His perceptive analysis gives a new depth of understanding... highly recommended for history and anthropology collections in academic and large public libraries.- Elizabeth Salt, Library Journal, June 1, 2007, Vol. 132 No. 10 -- Library Journal
Using the life of Capt. James Cook as a framework, Gascoigne does as exhaustive comparison of 18th-century Britain with lands of the Pacific...Gascoigne's book is a historical treatise rather than a biography. Still, the author researched and documented his work, extensively. Pages of endnotes follow the text, which is well-written, meticulous and fascinating. -Charleston Post and Courier Net
Just when you thought that you had read all the different ways of recounting Cook's vogages of discovery, along comes John Gascoigne with a new approach ... the author is a good storyteller, and is able to link together topics that at first sight apepar quite disparate ... each of the thematic chapters is an unpredictable pot-pourri that makes for an interesting read. Cliff Thornton, Cook's Log -- Cliff Thornton, Cook's Log
This is not so much a book about Cook as it is about his negotiation of the southern Pacific way of thinking and way of life...Illustrations and notes add a fascinating, well-written book. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. -G. J. Martin, CHOICE, April 2008, Vol. 45, No. 8 -- G.J. Martin
Gascoigne provides vivid examples of how the process of cultural conflict and accommodation worked in the Pacific in the mid-to late eighteenth century. -Brian Refford, Journal of British Studies, Vol. 47, July 2008 -- Brain Refford
John Gascoigne paints a detailed and clear picture of the time and place [of Cook's], and by extension provedes a keyhole onto Cook. It is the Interaction between Cook's worlds, 'Old' and 'New' that is the central theme in this authoritative study. -- The Age
'[Gascoigne] is a fine historical scholar and has writtne a fascinating book. that ''' is enjoyable and rewarding. Cook enthusiasts and scholars will revel in the mass of new information ... and the insights into British society at the time of these great voyages ... I was often surprised and impressed, and I learned a great deal.' - International History Review, June 2008, vol 30 -- Anne Salmond
'An absorbing and provocative book.' - The Press, January 2008 -- Christopher Moore
'Yet ... academically rigorous .. also very readable. I was constantly arrested by aspects of the story which are fresh and insightful.[John Gascoigne] has given us history aqs it should be written' - Canberra Times -- Robert Willson
''thoughtful and original' - Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 34 (2007) -- Glyndwr Williams
'meticulously mapped with an attention to detail that Cook would have admired.' - Australian, December 2007 -- Marele Day
'This is an impressive book. ... it is cutting- edge scholarship. Gascoigne combines superb research, brilliant analysis and more than a flash of unusual insight' - History: Review of New Books, 34.4 (Summer 2007 -- Wade G. Dudley
'one of the great pleasures of this book is that it is elegantly written and in a style which should satisfy the general reader ... as well as Cook scholars. He [Gascoigne] confidently masters the broad literature of the voyages, the 18th-century British background and the available literature on the Pacific' - The Journal of Pacific History, vol 43, no 2, September 2008 -- David Mackay
