Madness, Betrayal and the Lash, Stephen R. Bown
Madness, Betrayal and the Lash, Stephen R. Bown
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Madness, Betrayal and the Lash
The Epic Voyage of Captain George Vancouver

Author: Stephen R. Bown

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Unabridged: 9 hr 8 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/30/2024

Synopsis

From 1792 to 1795, George Vancouver sailed the Pacific as the captain of his own expedition and as an agent of imperial ambition. To map a place is to control it, and Britain had its eyes on America's Pacific coast. And map it Vancouver did. His voyage was one of history's greatest feats of maritime daring, discovery, and diplomacy, and his marine survey of Hawaii and the Pacific coast was at its time the most comprehensive ever undertaken. But just two years after returning to Britain, the forty-year-old Vancouver, hounded by critics, shamed by public humiliation at the fists of an aristocratic sailor he had flogged, and blacklisted because of a perceived failure to follow the Admiralty's directives, died in poverty, nearly forgotten. In this riveting and perceptive biography, historian Stephen Bown delves into the events that destroyed Vancouver's reputation and restores his position as one of the greatest explorers of the Age of Discovery.

About Stephen R. Bown

Stephen R. Bown is the author of The Last Viking: The Life of Roald Amundsen and White Eskimo: Knud Rasmussen's Fearless Journey into the Heart of the Arctic, which won the Williams Mills Award for the best book on the Arctic in 2016. His award-winning books, including Scurvy and Madness, Betrayal, and the Lash, have led to a reputation as "Canada's Simon Winchester."

Reviews

Goodreads review by Phillip Taylor on March 08, 2009

VINDICATED AFTER 200 YEARS A review by Phillip Taylor MBE Little had been written about George Vancouver until Ernie Coleman's excellent and uncomplicated biography in 2000, and Stephen Bown's new, detailed and scholarly work in 2008. Bown's work is a re-evaluation of Vancouver's life and work - it's......more

Goodreads review by Rich on July 31, 2013

Visiting Vancouver BC for the first time I downloaded this to get a bit of context. It turned out to be a fascinating, detailed account of Vancouver drawing on many and varied sources. The political objectives of the age of empire are set well against the varying intrigues and perspectives of those......more

Goodreads review by Warren on May 29, 2019

I would give this more stars if I could. It’s the best book I’ve read this year and one of the most well-written historical narratives I’ve come across. The story of George Vancouver and his incredible voyage is sympathetically but honestly told with accuracy and an eye for an inclusive approach to......more

Goodreads review by Lona on November 30, 2018

I read this book on Vancouver Island two summers ago and the passages that stick with me are those that describe how Captain Vancouver and his crew carried out the painstaking and perilous job of rowing all around and along the coastline of what would become British Columbia, exploring, navigating a......more

Goodreads review by Steven W on March 06, 2018

Excellent book! It was smooth reading so difficult to put down, and so well researched that I learned quite a bit about George and that amazing voyage. I have since recommended this book to anyone researching George Vancouver or any of the history of this area, also including the story of Hawaii. I......more

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