Description

First published in 1777, A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World (Vol. 1 and 2) distills Cook's 1772-1775 circumnavigation in HMS Resolution (with Furneaux's Adventure initially in company). In spare, data-rich prose he records multiple crossings of the Antarctic Circle, the collapse of Terra Australis, and visits to Tahiti, Tonga, Easter Island, New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, Norfolk Island, and South Georgia, interleaving precise latitudes, thermometric readings, charts, and restrained ethnographic notice. Yorkshire-born and forged in Whitby colliers and Newfoundland surveys, Cook united seamanship with cartographic and astronomical skill. Under Admiralty and Royal Society mandate, and alongside astronomer William Wales and the naturalists J. R. and G. Forster, he tested the southern-continent hypothesis while refining scurvy prevention, chronometry, and navigation; the book's plain style and calibrated measurements reflect that Enlightenment discipline. Scholars and curious readers alike will prize these volumes as a lucid primary source where observation, method, and ethical restraint guide discovery. Consult them for superb charts and plates, climatological and oceanic notes, and nuanced accounts of Pacific encounters; read them to understand how empirical travel writing remade geography at the limits of the known.

Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.