Known twentieth century books
Eighteenth century books
below
Captain James Cook - freemason? Clemens, Roy H. 1980
Between worlds: early exchanges between Maori and Europeans 1773-1815 Salmond, Anne. 1997
Captain Cook's Christmas Pudding Van Rynbach, Iris. 1997
Children's Captain Cook Stamp, Cordelia. 1997
Nature's Argonaut, Daniel Solander 1733-1782 Duyker, Edward. 1998
H.M Bark Endeavour: her place in Australian History with an account of her construction, crew and equipment and a narrative of her voyage on the East Coast of New Holland in the year 1770 Parkin, Ray. 1997
The Lovtsov Atlas of the North Pacific Ocean Black, Lydia T. 1991
The Voyages of Captain Cook 1768-1779 Williams, Glyndwr. 1997
The Replica of H M Bark Endeavour. The story so far: 1987-1994 Lefroy, Mike
By Haydn Middleton, Oxford University Press, 1997. 0199104352.
Yet another Cook book for children no better or worse than any of the others.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1525, volume 21, number 3 (1998).
By Roy H. Clemens. Published by Masonic Public Library, Honolulu: 1980.
This is an interesting little work prompted by the author reading in two Freemasonry journals articles that stated that Cook was a Freemason. In ten pages he sets out the evidence for and against and comes out firmly against Cook having been a member.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1525, volume 21, number 3 (1998).
By Anne Salmond. Published by Viking, Auckland: 1997. 0670877875.
This book is the sequel to Salmond's earlier work Two worlds published in 1991 which described events in New Zealand up to and including Cook's First voyage in the Endeavour. In this book Salmond deals with Cook's other two voyages in some detail before going on to describe the contacts between Maori and the waves of Europeans who followed, including sealers and whalers, missionaries and timbermen.
The Journals of Cook, Banks, Sparrman, Samwell, Foster and others on Cook's ships are used to show the European perspective with Maori descriptions being interspersed to give their versions of events. The whole makes for an interesting telling of Cook's time in New Zealand.
The rest of the book brings to light many events in the subsequent history of New Zealand that have often been overlooked or sometimes mis-represented concerning Maori's role in them.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1525, volume 21, number 3 (1998).
By Iris Van Rynbach. Published by Boyds Mills Press, Honesdale, Pennsylvania: 1997. 1563976447.
This is a book for young children interspersing a brief retelling of Cook's voyages with recipes for a Christmas pudding.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1525, volume 21, number 3 (1998).
Originated and edited by Cordelia Stamp. Published by Caedmon of Whitby, Whitby, UK: 1997.
Some delightful paintings by children from the Whitby area have been brought together in a charming little book that tells Cook's life-story. Among many lovely paintings those on pages 20 and 21 showing the perils of being at sea are especially good. What at first glance seemed yet another routine "Cook for children" is far from that and is much recommended.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1525, volume 21, number 3 (1998).
By Edward Duyker. Published by The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne: 1998 (ISBN 0-522-84753-6); 380 pages.
When we think of the people on the Endeavour voyage, most people think of James Cook, then Joseph Banks, then pause and add "some Swedish gentleman, whose name I can't remember, who helped Banks". Few people know much more about Daniel Solander, but a book published this year shows why we should know about this "overweight bon vivant".
The voyage of the Endeavour, with both Solander and Spöring, is so well known to CCSU members that I will not deal with it in detail. Duyker is to congratulated on ensuring there are sufficient maps to enable the reader to follows Solander's progress both in Sweden and England. In covering the 1768-1771 voyage he raises several items not known to the Cook-o-phile. He points out that at Solander was well prepared for conditions at sea, with his previous expeditions to Lapland. At Madeira he found himself familiar with some of the flora, having catalogued such items in Hans Sloane's collection. His experiences at Tierra del Fuego, when he nearly died, made a deep impression on him so that thirteen years later he was still conversing on the subject, and his efforts through the snow.
Duyker notes the places named after him: Cape Solander on the southern arm of Botany Bay and the Solander Islands of New Zealand, the genus Solandra, seven plants that bear the specific epithet, such as Astella solandri, the kowharawhara of New Zealand, two species of fish, such as Canthigaster solandri, a puffer fish, and Solander's petrel Pterodroma solandri. Duyker also includes a checklist of Australian plants collected and illustrated on the Endeavour voyage, an extensive bibliography, and both a botanical and general index.
If you read the book you will find a chapter on his espionage activities, and a discussion about the intriguing theory that Solander was the illegitimate son of Linnaeus. I also leave it to you to find the reference to the Victorian duo Gilbert and Sullivan.
Highly recommended.
Reviewer: Ian Boreham
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1502, volume 21, number 2 (1998).
By Ray Parkin. Published by the Miegunyah Press, Melbourne: 1997. 0522847161.
This magnificent work represents nearly 30 years hard work and the result is something to be proud of. Apparently the author needed an illustration of the Endeavour to use on a Christmas card and, unable to find a suitable one, he set out to research the subject. Being an artist and having had a nautical career Parkin has used his skills and background to produce a record of the ship with text and wonderful plans and drawings.
Interestingly Parkin makes no mention of Karl Heinz Marquardt's equally good book "Captain Cook's Endeavour" published in 1995 that covers very similar territory. What makes Parkin's book different though is his compilation of descriptions of the journey undertaken by the Endeavour up the East Coast of Australia in 1770.
Extracts have been taken from the logs and journals of Cook, Banks and others on board and brought together to describe each passage of the journey. To these Parkin has added commentary and charts.
All-in-all a most attractive work which comprises a book and a set of plans and drawings housed in a slipcase.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1503, volume 21, number 2 (1998).
By Lydia T. Black. Published by The Limestone Press in 1991 (ISBN 0-919642-38-1).
Vasilii Fedorovich Lovtsov had sailed in the Pacific for 32 years in the eighteenth century, and was an excellent cartographer and navigator. In 1782, while wintering at Bol'sheretsk, Kamchatka, he compiled a compedium of 18 charts, with lists of place names, from discoveries made by Russian mariners and Captain James Cook and his officers.
Some of them are based "on the declarations of service men who frequent these regions, confirmed in their exactness by declarations given by the two English ships under the command of Mr. Commodore Cook, his captains, Messrs. Clekre and Gore. Their notes [were] translated by the former Kamchatka Commander von Behm"
An excellent book from the only known copy.
Reviewer: Ian Boreham
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1452, volume 20, number 4 (1997).
Edited by Glyndwr Williams. Published by The Folio Society, 1997. Fifth in the series of Epics of Empire and Exploration
Glyn Williams has made his selections from the editions of John Hawkesworth (the authorised account of the first voyage, published in 1773) and John Douglas (the accounts of the second and third voyages - actually Cook's own work, "polished" by Douglas in 1777 and 1784). William's intention for this edition has been "to provide a continuous narrative for each voyage, while also giving due coverage to the more reflective passages in the journals", and his ultimate aim is brilliantly realised in an edition which is straightforward, uncluttered and readable.
The Folio edition is illustrated throughout - in black-and-white and colour - with engravings, paintings and drawings by the official artists of the voyages, William Hodges and John Webber, and by the engravers who interpreted their sketches back in England. (Many of the engravings are those that appeared in the first editions.) This new Folio volume is bound in full blue buckram, with a suitably nautical design by David Eccles blocked in gold and black.
With The Folio Society's usual flair for design, attention to detail and high standards of production, The Voyages of Captain Cook 1768-1779 is easily one of the most attractive and affordable editions of Cook's journals to be found today. Using the earliest available source texts, edited for the general reader, and designed to be gracefully legible, this is the ideal introduction to Captain Cook's voyages of discovery.
Reviewer: Ian Boreham
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1453, volume 20, number 4 (1997).
Edited by Mike Lefroy, it has no stated publisher, nor publication date.
Its 52 pages contain an average of one photo per page, showing the various stages in the building of the replica. Some of the photographs are stunning, others are fascinating, the rest are simply beautiful. Text is minimal. Page 11 shows master sailmaker Peter Petroff, page 50 shows 1st Mate Peter Petroff: older, smarter and with less hair! Unless you were actually there, you need this book.
Reviewer: Ian Boreham
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1418, volume 20, number 3 (1997).