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Resolution By AN Wilson Atlantic Books, 288pp, $29.99
Sailors and scientists must be among the most difficult people to write about. They resist the internal emotional eye of the novelist, stubbornly insisting their lives be defined by the external and the intellectual. Unlike other celebrities, their achievements and discoveries may be rather more interesting than their personalities and lifestyles. If that is the case, then AN Wilson has a double challenge in writing about Polish-born Enlightenment scholar-scientist Georg Forster and his voyage with our pre-eminent historical sailor, James Cook.
The life and work of Georg Forster (or George, as Wilson prefers) warrants a thrilling adventure story. From age 11 he travelled to Russia with his father, Reinhold Forster, to aid in his scientific work. They later moved to Eng land where Forster added English to his Russian and German and helped his father with translations to support the family. In 1772, at 18, Georg joined his father as naturalist on Cook's second Pacific voyage, on board Resolution.
This voyage established Forster's reputation as a scientist and a writer. His book on Australian botany resulted in a Royal Society fellowship at just...