Into the Blue: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before

Publisher: Bloomsbury, 2002 £ 20

Using the rather tired formula of re-tracing the itinerary of an explorer’s travels, Tony Horowitz’s account of Captain Cook’s epic voyages nevertheless contains many fascinating anecdotes and historical sketches. The early chapters are especially interesting in their description of Cook’s rapid rise from poverty to become a senior figure in the Royal Navy and in public life, culminating in his election to the Royal Society.

Despite these well-constructed sections, the style eventually grates and some of the contemporary episodes in the author’s own travels are, frankly, rather juvenile and mildly embarrassing. Reading the book certainly awakened my own interest in the subject but my advice to anyone interested in Captain Cook’s well-documented life and voyages would be to choose another source to develop their knowledge. The book contains, inside the covers, useful Mercator projections of the voyages and also a good bibliography and list of source notes. - SRD

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