Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook » (Reprint)

Martin Dugard is the author of Knockdown: The Harrowing True Account of a Yacht Race Turned Deadly and co-author of the New York Times bestseller Survivor: The Ultimate Game. His dispatches have appeared in GQ, Sports Illustrated, and Esquire. An avid adventurer, Dugard has completed the Raid Gauloises race three times, and is co-holder of the Around the World Speed Record. He lives with his wife and three children in Orange County, California.

James Cook was a complex, conflicted man of ambition, intellect, and hardheadedness. In 1768, Great Britain gave Cook command of the Royal Navy vessel Endeavor. Its three-year journey changed the face of exploration.

Library Journal

Like Pizarro and Cortez, Capt. James Cook changed history by discovering unknown lands and opening them up to European settlement. Born to a farming family in 1729, Cook longed for a career at sea, apprenticed himself to a shipping company, and after nine years rose to the rank of captain in the merchant marine. On the verge of a profitable career, he resigned to enlist in the Royal Navy and soon became an officer an improbable feat in the 18th century. After service in Canada in the French and Indian War, he was given command of a survey ship and spent time charting eastern Canada. Later, he commanded three epic voyages to the South Pacific, in 1769, 1772, and 1776, discovering Tahiti, New Zealand, Tonga, New Caledonia, and many other islands. In 1779, he arrived at the Kona coast of the big island of Hawaii, where hostile natives killed, steamed, and ate him. There are few exemplary biographies of Cook, and Dugard has written a masterly one-volume account of the great explorer's life. It belongs in all public and academic libraries. Stanley L. Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.