Edwards, Philip (ed). 
The Journals of Captain Cook.
Penguin.
1999.
ISBN 0140436472.

Philip Edwards' book is an ambitious work. He has taken Beaglehole's editions of the original journals of Cook and edited them further so that they fill only 650 pages of a Penguin Classic. Edwards is to be congratulated and commended for what he has achieved as his selection of passages is excellent and he has provided links and infills where no Cook piece has been included.

Furthermore, he has written a general introduction and each voyage has its own new introduction. The end of the book is also excellent, comprising a glossary, separate indexes of persons and of places and a set of good, little maps. All in all, it lives up to its billing as a Penguin Classic. Anyone unable to afford Beaglehole's works will be more than satisfied with this work.

I believe it will be a classic.

John Robson

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 1694, volume 23, number 1 (2000).