The first-ever illustrated account of the explorer and cartographer’s epic eighteenth-century Pacific voyages, complete with excerpts from his journals. This is history’s greatest adventure story. In 1766, the Royal Society chose prodigal mapmaker and navigator James Cook to lead a South Pacific voyage. His orders were to chart the path of Venus across the sun. That task completed, his ship, the HMS Endeavour, continued to comb the southern hemisphere for the imagined continent Terra Australis. The voyage lasted from 1768 to 1771, and upon Cook’s return to London, his journaled accounts of the expedition made him a celebrity. After that came two more voyages for Cook and his crew—followed by Cook’s murder by natives in Hawaii. The Voyages of Captain James Cook reveals Cook’s fascinating story through journal excerpts, illustrations, photography, and supplementary writings. During Cook’s career, he logged more than 200,000 miles—nearly the distance to the moon. And along the way, scientists and artists traveling with him documented exotic flora and fauna, untouched landscapes, indigenous peoples, and much more. In addition to the South Pacific, Cook’s voyages took him to South America, Antarctica, New Zealand, the Pacific Coast from California to Alaska, the Arctic Circle, Siberia, the East Indies, and the Indian Ocean. When he set out in 1768, more than one-third of the globe was unmapped. By the time Cook died in 1779, he had created charts so accurate that some were used into the 1990s. The Voyages of Captain James Cook is a handsome illustrated edition of Cook’s selected writings spanning his Pacific voyages, ending in 1779 with the delivery of his salted scalp and hands to his surviving crewmembers. It’s an enthralling read for anyone who appreciates history, science, art, and classic adventure.

Cook's three voyages of discovery, which took place between 1768 and 1779, are among the most remarkable achievements in the history of exploration. Cook charted vast areas of the globe with astonishing accuracy, and the voyages also made a significant contribution towards solving some of the great problems of cartography and navigation.With crews containing gifted sailors and navigators, as well as botanists, painters and scientists, Cook provides the link between the speculative, profit-hungry voyages of the Elizabethan seafarers and the scientific expeditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Maritime historian James K. Barnett discovered extraordinary journals and paintings of Captain James Cook's demanding final voyage languishing in Australian archives. Expedition artist John Webber and two young officers"Discovery" first lieutenant James Burney, and "Resolution" Master's Mate Henry Roberts--offer remarkable eyewitness accounts of initial European contact, the first reasonably accurate maps of North America's west coast, the earliest comprehensive report from the Bering Sea ice pack, and portrayals of the celebrated mariner's dramatic death at Kealakekua Bay. Particularly astonishing for depictions of landings along Hawaii, Vancouver Island, and Alaska, Barnett adds context and commentary to complete the story.

An in-depth chronicle of Captain James Cook's three historic voyages recounts his expeditions charting the eastern Australian coast, exploring the northwest coast of North America, circumnavigating New Zealand, and discovering many Pacific islands, setting his accomplishments against the backdrop of the colonialism of his era.

Uses humor in both text and illustrations to describe the hardships and pitfalls of joining Captain Cook's expedition to Tahiti.