James Cook's three epic journey's in the eighteenth century were the last great voyages of discovery. When he embarked for the Pacific in 1768, a third of the globe remained blank. By the time he died in 1779, Cook had explored more of the earth's surface than anyone in history.

Adventuring in the captain's wake, Tony Horwitz relives his journeys and explores their legacy. He recaptures the rum-and-lash world of eighteenth century seafaring gang members, and the king of Tonga. Accompanied by a carousing Australian mate, he meets Miss Tahiti, visits the roughest bar in Alaska, and uncovers the secret behind the red-toothed warriors of Savage Island.

Throughout, Horwitz also searches for Cook the man: a restless prodigy who fled his peasant boyhood, and later the luxury of Georgian London, for the privation and peril of sailing off the edge of the map.

Read by Daniel Gerroll

Horwitz starts his journey by sailing on a replica of Cook's first ship Endurance to get a feel for 18th Century shipboard life. He then spends most of the remaining time traipsing around the Pacific with his Australian friend Roger, who provides the same kind of narrative counterpoint as Robert Lee Hodge did in "Attic." Horwitz documents the changes that have occurred in Oceania because of Cook's "discoveries" and interviews numerous islanders to find out how they feel about Cook's legacy. The results are often surprising and enlighteneing.

Having said all of that, "Blue Latitudes" is not a classic on the order of "Attic." The narrative is a lengthy at nearly 450 pages and is sluggish at times. Companion Roger is not nearly as interesting a character as was Hodge and the moments of uproarious humor that made "Attic" so entertaining are mostly missing this time out. Nevertheless, "Blue Latitudes" is still a well-written and worthwhile read for those with an interest in the subject matter.


"Hardly Even Comprehensible"   October 25, 2002
 29 out of 30 found this review helpful

For various reasons, there continues to be substantial interest in great explorers such as Earnest Shackleton, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Robert Falcon Scott, and James Cook. This the first of two books about Cook which I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed. (The other is Vanessa Collingridge's Captain Cook: A Legacy Under Fire.) They discuss a common subject but from different perspectives. I highly recommend both. According to Horwitz, Cook set out on various voyages (1768-1789) uncertain of eventual destinations and traveled more than 200,000 miles while dependent (by today's standards) on crude, indeed primitive navigation instruments but sustained by his superior seamanship skills. Of special interest to me is the fact that Horwitz traced many of the same voyages to Bora Bora, Australia, Savage Island, Tonga, Alaska, and Hawaii. He shares his own reactions to what these areas have become, most in sharp contrast to the "pure state of Nature" as Cook once described it. Horwitz's extensive research suggests that many of those whom Cook encountered correctly suspected (and feared) that their lives and communities would never be the same after Cook's "discovery" of them. Beyond the wealth of information this book provides, it is that rare achievement among works of nonfiction: a page-turner.


"Ambition leads me as far as I think possible for man to go"   October 27, 2002
 20 out of 23 found this review helpful

In three epic journeys, from 1768 to his death in Hawaii in 1779, Captain James Cook charted most of the south Pacific, the coast of Alaska, and parts of Antarctica, claiming much of it in the name of the king. Despite the fact that he covered 200,000 miles, "explored more of the earth's surface than anyone in history," and redrew the map of the world, Cook remains a relatively obscure historical figure, even in his native land, and is the subject of legend, much of it fanciful, in the places he charted. In celebrating Cook's achievements, analyzing the man and his values, and evaluating his influence, Horwitz attempts to put Cook's discoveries into their rightful perspective.

Accompanied by Roger Williamson, an Aussie free spirit dedicated to wine, women, and fun, author Horwitz travels to those places "discovered" by Captain Cook, describing Cook's reception by indigenous cultures, and observing the cultures as they exist today--in virtually all cases, despoiled by contact with the "civilized" world. Tahiti, Bora Bora, New Zealand, Australia, Tonga, the Aleutian Islands, and Hawaii, before and after western contact, are presented in detail, using Capt. Cook's own journals, the journals of naturalist Joseph Banks (who accompanied him on his important first voyage), drawings by Cook's artists, and the research of Cook biographer John Beaglehole to establish the pre-contact cultures. Horwitz's personal observations, interviews with local inhabitants, and on-site research assess the lasting effects.

Cook becomes accessible as a personality because of his friendship with Banks, who often served as his sounding board, and, it appears, loosened him up a bit. Naturally expansive and enthusiastic, and uninhibited by responsibilities and the sense of morality which seemed to dominate Cook, Banks serves as a foil to Cook. While Cook conscientiously records the contours of islands, Banks is far more interested in getting to know the local residents. Horwitz's friend Williamson, on the trip primarily for fun, not scholarship, serves the same purpose in Horwitz's book, creating humorous diversions both for Horwitz and the reader and spicing up Horwitz's serious research.

Fascinating as a biography of the complex Capt. Cook, as a lively record of the age of exploration, as a modern adventure to "romantic" south Pacific islands, and as research on cultural anthropology, this is an exhilarating and fast-paced narrative, one which will reward careful reading and cause the reader to examine the dubious results of "civilization." Horwitz obviously enjoyed his research, and the reader will, too, however vicariously. Mary Whipple


Blue latitutes not Cook history   January 14, 2003
 18 out of 27 found this review helpful

I was expecting more info on Captain Cook and his exploits and not so much on the author and his buddy flying around visiting depressing islands and talking to people who had nothing to do with Cook and what he accomplished. The book was a rambling travelog and not much value if you are interested in what happened over 200 years ago. Although there was some interesting history included, it makes up less than half the contents of the book.
The author missed an opportunity by not expanding on what Cook did, how he did it, the tools he used, and how hard it was to do in the world in which he lived.