"[Hough's] thorough and lively biography . . . interprets the life with sympathy and skill. From first page to last, Hough leaves no doubt that he is telling the story not merely of a great sailor but also of a great man."--Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World

James Cook, born in 1728, was one of the most celebrated men of his time, the last and the greatest of the romantic navigator/explorers. His voyages in the Royal Navy to the eastern and western seaboards of North America, the North and South Pacific, the Arctic, and the Antarctic brought a new understanding of the worlds geography and of the peoples, flora, and fauna of the lands he discovered.