Nautical Astronomy in New Zealand: The Voyages of James Cook, Wayne Orchiston, Carter Observatory, PO Box 2909, Wellington, New Zealand, ISBN 0 473 05303 9, paperback, 131 pp., $NZ 29.95 ($NZ 39 UK and Europe, $NZ 38 US and Canada).

The first of a planned series of occasional papers, Dr. Orchiston’s book is a comprehensive chronicle of the astronomical observations made on Captain Cook’s three voyages to the south seas. Biographies of the astronomers, details of the instruments, controversies arising from the observations are all included, as is a brief survey of Maori astronomy, with bibliographical references.