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

4.0

This was a book recommended in the pages of Living a Well-Read Life by the founder of Levenger. It was a good recommendation. the book goes back and forth between the author's travels through places that Cook had gone, and his experiences in the 21st century and Cook's three journeys. The writing is styled much like Bill Bryson, with its wit and down-to-earth tone, and since I love Bryson, I loved the writing. Reading about the things that Cook accomplished with the tools he had astounded and impressed me - in an age where ships go down even loaded with to the second gauges and GPS, he went around the world three times with mathematical formulas and measurement tools. Instead of carbon fiber hulls and Kevlar sails, he dealt with wood tarred and nailed together and simple canvas. When you think about it, it's impressive that anyone sailed further than around their own country, let alone a circumnavigation.