Known twentieth century books
Eighteenth century books
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The Illustrated Longitude (The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time) Sobel, Dava and Andrewes, William J.H. 1998
James Cook: gifts and treasures from the South Seas. The Cook / Forster Collection, Gottingen Hauser-Schaublin, Brigitta and Kruger, Gundolf. 1998
The Charts & Coastal Views of Captain Cook's Voyages. Volume Three: the Voyage of the Resolution and Discovery, 1776-1780 David, Andrew. 1997
Odyssee de James Cook en Nouvelle-Caledonie Picazo, Antoine. 1996
Die Reisen des Kapitan Cook Marc, Pierre. 199?
James Cook. Reinbeck bei Hamburg Emersleben, Otto. 199?
Giornali di Bordo nei Viaggi d'Esplorazione. Volume primo: il Viaggi dell' Endeavour 1768-1771; Volume secondo: Il Viaggi della Resolution e dell'Adventure 1772-1775 Marenco, Franco. 1994
Captain Cook as a hydrographer McGrath, Amy. 1998.
Endeavour. A photographic journey Polden, Richard. 1998
By William Dampier, published by hummingbird press in 1998 (ISBN 0-9532918-0-4).
This book stands at the forefront of British explorers' accounts. Captain James Cook has rightly been celebrated as the man who revealed Australia to the world, but it was Dampier who, during his twelve-year circumnavigation of the globe, became the first Englishman to set foot on Australian soil. Unhappily for Dampier's fortunes, on landing near Shark's Bay in 1688 he found the West Coast to be barren desert, with little to suggest the riches of the hinterland.
Dampier's feats of navigation and exploration, his intriguing and often comical descriptions of the peoples, customs and natural conditions of the places he visited, and his unorthodox mode of transportation – in a series of buccaneering vessels – all ensured a celebrity's return to England in 1691. In addition, Dampier proved, before the invention of Harrison's chronometer, that the Pacific Ocean was wider than commonly believed.
His subsequent book was a best-selling title in 1697, and later inspired both Gulliver's Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Almost every explorer in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries carried with him a copy of Dampier's masterpiece, and Clennell Wilkinson, Dampier's biographer, said, "As a travel-writer alone, his name deserves to be known wherever our language is spoken."
Today A New Voyage Round the World is not only a remarkable time-capsule with fascinating glimpses into the life of the buccaneers, but also a genuinely valuable scientific, social and navigational document written at the very beginnings of Britain's imperial expansion. In light of the Dampier's relevance to students to Cook, we would like you to see this handsome and stunningly illustrated hardback edition for yourself.
Reviewer: Mark Beken, hummingbird press
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1571, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Dava Sobel and William J.H. Andrewes, published by Fourth Estate in 1998 (ISBN 1-85702-714-0).
The original book, Longitude, was published in 1995 by Walker and Company, and reviewed by John Dusel in Cook's Log on page 1308, vol. 19, no. 3 (1996). See the on-line review
The illustrations enhance the story, which makes this version worth having as well.
Reviewer: Ian Boreham
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1571, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Brigitta Hauser-Schaublin and Gundolf Kruger, published by Prestel in 1998 (ISBN 3791318683).
The "artificial curiosities" that Cook and his colleagues brought back from the Pacific found their way into collections and Museums throughout Europe. This beautiful book illustrates and documents 500 items that ended up in Gottingen, Germany, where for most of the subsequent time, they have resided largely unknown and unstudied.
Cultural art objects from all corners of the Pacific and from points on the American mainland make up the Gottingen Collection and Hauser-Schaublin and Kruger have done a marvellous job with this book to draw our attention to its existence. The items are well illustrated, including over 40 pages of colour plates, while authoritative articles provide background on the history of the Collection, how it came to Gottingen and on the ethnography of the Pacific.
A lovely book to pore over and one that prompts the hope that other Museums with similar collections will produce books that show off their collections.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1572, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
Chief editor Andrew David, published by Hakluyt Society in 1997 (ISBN 0904180557).
Andrew David must be thanked and congratulated for completing the arduous task of bringing together the contents of this book, as well as its companion volumes for the other two voyages. As with the previous volumes it is a magnificent work and well worth the wait for its arrival.
Anyone wishing to assemble material in order to study James Cook would need as the cornerstones of their collections the works of Beaglehole, especially his "Journals" and "Life", and the "Art of the Voyages" compiled by Joppien and Smith. To these works can now be added David's "Charts & Coastal views"
The production is up to the high standard of the earlier volumes. The charts and views are displayed to their best advantage while aspects of the voyage such as the scientific results, the surveyors aboard and knowledge of Russian charts are detailed in supporting articles.
There only remains now Cook's charts from his days in Canada to be published (other than in a limited edition) so let us hope someone can find the time and resources to attempt that task.
(Has anyone noticed that on Roberts' chart of the Southern Cooks (3.42 on page 61) the island of Takutea is incorrectly called Mangea?)
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1572, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Antoine Picazo, published by Editions Grain de Sable in 1996 (ISBN 2841700119).
A small book in French detailing Cook's time in New Caledonia in 1774. This book is for those people without access to Georges Pisier's work from which this book appears to draw largely.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1572, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Pierre Marc, published by Bohem Press in 199? (ISBN 3855812438).
Marc's book has appeared in German published by Bohem press in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, and in Czech published by Arcadia in the Czech Republic. It is a children's book enhanced by good illustrations by Jindra Capek who has reworked many of the originals from Cook's voyages and added some originals as well.
(Interestingly the maps are in English).
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1572, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Otto Emersleben, published by Rowohlt in 199? (ISBN 349950569X).
This is an excellent little paperback that crams much into its 160 pages. The text, in German, is comprehensive and the book is well illustrated, not always with the usual pictures that adorn Cook books.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1573, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
Edited by Franco Marenco, published by TEADUE in 1994 (ISBN 8878195855 and 8878198781).
Both of these volumes are translated and edited by Franco Marenco from The Journals of James Cook, edited by J.C. Beaglehole. Marenco has done a good job producing Italian language versions of Beaglehole's editions of the Journals of Cook's first two voyages.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1573, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Amy McGrath, published by Naval Historical Society of Australia in 1998.
This is the transcript of a lecture given to the Society in 1997. Its thirteen pages offer nothing original. It reproduces passages and illustrations seen many times elsewhere.
Reviewer: John Robson
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1573, volume 22, number 1 (1999).
By Richard Polden, published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press in 1998 (ISBN 1 86368 227 9).
136 pages of stunning photographs taken from the Endeavour's departure from Fremantle to her arrival in London at Tower Bridge on the afternoon of 25 March 1997. As the title suggests the text is limited to crew's comments and various quotes from Cook and other periodicals at the time. There are two pages of background information to the original voyage, a page of specification of the replica and a page detailing the crew.
Having sailed on her the photographs taken under way have a certain appeal, as I can recognise most of the crew. There is also a very good picture of the Queen on her tour, which is a reminder that I was in her guard of honour of guides as she boarded. The book was a gift but I would imagine it is excellent value and a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
Reviewer: Chris Neumann
Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1682, volume 22, number 4 (1999).