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Captain Cook
This book is not an adventure story with a fictitious hero, but is the story of one of the great nautical heroes of the eighteenth century, a man who discovered many of the islands of the Pacific, to say nothing of the great lands of Australia and new Zealand.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1871
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About the author
Rupert Gould
18 books2 followersRupert Thomas Gould (16 November 1890 – 5 October 1948) was a lieutenant-commander in the British Royal Navy noted for his contributions to horology (the science and study of timekeeping devices). He was also an author and radio personality.
Gould grew up in Southsea, near Portsmouth, where his father, William Monk Gould, was a music teacher, organist, and composer. He was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy and then, from 15 January 1906 on, he attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and then the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, being part of the 'Greynville' term (group), and by Easter 1907, examinations placed him at the top of his class. He became a midshipman, and thereby a naval officer, on 15 May 1907. He initially served on HMS Formidable and HMS Queen (under Captain David Beatty) in the Mediterranean. Subsequently, he was posted to China (first aboard HMS Kinsha and then HMS Bramble). He chose the "navigation" career track and, after qualifying as a navigation officer, served on HMS King George V, and HMS Achates until near the outbreak of World War I, at which time he suffered a nervous breakdown and went on medical leave. During his lengthy recuperation, he was stationed at the Hydrographer's Department at the Admiralty, where he became an expert on various aspects of naval history, cartography, and expeditions of the polar regions. In 1919 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander (retired).
On 9 June 1917 he married Muriel Estall. That marriage ended by judicial separation in November 1927. They had two children, Cecil (born in 1918) and Jocelyne (born in 1920). His last years were spent at Barford St Martin near Salisbury, where he used his horological skills to repair and restore the defunct clock in the church tower.
He gained permission in 1920 to restore the marine chronometers of John Harrison, and this work was completed in 1933.
His horological book The Marine Chronometer, its history and development was first published in 1923 by J.D. Potter and was the first scholarly monograph on the subject. It was generally considered the authoritative text on marine timekeepers for at least half a century.
Gould had many other interests and activities. In spite of two more nervous breakdowns he wrote and published an eclectic series of books on topics ranging from horology to the Loch Ness Monster. He was a science educator, giving a series of talks for the BBC's Children's Hour starting in January 1934 under the name "The Stargazer", and these collected talks were later published. He was a member of the BBC radio panel The Brains Trust. He umpired tennis matches on the Centre Court at Wimbledon on many occasions during the 1930s. In 1947 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the British Horological Institute, its highest honour for contributions to horology.
Gould died on 5 October 1948 at Canterbury, Kent, from heart failure. He was 57 years of age.
Longitude, a television dramatisation of Dava Sobel's book Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, recounted in part Gould's work in restoring the Harrison chronometers. In the drama, Gould was played by Jeremy Irons.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_...
Gould grew up in Southsea, near Portsmouth, where his father, William Monk Gould, was a music teacher, organist, and composer. He was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy and then, from 15 January 1906 on, he attended the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and then the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, being part of the 'Greynville' term (group), and by Easter 1907, examinations placed him at the top of his class. He became a midshipman, and thereby a naval officer, on 15 May 1907. He initially served on HMS Formidable and HMS Queen (under Captain David Beatty) in the Mediterranean. Subsequently, he was posted to China (first aboard HMS Kinsha and then HMS Bramble). He chose the "navigation" career track and, after qualifying as a navigation officer, served on HMS King George V, and HMS Achates until near the outbreak of World War I, at which time he suffered a nervous breakdown and went on medical leave. During his lengthy recuperation, he was stationed at the Hydrographer's Department at the Admiralty, where he became an expert on various aspects of naval history, cartography, and expeditions of the polar regions. In 1919 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander (retired).
On 9 June 1917 he married Muriel Estall. That marriage ended by judicial separation in November 1927. They had two children, Cecil (born in 1918) and Jocelyne (born in 1920). His last years were spent at Barford St Martin near Salisbury, where he used his horological skills to repair and restore the defunct clock in the church tower.
He gained permission in 1920 to restore the marine chronometers of John Harrison, and this work was completed in 1933.
His horological book The Marine Chronometer, its history and development was first published in 1923 by J.D. Potter and was the first scholarly monograph on the subject. It was generally considered the authoritative text on marine timekeepers for at least half a century.
Gould had many other interests and activities. In spite of two more nervous breakdowns he wrote and published an eclectic series of books on topics ranging from horology to the Loch Ness Monster. He was a science educator, giving a series of talks for the BBC's Children's Hour starting in January 1934 under the name "The Stargazer", and these collected talks were later published. He was a member of the BBC radio panel The Brains Trust. He umpired tennis matches on the Centre Court at Wimbledon on many occasions during the 1930s. In 1947 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the British Horological Institute, its highest honour for contributions to horology.
Gould died on 5 October 1948 at Canterbury, Kent, from heart failure. He was 57 years of age.
Longitude, a television dramatisation of Dava Sobel's book Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, recounted in part Gould's work in restoring the Harrison chronometers. In the drama, Gould was played by Jeremy Irons.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_...
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 10, 2020
A leader of men, a smart and intelligent person, who valued me
men, teaches them, loved them as himself, and is killed by them even as the Lord Jesus Christ was killed by those he sought to bring to a knowledge of who he was.
men, teaches them, loved them as himself, and is killed by them even as the Lord Jesus Christ was killed by those he sought to bring to a knowledge of who he was.
January 9, 2026
Would be a 5 star if the author wasn't so racist. I know it's a symptom of the times, but the interruptions he adds sometimes throughout the book just to say something racist about the natives is crazy.
May 1, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this book. A distant relative of Captain Cook i wanted to know more about his life. This book certainly gave me that as well as insight into the pacific islands culture at the time that Cook was doing his voyagers.
I am from New Zealand, and I found his encounter with the Maori really interesting, not to mention the other island groups.
Kingston brings this all together at the end of the book by explaining how these islands changed through the immigration of missionaries to these islands.
I am from New Zealand, and I found his encounter with the Maori really interesting, not to mention the other island groups.
Kingston brings this all together at the end of the book by explaining how these islands changed through the immigration of missionaries to these islands.
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July 7, 2016An interesting extract from the logs of Captain Cook himself describing life in the south pacific in the 18th century. Quite an extraordinary narrative of life, trade and discovery. His success at preventative measures in the prevention of scurvy. His ability to create long lasting respect from islanders,
kings and chiefs from Tahiti to Hawaii.
Very much taken from his own notes up until the day of his death in a bay south of Kona, Hawaii.
kings and chiefs from Tahiti to Hawaii.
Very much taken from his own notes up until the day of his death in a bay south of Kona, Hawaii.
February 5, 2016
A missionary view of Cook
An interesting perspective. The rate of killing of native people's by cooks expeditions is often ignored. And this account ius also critical of the fact that Cook and his crew didn't seem to be very religious
An interesting perspective. The rate of killing of native people's by cooks expeditions is often ignored. And this account ius also critical of the fact that Cook and his crew didn't seem to be very religious
May 16, 2012
Lousy re-telling of Cook's voyages but I was glad to get the info.
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December 30, 2014Am now looking for a more modern interpretation of his discoveries as this book written hundreds of years ago.
April 28, 2014
Boring, difficult to follow. Will find another book to learn about Whitby's finest son!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews