The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. V. Being the First of…

Captain James Cook's journals from his fatal third voyage remain among the most extraordinary documents in the history of exploration. This first volume of that ill-fated expedition follows Cook as he departs England in 1776, crosses the Atlantic, and rounds Cape Horn into the Pacific where he becomes the first European to make sustained contact with the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the Sandwich Islands. The narrative captures a master navigator at the height of his powers: mapping uncharted coastlines, mediating between his crew and indigenous peoples, and pushing ever northward in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. Cook's precision as a cartographer and his insatiable curiosity as a naturalist permeate every page. Yet there is an undercurrent of tragedy ahead, a reader knows the great explorer will not return. These are the firsthand accounts of a man who reshaped the world's geography, whose observations of Pacific peoples, flora, and fauna would influence scientists and thinkers for generations. For readers who crave authentic adventure narratives, who want to feel the salt spray and wonder at lands no European had seen, Cook's own words remain unmatched.