| Writing Geographical Exploration: Thomas James and the Northwest Passage, 1631-33 Contributor(s): Davies, Wayne K. D. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1552380629 ISBN-13: 9781552380628 Publisher: University of Calgary Press OUR PRICE: $54.10 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: March 2004 Annotation: Writing Geographical Exploration summarizes the various factors that influence the writing and interpretation of exploration narratives, demonstrating the limitations of the assumption that there is a direct relationship between what the explorer saw and what the text describes. Davies offers a revisionist evaluation of Captain Thomas James, who spent eighteen months in search of the Northwest Passage in the 1630s, to illustrate how modern textual analysis can enrich the appreciation of a traveler's account. Though James's work has been dismissed in the modern period, his work was highly regarded in previous centuries by scientist Robert Boyle and poet Samuel Coleridge. James was not a first-rank explorer, but he was an able navigator and leader, a perceptive scientific observer and a master author who produced a thrilling tale of adventure that should occupy a more prominent place in exploration writing and history, literary theory, and postmodern geography. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography | Adventurers & Explorers |
| Dewey: B |
| LCCN: 2004401078 |
| Series: Northern Lights |
| Physical Information: 1.08" H x 8.16" W x 10.24" (2.01 lbs) 344 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Pacific Northwest |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Writing Geographical Exploration: Thomas James and the Northwest Passage, 1631-33 summarizes the various factors that influence the writing and interpretation of exploration narratives, demonstrating the limitations of the assumption that there is a direct relationship between what the explorer saw and what the text describes. Davies offers a revisionist evaluation of Captain Thomas James, who spent eighteen months in search of the Northwest Passage in the 1630s, to illustrate how modern textual analysis can enrich the appreciation of a traveller's account. Though James's work has been dismissed in the modern period, his work was highly regarded in previous centuries by scientist Robert Boyle and poet Samuel Coleridge. James was not a first-rank explorer, but he was an able navigator and leader, a perceptive scientific observer, and a master author who produced a thrilling tale of adventure that should occupy a more prominent place in exploration writing and history, literary theory, and post-modern geography. |
Contributor Bio(s): Davies, Wayne K. D.: - Wayne Davies has written over a hundred academic essays and authored or edited nine books in a wide variety of research areas, including urban geography and the methods of geography. He is professor emeritus in the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary. |