which I find unacceptable for a book published by a major publisher -- it shows a lack of attention to detail. I wish I could recommend another Cook biography, but I simply don't know. I can, however, highly praise Diana Preston's newly published biography of William Dampier, _A Pirate of Exquisite Mind_ for those interested in European navigators.

Nicholas Thomas has pulled off a rare achievement writing a book that will appeal to both those already quite familiar with Cook's three voyages and those looking for an introduction to his journeys.
This is not the classic biographical study of man replete with details about his family and early years. Indeed Thomas barely gives passing reference to Cook's background. The focus instead is not on who Cook was, but what he did.
Cook's 18th century expeditions made him among the first Europeans to explore such exotic locales as New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii (to name but a few). There he chartered islands, collected specimens and had many and various encounters with natives. Unlike those who had gone before, Cook paid the natives lengthy visits, allowing time to establish understanding and communication.
The historians perspective has shifted in recent years to view European explorers of Cooks time as racist conquerors, given the consequences to indigenous peoples, this view has much merit. However Cook, like some of his contemporaries did not stoop to conquer, nor did he dismiss all people of color as savages. Cook would not hesitate to use force against natives who stole from his ships, but he also expressed admiration for many tribes and envied their happiness. He might even side with them over his own men when disputes arose. It is the fascinating meetings of cultures that make this time period, these types of voyages and Thomas' book so compelling. Cook's experiences, like many others in the years before exploration turned to conquest, were varied. Those that went badly could have tragic consequences, such as the one which claimed Cook's life. Thomas is to be lauded for presenting these meetings in what is at once a detailed and engaging manner.
My only quibble with Thomas' book is the over dependence on quotes from Cook's journals. How indispensable to historians that Cook (and others on his voyages) left such comprehensive journals. What a treat to read some of Cook's own words. But too often the narrative is bogged down by the author's decision to quote liberally, often paragraphs at a time, from the journals. Sometimes telling not showing is preferable.
That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I do not feel that I truly understand Cook, but much more importantly, I do feel that I understand what he did.

This wonderful book covers the three voyages of Captain Cook and his exploration of the Pacific Ocean. Cook's first voyage explored the islands of the pacific. His second voyage tried to find `the southern continent' Antarctica. The third voyage explored the North pacific and ended with the death of Captain Cook at the hands of the natives of a pacific Island.

Cook was responsible for mapping much of the pacific ocean and its many islands. His voyage was the first to sketch the giant stone sculptures of Easter Island(Rapa Nui). He circled New Zealand, mapped parts of Australia, explored the Bering straight, kidnapped Polynesian Chiefs on islands like Tahiti and tried, in vain, to discover Antarctica(all he found was a sheet of ice but not land). Cook was a giant in his own time. He dealt with many powerful native tribes and his men catalogued the lives of these native peoples long before they were spoiled by colonization and western ways. This book is full more then fifty sketches of the tribes he encountered and the items he saw.

This is simply a wonderful accurate and thoroughly researched account of Captain Cook and his voyages and contributions. Anyone interested in Polynesia, exploration or the sea will find this account fascinating.

This is an anthropologically informed history of James Cook's three voyages to the Pacific. If you are looking for a biography of James Cook, a general history of Cook's voyages, or a maritime history, this book is not for you.

The anthropological approach seems perfectly suited to these voyages since they included a number of first contacts between Polynesian and European civilization. In some cases, especially in his discussion of the artwork and the scientific approaches of 18th century Europeans in confronting Polynesia, Thomas is engaging. However.....

As some other reviewers have noted, there is an air of anachronistic academic disdain that permeates the narrative and distracts the reader from engaging the subject. I'm not quite sure what Thomas's point is in much of the contempt he has for his subject. For example, he will deride Cook et al. for misinterpreting a certain aspect of Polynesian society, and tisk at the ignorance and cultural insensitivity that supposedly malinformed this misinterpretation. After all this, you'd think he'd supply better interpretations, right? Well, sometimes yes, with all the arrogance that 250 years of hindsight will buck you up with. Yet strangely, quite a bit of this book is devoted to his own guesses and speculating about Polynesian society. Perhaps these guesses are informed by that 250 extra years of scholarship, but they are often poorly argued and unconvincing.

Read a more standard history of Cook before you read this, and then be prepared to wade through quite a bit of the ideological sludge that sullies some interesting material.

I am not sure that the reviewers who complained about the "political correctness" of this title actually read the same book that I did. Nicholas Thomas presents an interesting, thoroughly researched, and balanced account of Cook's three voyages. Rather than depicting Cook as a malicious abuser of native societies, I was surprised to find that Cook was remarkably understanding, for his time, of cultural differences. The account of Cook's death in Hawaii (I trust I am not giving anything away), which to some extent was provoked by an unfortunate coincidence having to do with the native religion, was particularly fascinating.

My one quibble with the book, for which I deduct "one star", is with the style: first person asides, gratuitous use of the "F-word", and a sprinkling of contractions (e.g., "I'm", "they're"--this is a book, for heaven's sake, not a post-it note!). It is too bad that an otherwise excellent and scholarly work was marred by inelegant language.

As a member of the Captain Cook Society (www.captaincooksociety.com) I was asked to review Nicolas Thomas's new book on Captain Cook and his voyages. I found it very interesting indeed.
Thomas is Professor of Anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and it is the interaction of people with which he is concerned in this book, the interaction between Cook and his crew (including the artists) and the indigenous people they encountered on the voyages. As Thomas explains in his introduction Cook's ". . . life is my lens, for a new look at these formative encounters" with other cultures. Thomas is not so much repeating the well known story of Cook and his exploration; rather he is examining the voyages from an anthropologist's viewpoint, being more concerned with the interaction of new cultures and people, than with the technological, geographical and navigational aspects.
Too often, when you read a biography of a long dead person, it is all too easy to keep in your mind the knowledge of what happens next. Most biographies start with the birth and end with the death. Thomas's book is slightly different in that immediately the reader is catapulted into the year 1767 and the preparations of the first voyage. As the name of the book implies, it is the voyages which tell the story; Cook's childhood and early career serve only as material which the reader is filled in on briefly, to explain how Cook got to be in charge of the Endeavour. Thomas tries to write without the benefit of hindsight, which to a large degree I believe he succeeds in.
I approached this book with anticipation but wondering why, and how, another book could be written on Cook, when there have been so many published beforehand. However, I feel Thomas adds something to the debate surrounding Cook's life as he reviews some of the aspects and events which I thought were set in stone and give them fresh consideration. After Cook's death, he was for a long time regarded as someone who had done no wrong. In recent years this opinion has been reversed, with the third voyage viewed as a trip during which Cook's mental decline is demonstrated.
Thomas considers these differing views and gives it what I consider to be an interesting summarisation. For example, "Cook's third voyage has often been seen as one marked by the growing, indeed the enveloping fatigue of the great navigator. It is supposed that Cook suffered lapses in his abilities, curiosity and decisiveness; more antagonistic commentators claim that he became detached, irrational, and violent. It is not hard to understand why the tale has been told in these terms: we like it when a great character's life exhibits a rise and fall, and may perhaps be seduced by the notion that a colonizer might collapse, like Conrad's Kurtz, into some black hole of his own evil. But Cook's voyages do not exhibit any such trend. Some of the worst violence occurred in New Zealand as early as 1769, when the man was supposedly saner. And the third voyage is marked by ups and downs, not by any sort of downward spiral." (p.376)
Cook's death is also treated in this way, with Thomas stating previous views and dismissing them; "It has been argued that something in Cook snapped, prompting him to shoot, and this led to his death. But there was nothing perverse or anomalous in his behaviour on the morning of 14 February 1779. He had fired, sometimes with small shot, and sometimes with ball, during both his first and second voyages." (p.396)
One assumes academics will produce good books but that you need a dictionary beside you! It was refreshing to read a book which was written by a normal person! Yes, it was clear that the author was an academic but it was an easy and enjoyable book to read. I have only two minor complaints; first, it would have been nice to have had some of the paintings reproduced in colour as the descriptions are so multi-coloured. And secondly, I wish someone would invent a way of snuggling up to a hardback book in bed!

Before reading this book, most of what I knew about Captain Cook was from high school (not much) and from a vacation or two in Hawaii complete with visits to historic sites. I saw it at the library and checked it out because I am enrolled in a "Pacific Islanders in the U.S." course at my local junior college, and because I'm planning another vacation in Hawaii and want to feel more grounded in the history of the place while I'm there.
I thought the book was great. It really cut through a lot of the mythology that surrounds what most of us are taught about Cook, to the real person, with failings as well as strengths. What I loved was I felt I got both perspectives, Cook's as well as the point of view of the People he encountered on the islands. One thing I got from the book is that Cook missed a lot. His journal records his perspective, but as well-meaning as it might be, that perspective was narrow and often limited by his own background. The island kingdoms he encountered, in Tonga, Hawaii and others were politically complex, and socially and culturally rich. Power plays were being made, not only by Cook, but by the People on the beach. I thought the presentation was balanced, and fascinating, and I am grateful for having read a book that allows me to think about this moment in history, and the islands themselves, in a broader way.

I was hoping for a detailed description of the voyages, such as life aboard ship, weather conditions, British maritime customs, etc. Instead, you get a shallow analysis of the sociological implications of culture clash between the brutal British and the angelic natives, with much political correctness and rank speculation thrown in.

Howard Zinn's style of revisionist history is alive and well.

The author does a fine job taking us through the three voyages of Cook -- bringing in quotes and material from the journals of the Captain and other participants. It is an easy read. But, the author repeatedly interjects "holier than thou" judgements on Cook and the crew. I was often annoyed with the author's personal opinions and hindsight judgements -- in fact, at times I wanted to bonk Thomas on the head for being so arrogant.

Perhaps the title should have been a hint - Simply "Cook", no Captain. Within pages this guy had me bored by his unimaginative noble savage approach. He does not appear to really know very deeply the social, political and intellectual world in which Cook lived, either. This is the first book about the great Captain Cook, an unassuming hero and superachiever, that I have ever found just too boring to finish. The axe grinding is just too much. For heaven's sake, if you've never read anything about Captain Cook, don't make this the first. Probably just stay away from anything written by this author, who in my opinion is a good example of "a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest".