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A review by billblume
Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before by Tony Horwitz
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.