"Endeavour": The Story of Captain Cook's First Great Epic Voyage

Weidenfeld Nicolson Illustrated October 12, 1995. 1995. Softcover. 8vo softcover 192pp very good. This is the story of James Cook's first epic voyage, before he was officially a Captain in the Navy. Aughton is unabashedly a fan of this working class boy who worked his way up to be the best qualified sailor in Her Majesty's Navy to lead an expedition in search of the fabled southern continent. Joseph Banks does not come across so well, portrayed as a flighty aristocratic playboy with an interest in natural history albeit one who proves hardworking and determined as well. Drawing on extensive primary sources, Aughton recounts voyage from preparations to homecoming. The many maps are useful as we relive the explorers' highlights, which include Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia. They never did find the Southern Continent that was expected but did make many important astronomical observations, as well as 'discovering' Australia. The narrative is sometimes difficult to follow. It was an exciting, magnificent adventure, personally, politically and in the name of science. Fans of Dava Sobel will be interested to see where this journey fits into the history of longitutude: Harrison had invented his marine clock but this expedition could not afford such an expensive tool from the cutting edge. Instead, an astronomer made observations and referred to the nautical almanac (which was only current for the first year of the voyage) and they also plotted by dead reckoning (literally measuring their progress - not very accurate). The knowledge that Cook and his crew brought back to England was undeniably of unprecedented volume and detail; invaluable in the burgeoning Empire's race with it's European neighbours for world domination. .