A True and Perfect Description of Three Voyages

by Gerrit de Veer

English (translation)
Original Dutch

500 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1853

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is out there under a few different titles. The one shown here is the most common, but I prefer this title: "The true and perfect description of three voyages, so strange and woonderfull, that the like hath neuer been heard of before: done and performed three yeares, one after the other, by the ships of Holland and Zeland..." I think this other title captures the language and tone a little better. These men ventured "where neuer any man had bin before" and dealt with "cruel Beares, and other Monsters of the Sea, and the unsupportable and extreme cold that is to be found in those places."

This is truly a "strange and woonderfull" voyage of discovery. Written in Dutch by expedition survivor Gerrit De Veer and translated into English by William Phillip in 1609, the version of this book you are most likely to encounter is the one republished by the Hakluyt Society in 1853. The Hakluyt society's introduction takes up about the first 1/3rd of the book, and can be skipped to make reading this a little less daunting.

Also worth noting, there are a handful of really fantastic illustrations within the book. Most of them show the men in their dealings with the "cruel Beares."

[Kat Gale]

Loved this book: the original journals of Gerrit de Veer chronicling the Dutch voyage to discover a northeast passage to China, and the horrific experiences which left them all on the brink of death in the arctic. An amazing account of human ingenuity, endurance, and survival. Go read it. Preferably in the original Dutch (the translation leaves something to be desired).

On a related note, the 2011 Dutch movie Nova Zembla, which is based on the journals of Gerrit de Veer, does not stay true to the actual events, so prepare to be disappointed if you watch it.