Publisher's Synopsis
Danger, Daring and Discovery - On the 25th of May, 1768, Lieutenant James Cook accepted his commission to sail the Endeavour directly to the island of Tahiti to observe a transit of Venus in 1769, and afterwards to sail further south in search of new discoveries. He was then to sail west to explore New Zealand, returning home to England by whatever route he saw fit. So began one of the most celebrated and successful explorations in history. Cook accomplished all he was commissioned to do, all the time making navigational observations of the highest quality. He also explored, and claimed for England, the east coast of Australia, making a perilous journey through the Great Barrier Reef and establishing, once and for all, that there was a passage between Australia and New Guinea. While the Endeavour survived running aground on the reef, the men aboard her were not all so fortunate; a third succumbed to dysentery and at times Cook barely had crew fit enough to sail the ship. Nevertheless, he was able to bring the Endeavour home after nearly three years. Cook very soon became a national hero. It is clear from this journal, which demonstrates the great care he took of his ship and men, his meticulous navigation, sound judgement, and astute observations, that he was an inspired choice as leader of the exploration. This is the only unabridged professionally typeset edition of Cook's journal in print. It is illustrated with several engravings made soon after Cook's return to England. Captain Wharton's interesting footnotes and additional commentary have been faithfully preserved and his original index has been updated and corrected for the new pagination.
