Captain Cook Navigator & Scientist
Edited by G.M. Badger
Published by Australian National University Press: Canberra 1970 1st Edition
"An important scholarly contribution to Cook studies, Captain Cook: Navigator & Scientist was published in 1970 by Australian National University Press to commemorate the bicentenary of Captain James Cook's Pacific voyages. Edited by G. M. Badger, the volume gathers papers presented at the Cook Bicentenary Symposium held by the Australian Academy of Science in Canberra on 1 May 1969. Bringing together leading historians and scientists of the period, the work examines Cook not only as an explorer and navigator, but also as a disciplined scientific observer whose voyages transformed European understanding of the Pacific world.
The essays explore the remarkable breadth of Cook's achievements, from navigation, astronomy, cartography, and ethnography to the practical management of long-distance voyages and the prevention of scurvy. Considerable attention is given to the scientific objectives of the Endeavour expedition, particularly the observation of the transit of Venus in Tahiti, as well as Cook's contributions to mapping the Pacific, New Zealand, and the eastern coast of Australia. The collection reflects the growing twentieth-century reassessment of Cook as a figure of both maritime and scientific significance, whose legacy extended well beyond exploration alone.
Presented in its original dust jacket and illustrated with maps and period imagery, this first edition remains an attractive and substantial work for collectors of Pacific exploration, maritime history, Australiana, and scientific history. Combining academic authority with accessible presentation, the volume stands as an enduring reference on Cook's voyages and their wider intellectual impact during the eighteenth century."
