From 1792 to 1795, George Vancouver sailed the Pacific as the captain of his own expedition - and as an agent of imperial ambition. To map a place is to control it, and Britain had its eyes on America's Pacific coast. And map it Vancouver did. His voyage was one of history's greatest feats of maritime daring, discovery, and diplomacy, and his marine survey of Hawaii and the Pacific coast was at its time the most comprehensive ever undertaken. But just two years after returning to Britain, the 40-year-old Vancouver, hounded by critics, shamed by public humiliation at the fists of an aristocratic sailor he had flogged, and blacklisted because of a perceived failure to follow the Admiralty's directives, died in poverty, nearly forgotten. In this riveting and perceptive biography, historian Stephen Bown delves into the events that destroyed Vancouver's reputation and restores his position as one of the greatest explorers of the Age of Discovery.

Prologue: Science, Exploration, Diplomacy and the Fate of a ContinentPART ONE: Science and DiscoveryChapter One - A Hero ReturnsChapter Two - With the Master MarinerChapter Three -The China TradePART TWO: The Gathering StormChapter Four - HMS EuropaChapter Five - The Nootka Sound IncidentChapter Six - Discovery and ChathamPART THREE: Agent of EmpireChapter Seven - Far Side of the WorldChapter Eight - The Greatest Marine Survey of All TimeChapter Nine - A Meeting of MindsChapter Ten - Winters in HawaiiChapter Eleven - Alaska and IllnessPART FOUR: In the Most Faithful MannerChapter Twelve - Powerful EnemiesChapter Thirteen - Sovereignty and FateEpilogue