Play Audiobook Sample
Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(5.00) - 1 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
Endeavour is the story of a ship, an idea, and a way of looking at the world. It is grounded in the Enlightenment, an age of endeavors, with Britain consumed by the impulse for grand projects undertaken at speed. Endeavour was also the name given to a collier—a commonplace coal-carrying vessel—made of oak, bought by the Royal Navy in 1768. No one could have guessed it would go on to become the most significant ship in the chronicle of British exploration. As Charles Darwin wrote, Endeavour added an entire hemisphere to the civilized world when it carried Captain James Cook on his first major voyage, newly charting the existence of New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia.
Endeavour also had a role in American history. During the battles for control of New York in 1776, she witnessed the bloody birth of the republic. As well as carrying botanists, a Polynesian priest, and the remains of the first kangaroo to arrive in Britain, she transported Hessian soldiers to American shores as well as Newcastle coal. NASA ultimately named a space shuttle in her honor. But to others she was a toxic symbol of empire, responsible for dispossession and disruption.
The first history of its kind, Peter Moore’s Endeavour: The Ship That Changed the World is the epic telling of the ship’s many lives. Using meticulous research, Moore tells the story of one of history’s most defining sailing ships, and in turn shines new light on the ambition and consequences of the Enlightenment.
Download and start listening now!
"The HM Bark Endeavour life story is absorbing. Moore’s personification of HM Bark Endeavour is told in a well-documented account. The Endeavour’s life story begins with British global expansion (1750) and is coupled with influences of Enlightenment thought. South seas exploration, recording the transit of Venus (June 3, 1769) and the American war for Independence are depicted thru Endeavour’s involvement. Moore’s examination of Cook, Banks and various Endeavour crew is interesting and sympatric. However, modern “Endeavour” names sakes pursuits (the last chapter) are less interesting to this listener."
— dre (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Endeavour is a dazzling combination of science and adventure, lyrically evocative descriptions of lush tropical landscapes and salt-stung seascapes, and a portrait of an age of ‘magnificent geniality’…Endeavour is an absolute joy from start to finish, and surely my history book of the year.”
— Sunday Times (London) -
“Moore’s richly detailed book is an engrossing love letter to a word, an attitude and a ship: it is an endeavour that honours Endeavour, without denying the death and destruction that followed in her wake.”
— Guardian (UK) -
"Endeavour is an extraordinary book about an unlikely ship that defined an age…The book reminded me of one of those opulent eighteenth-century feasts enjoyed by King George—endless exotic dishes all delivered with exquisite style. Like the age it recounts, it is a book of energy, creativity and self-confidence.”
— Times (London) -
“A dense but enlightening history of a highly significant eighteenth-century vessel.…The narrative transforms into a page-turning, breathtaking adventure story for the ages…History at its most exciting and revealing.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review) -
“A deeply satisfying book…Paying homage to the remarkable lives of a single vessel, Peter Moore also gives the Endeavour a new lease of life long after its sinking.”
— Literary Review (London) -
“Acute insight into the ship that carried some of the most successful explorers across the world. A fine book that’s definitely worth exploring.”
— Michael Palin, English comedian, actor, television presenter, and author of Erebus
Awards
-
Winner of the Mary Soames Award for History
-
A Sunday Times (London) bestseller
Endeavour Listener Reviews
Be the first to write a review about this audiobook!
About Peter Moore
Peter Moore teaches creative writing at the University of London and the University of Oxford. He is the author of Damn His Blood and The Weather Experiment, which was named one of the New York Times Book Review’s 100 Notable Books of 2015 and was adapted for a BBC4 documentary series.
About Ric Jerrom
Ric Jerrom is an actor, writer, and—occasionally—director. He has also narrated audiobooks in genres from classics to romantic fiction to mystery and suspense, winning three AudioFile Earphones Awards and placing as a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award. He has written plays, film scripts, short stories, poetry, and journalism. He has performed in many radio plays, sundry theaters, and internationally for the Natural Theatre Company of Bath.