Before he was out of his teens Henry Hudson knew the great ambition of his life — to discover a shorter route to the Far East. Perhaps it lay north of the Russian coast. Perhaps the unknown waterways of northern Canada might lead to a northwest passage.

With great skill Mr. Syme reconstructs the saga of Hudson's voyages, from the first fruitless search through icy Arctic seas to the final bitter disappointment when, after sailing the entire length of Hudson Bay, he faced a land barrier instead of a northwest passage. This dauntless man survived the treachery of hostile Indians and of his own mate only to be set adrift by a mutinous crew and left to die of cold and hunger. Henry Hudson never found the passage he had dreamed of; but the river, the strait, and the great bay that bear his name are proof of how much he added to man's knowledge of the world.

The straightforward narrative, the bold illustrations, and the frequent excerpts from Hudson's own diaries give this account of his explorations a vivid sense of immediacy.

From the dust jacket