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elsmasho's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
tintinintibet's review
3.0
Middle aged rollicking. Blend Paul Theroux, Bill Bryson, Bill Buford, Rick Steves, add a Fallstaff/somebody feed Phil sidekick, shake well and send off to the wild blue yonder and this is what you get.
ckitchel27's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
nuthatch's review
5.0
Horwitz and his friend Roger attempt to follow the path of Captain James Cook's three voyages of discovery. Of course, time and contact with Europeans has greatly changed the societies Cook encountered. This is a lively and entertaining travel adventure.
literarylover37's review against another edition
3.0
This dragged at points but was still pretty interesting. Midnight Rising is still my favorite of his.
bkp's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book to be a pretty sharply written historical perspective on famed navigator and Captain James Cook. Horowitz' present-day explorations of Cook's journeys were interwoven cleverly with historical accounts.
Sometimes the interwoven stories got a little muddled. By the end of the book, there was some difficulty knowing whether the Cook segments were part of his second or third voyages.
Still, a great historical piece and excellent present-day examination of Pacific cultures.
Sometimes the interwoven stories got a little muddled. By the end of the book, there was some difficulty knowing whether the Cook segments were part of his second or third voyages.
Still, a great historical piece and excellent present-day examination of Pacific cultures.
ryanjjames's review
5.0
What a great book. Wow. It was 600 pages long and I wasn’t ready for it to end. The author has done an incredible way of blending adventure, history and a very thoughtful examination of the cultural impacts of globalization. In retracing Cooks 3 journeys, Horwitz provides a look at many cultures pre-European contact (Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, Pacific North West, Tonga) together with modern day impacts. An ambitious undertaking that was done in a very compelling way. Blue Lattitudes was hard to put down. I will now seek out more books by Horwitz. Fantastic job.
billblume's review against another edition
5.0
Most of my favored reading involves mystery, fantasy or suspense, but every so often, something different makes it through the cracks. With that in mind, let me introduce you to Tony Horwitz’s Blue Latitudes.
In Blue Latitudes, Tony follows the adventures of the explorer Captain Cook. Had anyone asked me before reading this book who Cook was, I’d have probably guessed he was a pirate (which says little for my knowledge of world history). Cook might well stand as the British Empire’s greatest and most notorious naval explorer. To keep Cook’s story from devolving into some dull textbook history lesson, Tony visits the same places Cook’s explorations took him. His many stops include Australia, Alaska and Hawaii (where Cook was killed). Tony’s mirror voyages inject a lot of humor into this book, and his writing takes advantage of his misadventures which include a hunt for a rare red banana, vast amounts of alcohol and an unintentional act of car theft.
Tony’s conversational writing style makes this book akin to a barside chat with an old friend. His own love for Cook and Cook’s accomplishments infected me as I read the book. Quite often, Cook became hated for bringing the “modern world” and all its ills to what were once pristine islands and other remote civilizations. The truth is that he was merely the messenger. The modern world was coming... with or without Cook. His fame and crime is being first.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing to see was how Tony became Cook. Nowhere did this prove more true than his visit to the isolated island of Niue. Tony found next to nothing documented about this place, so when he visited it, he set foot upon the island knowing little more than Cook. When he arrived, the locals greeted him with smiles, but by the time he had left, Tony received mostly dirty looks. His welcome had definitely worn out. This pretty much sums up Cook’s story almost everywhere he went.
One reason I read this book was because I met the author at the first James River Writer’s Conference in October of 2003. Tony was joined by another Virginia author Dean King (Skeletons of the Zahara) in a session about non-fiction writing. Tony’s discussion of his adventures made me curious enough to buy his book, and I’m glad I did. My only regret is that I waited a year after buying Blue Latitudes to read it.
In Blue Latitudes, Tony follows the adventures of the explorer Captain Cook. Had anyone asked me before reading this book who Cook was, I’d have probably guessed he was a pirate (which says little for my knowledge of world history). Cook might well stand as the British Empire’s greatest and most notorious naval explorer. To keep Cook’s story from devolving into some dull textbook history lesson, Tony visits the same places Cook’s explorations took him. His many stops include Australia, Alaska and Hawaii (where Cook was killed). Tony’s mirror voyages inject a lot of humor into this book, and his writing takes advantage of his misadventures which include a hunt for a rare red banana, vast amounts of alcohol and an unintentional act of car theft.
Tony’s conversational writing style makes this book akin to a barside chat with an old friend. His own love for Cook and Cook’s accomplishments infected me as I read the book. Quite often, Cook became hated for bringing the “modern world” and all its ills to what were once pristine islands and other remote civilizations. The truth is that he was merely the messenger. The modern world was coming... with or without Cook. His fame and crime is being first.
Perhaps the most fascinating thing to see was how Tony became Cook. Nowhere did this prove more true than his visit to the isolated island of Niue. Tony found next to nothing documented about this place, so when he visited it, he set foot upon the island knowing little more than Cook. When he arrived, the locals greeted him with smiles, but by the time he had left, Tony received mostly dirty looks. His welcome had definitely worn out. This pretty much sums up Cook’s story almost everywhere he went.
One reason I read this book was because I met the author at the first James River Writer’s Conference in October of 2003. Tony was joined by another Virginia author Dean King (Skeletons of the Zahara) in a session about non-fiction writing. Tony’s discussion of his adventures made me curious enough to buy his book, and I’m glad I did. My only regret is that I waited a year after buying Blue Latitudes to read it.
bookworm_anna's review against another edition
4.0
I knew nothing about Capitan Cook, nor did I have much desire to learn anything about his, when I picked up this book. I chose it solely b/c I have loved Horwitz's other books, and was interested in whatever he was interested in! I definitely enjoyed it. It gave fascinating insight into European encounters with Pacific Islanders. I also liked how Horwitz connects what happened in the past with what is happening today, and how Cook's encounters shaped (or not) what happened later. However, I will say that it does get a little slow towards the end. Horwitz follows Cook to the bitter end, and the end isn't quite as interesting as the beginning. I do love his sidekick, Roger, though!