*Many thanks to Peter Moore, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
The book that is definitely outside my reading comfort zone is well-written and researched. Maritime history and the history of voyages presented in a detailed way that took me some time to get started. The story of a ship which is the symbol of her times will probably be most appreciated by those fascinated by the subject.

Requested as background reading for an editorial feature (review and article) we ran on BookBrowse:
https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3940/endeavour#reviews

Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is the story behind the humble little ship that is best remembered as the ship that took Captain James Cook on his first major journey of exploration. A humble collier (ship that carried coal), with many lives and many names, as Endeavour she circumnavigated the globe, survived coral reefs, and mapped New Zealand.

In his book, Peter Moore goes into carefully researched and detailed accounts of not only the building of Endeavour (first called (Earl of Pembroke) but also the Age of Enlightenment in which it was built and how that affected many of her crew: scientists and naturalists like Dr Solander and Joseph Banks (students of Carl Linnaeus) and Navy man James Cook himself. While the bulk of the book is spent on Cook's voyage Moore also gives fascinating details behind Endeavour's final incarnation: as the Earl of Sandwich bringing Hessian troops across the Atlantic and serving as a prison galley off of Newport during the American Revolution.

Quotes from letters, Navy lists, and journal entries bring each of Endeavour's incarnations into vivid life and Moore's detailed accounts do a fantastic job of making the reader feel as if they are a part of the crew, sharing the triumphs and terrors along with the sailors. Moore also does an excellent job of recognizing Endeavour as the symbol for so many of imperialism and conquest, and he pulls no punches in acknowledging the death and destruction European explorers in general, and Endeavour in particular, brought to the Pacific Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.

It did take me about a hundred pages to really get into Endeavour. Moore begins his study of the ship from acorn on, including studies of the variety of oaks in England and which ones were considered best for ship building, the history of the little town of Whitby where Endeavour was first built, the lives of the men behind her design and construction, and even the Enlightenment-era thinking behind the term "endeavour" itself. All of which was very interesting in small doses- but Moore reached virtually James Michener level details from beginning on for each of these subjects. Once things got going and Endeavour was out to sea the book picked up pace. Full of interesting facts on the science, philosophy, politics, and maritime history of the age, Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is an excellent read for history lovers, those interested in exploration, and maritime history.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have always enjoyed reading history. This book not only illustrates the ship's life but also the time when great ship's were built. The Endeavor played an important role in the history of voyages. An extremely well written book.

‘Endeavour still has a place in many people’s hearts today.’

HMB Endeavour was the ship in which Lieutenant James Cook undertook his first voyage of discovery between 1768 and 1771. While the primary purpose of that mission was to observe the Transit of Venus from Tahiti, her secondary mission (to search for the elusive southern continent) led to the charting of New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia.

In this book, Mr Moore writes about the different lives and voyages of the Endeavour and her place in history. She was built in Whitby, first named the Earl of Pembroke and was worked as a collier until purchased by the Royal Navy in 1768.

‘Once afloat in 1764, she lived three distinct lives, under three distinct names, in three theatres of history.’

The story of the Endeavour is also the story of 18th century exploration by Britain, of scientific advances as well as of exploitation and imperialism.

While I knew that the Endeavour was built in Whitby and had been a collier, I knew nothing about what happened to her after 1771. I’ve been on the replica of the HMB Endeavour in Sydney and marvelled at how such a small vessel could have carried the men and supplies necessary for the voyage and then transport more than 30,000 botanical specimens back to England.

But the real story, Mr Moore writes, starts in Restoration England when the two hundred or so oak trees required to build the ship started growing. I like the idea of a connection between the time when the Royal Society was created (in 1660) and the Endeavour sailing in what is known as ‘The Age of Enlightenment’.

I was interested to learn that the Endeavour (then called the Lord Sandwich) was one of about 350 ships assembled off Staten Island before the Battle of Brooklyn (during the American Revolution) in August 1776. In 1778 she came to an end, sank by the British at Newport to try to obstruct the French fleet, which had arrived to help the revolutionaries.

I found this book fascinating. The history of the Endeavour held my attention but what made the book even more interesting for me was the way in which Mr Moore wrote about the period in which she sailed. I learned more about the building of ships at Whitby, about some of the great projects undertaken during the second half of the 18th century and about observations around the Transit of Venus.

‘History often conceals facts. Sometimes, however, through a long lens, it is possible to discern things that were entirely hidden to those closest to the scene.’

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith