Captain Cook in a Google Book

[Iron Gall]

Some weeks ago I found a free copy in Google Books of captain James Cook's first-hand Pacific exploration journals. It has taken the better part of four weeks for me to reach Tahiti on his 1st journey. (And BTW, the journals are much better than any modern accounting. The notes are superbly written and do the job of taking the reader along on the adventure.) Cook was a shrewd man and had an eye for observing cultures. One thing I have remarked with some regret is that Cook may have been one of the last few to really discover an unseen and I'll-understood culture. In our time, most true virgin exploration on our planet seems to be underwater. All the same I wonder: Do Cook's opportunities still exist? Are there still cultures to explore? What knowledge can the sailors on this forum offer on the point? Maybe some adventures you'd share?

-I.G.

[SaucySailoress]

Welcome aboard, Iron Gall. Do you have a link for this book? (PM the URL me as well, in case I forget to come back to this thread, although as a new user you'll have to break the link or the spambot'll kill it)

[SaucySailoress]

Hang on, stop the pres.... I found one:
Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World

I also found the kindle reader app for PC which I hadn't come across before - there's one for iPad too... didn't know that!

[Cormorant]

If you're a Captain Cook fan, one modern book worth reading is Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before, by Tony Horowitz. He travels Cook's route and gives a ton of detail and background on Cook.

Come to think of it, I may be due to re-read that one over the winter. . . .

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Iron Gall

Cook may have been one of the last few to really discover an unseen and I'll-understood culture. In our time, most true virgin exploration on our planet seems to be underwater. All the same I wonder: Do Cook's opportunities still exist?

For an ill-understood culture, you could take a trip up the Potomac...

Mark

[boatman61]

Or the Costa del Sol....

[Iron Gall]

Originally Posted by colemj

For an ill-understood culture, you could take a trip up the Potomac...

Mark

I've had the luxury.

[Iron Gall]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Welcome aboard, Iron Gall. Do you have a link for this book? (PM the URL me as well, in case I forget to come back to this thread, although as a new user you'll have to break the link or the spambot'll kill it)

I'm not sure about a link. The book is titled "the voyages of captain cook" and was scanned by google from the Harvard library. It's the only one I found and is pretty old. Early 1800s I think.

[sabray]

It's free on ibooks

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Hang on, stop the pres.... I found one:
Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World

I also found the kindle reader app for PC which I hadn't come across before - there's one for iPad too... didn't know that!

Yup, and you can get it at this link in any format you like... pdf, kindle, ibook, HTML...

[dacust]

Originally Posted by SaucySailoress

Yup, and you can get it at this link in any format you like... pdf, kindle, ibook, HTML...

And you don't have to have an account to get it from your link, either...

So, now, instead of doing what I should be doing, I've been reading this for the last two hours.

Thanks,

-dan

[goboatingnow]

The other hero of that period was his contemporary Louis Antoine de bougainville , another fabulous adventurer whose exploits tend to hidden as the write ups are in French.

Dave

[svHannabel]

I second the recommendation for Horowitz's Blue Latitudes. This is an excellent modern day journey interwoven with Cook's journey. There are lots of excerpts from Cook's logs.

I'm not sure there are any cultures left on the planet that have not been touched in at least some small way by the modern world. But there are still plenty of uncharted, wild places to explore, complete with humans living the way ancient Tahitians once did. Borneo, the Amazon, the Congo, and many lesser known places still contain wilderness beyond bound. However, the South Pacific islands may now be forever changed.

Even if "virign" cultures of humans may no longer exist as they in Cook's lifetime, I believe some of "Cook's opportunities" do indeed still exist. Take crossing the Pacific under sail, for example. A big part of why I want to cross from North America to the Marquesas is to experience a long passage alone on the world's largest ocean, isolated as far as possible from land. This was an opportunity that Captain Cook had and one that is still there for the taking. In fact, the most intrepid sailors among us can still do it with the aid of GPS or modern convienences if we so choose.

[barnakiel]

You are wrong thinking Cook was discovering anything new. Reach to books on Dampier and people of his times. And they were not the first explorers of those areas either!

b.

[Iron Gall]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

You are wrong thinking Cook was discovering anything new. Reach to books on Dampier and people of his times. And they were not the first explorers of those areas either!

b.

and there is nothing new under the sun.... I think one of Cook's shrewdest moves was to create media buzz. It's the same thing Robbert Ballard, modern undersea explorer, is doing to get financing for deep sea expeditions. Just watched a TED video of his presentation a few years ago. I guess part of what makes a great explorer is knowing how to finance the trips by tapping public opinion. I'm curious: Does anyone know how Cousteau did it? Where do these big names get their financing?