James Cook
The Story Behind the Man Who Mapped the World
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James Cook
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Narrated by:
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Michael Carman
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Written by:
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Peter FitzSimons
About this listen
The name Captain James Cook is one of the most recognisable in Australian history - an almost mythic figure who is often discussed, celebrated, reviled and debated.
But who was the real James Cook?
This Yorkshire farm boy would go on to become the foremost mariner, scientist, navigator and cartographer of his era, and to personally map a third of the globe. His great voyages of discovery were incredible feats of seamanship and navigation. Leading a crew of men into uncharted territories, Cook would face the best and worst of humanity as he took himself and his crew to the edge of the known world - and beyond.
With his masterful storytelling talent, Peter FitzSimons brings the real James Cook to life. Focusing on his most iconic expedition, the voyage of the Endeavour, where Cook first set foot on Australian and New Zealand soil, FitzSimons contrasts Cook against another figure who looms large in Australasian history: Joseph Banks, the aristocratic botanist.
As they left England, Banks, a rich, famous playboy, was everything that Cook was not. The voyage tested Cook's character and would help define his legacy.
Now, 240 years after James Cook's death, FitzSimons reveals what kind of man James was at heart. His strengths, his weaknesses, his passions and pursuits, failures and successes.
James Cook reveals the man behind the myth.
©2019 Peter FitzSimons (P)2019 Hachette Australia AudioYou may also enjoy...
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- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 25
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
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Story5 out of 5 stars 23
The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave.
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5 out of 5 stars
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excellent story, masterful narration
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Written by: Peter FitzSimons
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Robinson Crusoe
- Written by: Daniel Defoe
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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4 out of 5 stars
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A 17th century story and shows.
- By JohnS on 2023-05-10
Written by: Daniel Defoe
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Breaker Morant
- Written by: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Cameron Goodall
- Length: 23 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
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The Company
- The Rise and Fall of the Hudson’s Bay Empire
- Written by: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 125
The Hudson’s Bay Company started out small in 1670, trading practical manufactured goods for furs with the indigenous inhabitants of inland subarctic Canada. Controlled by a handful of English aristocrats, it expanded into a powerful political force that ruled the lives of many thousands of people - from the lowlands south and west of Hudson Bay, to the tundra, the great plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Written by: Stephen R. Bown
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Burke and Wills
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- Written by: Peter FitzSimons
- Narrated by: Michael Carman
- Length: 23 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
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- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Ken Burns, Brian Corrigan
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 105
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 87
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5 out of 5 stars
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What listeners say about James Cook
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- A
- 2022-01-07
good but not another mutiny
I got here, like some other readers, from listening to the author's mutiny on the bounty. This book is good, but definitely not as solid, though the narration remains impeccable..
My issues are: 1- the author didn't present the reader with enough historical context here. They kept speaking of the great Southern land which I took to be Australia. But I guess they knew something of Australia (called new Holland) but maybe not the size of it and they assumed there was a bigger landmass than Australia. This is not clear from the book.
2 - pacing: the book starts with Cook as a child and follows him closely until his first southern voyage. This voyage is described in minute details. The rest of Cook's life is then told very quickly in the epilogue including his death (something I wanted more information on). also the connections to the bounty characters are only barely touched on.
3- cook is always described as a calm and just man. In the epilogue the author says cook changed to become angry and not as fair. That said, there is not enough info on how and why this takes place.
Overall, not a bad book, but does not live up to high expectations of the mutiny account.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kevin
- 2022-02-11
Brilliant
All around brilliant content and what can I say about the voice narrator he is hands down the best for this kind of book.
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