In this book Captain Frank Knight tells the story of Captain Cook and the voyage of the Endeavour largely by means of extracts from Cook's own journalm though the author has modernised the spelling and modified some eighteenth century constructions and punctuation where the sense might not otherwise be clear. He has also provided a glossary for the technical words associated with sailing ships of the period. Because the author is himself a sailor who has made a special study of seafaring in the past, he is able to explain the technical difficulties which Cook has to overcome and appreciate the immensity of the task with which he was confronted.