Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 4, 2021
A Voyage Round the World is Georg Forster's report on the second voyage of Captain James Cook. Georg's father, Johann Reinhold Forster, served as naturalist on the voyage, with his son as assistant. They sailed on HMS Resolution with Cook, circumnavigating the world, and discovering islands, cultures and species previously unknown to Europeans. On their return, there was disagreement about the publication rights. After plans for a joint work between Cook and Reinhold Forster failed, Georg began writing Voyage in July 1776. It was published on 17 March 1777, six weeks before Cook's own narrative. Forster wrote it as entertaining literature, focusing not on the nautical aspects of the voyage but on scientific observations and on the cultural encounters with the peoples of the South Pacific. Critics praised the writing, especially in contrast to Cook's book. Voyage is regarded as a seminal book in travel writing and has become a classic of travel literature. (Full article...)