Informative easy reading

"The story of the three of us – James, George and me... where we should have been separated by geography, history and place in society, our stories were now fused into one". Oh dear, this reader thought, one of those books where the author is the reason and core of the story. But this work is better than that, and is not even a “light” history as it closely follows the Captains own official journals and offers a very readable interpretation of Cook’s journeys of discovery and meticulous navigation.
Because of previous readings, of the original journals, much of the history was familiar, indeed even the interposing of the Collingridge name with Cook was familiar ground, as several other writers and biographers mention the connection. Tony Horwitz covered much the same material in his account of a similar search for the man in Blue Latitudes (http://www.librarything.com/work/143772/book/71205497).
Minor complaints… this is a rather ‘breathless’ narrative. Not that it is in the style of ”scribblin’ wimmin”, but in the overuse of the word. When I visit my cardiologist he always asks “Any breathlessness?” If he asked Vanessa she should, in truth, have to reply; “Only every third paragraph or so”. Everything takes her breath away or leaves us, she claims, breathless. And the author remains seemingly convinced that “Pickled Cabbage”, or even “Salted Cabbage” is somehow different to Sauerkraut. I seem to recall her using at least two versions of this famous antiscorbutic in the same sentence!
However, the author has produced a solid, well researched, history and a good book on this remarkable man, and any author sharing an illustrious name and engaged in a work that provides a connection between the book’s subject and that name could scarcely resist providing a strong reference.

Collingridge offers a very nice history of Cook's voyages of discovery that took the famous captian through the South Pacific and a possible 'discovery' of Australia. As a Captain Cook history, this book is worth 4-4.5 stars. Great narrative, interesting insights, and well researched information.

However, the subtitle of the book 'A Legacy Under Fire' refers to the disagreements over just whether Cook had been the first European to establish Australia on maps and in memory. This part of the book, centering around the author's namesake and early relative George Collingridge, is not so robust and is only really discussed after several hundred pages of Cook history are used as primer. George's story is briefly interspersed with Cooks, but only in the last few chapters does the reader get mention of George's argument that Portuguese explorers discovered and mapped Australia long before Cook was born. If you are reading this book for that argument, you will be disappointed. However, if you want a nicely paced narrative history of Captain Cook, this book will satisfy. Three and one half stars. ( )

A well crafted and very readable biography of Captain Cook, interwoven with the story of one of the Author's ancestors which gives a novel twist to the book. A clear sense of life on Cook's voyages, together with the political intrigue surrounding the "discovery" of Australia. Cook's family life and the reaction of society to his exploits are well covered. We get to understand more of this enigmatic character, and trace his rise and fall as a leader through his voyages. ( )