THE PACIFIC In the Wake of Captain Cook, with Sam Neill

Actor Sam Neill is the host of the TV show that prompted this companion audiobook about Captain Cook and his (often negative) impact on the Pacific. Neill is a commentator in the text, but it is Alan King who takes over the narration duties. This is a modern history--a recognition that Cook's impressive feats were navigational in nature; he didn't discover anything. King's Australian accent lends a sense of place--the coasts and tropical paradise but also storms that snap masts and tribal warfare. He matches his tone and timing to the topic--languid humor for ships falling apart at the seams thanks to sailors exchanging nails for sex; seriousness when tragedy results because a crew member fired his gun in a panic. A new spin on an often told story. A.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2019]