Half Moon
Henry Hudson and the Voyage that redrew the Map of the New World
Employing “forensic navigation” based on a close reading of surviving voyage accounts, knowledge of historic navigation methods, and extensive cartographic research, the author has produced original maps that illuminate as never before this landmark voyage, with fresh conclusions as to Hudson’s course and landfalls.
A NEW WORK BY DOUGLAS HUNTER, COMING SEPTEMBER 2009 FROM BLOOMSBURY PRESS
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—National Post
Although not the first mariner to explore North America, Henry Hudson (1565–1611) left a powerful legacy, vividly described in this richly detailed biography…a meticulous account…few will resist the colorful personal conflicts, tortuous politics and alternately friendly and vicious encounters between Europeans and Native Americans.
—Publishers Weekly
[Hunter is] an experienced sailor, and his observations of nautical life are astute…a picture emerges of Hudson as a wily operator who knew what he wanted to find, and where he wanted to go to find it - and wasn’t about to tell his merchant backers any more than they needed to know so they would give him a ship. Hunter provides a fine account of Hudson’s wheeling and dealing, and the hoodwinking of the Dutch and English backers of his various voyages.
—Boston Globe
Douglas Hunter has done a commendable job in ferreting out rare charts and maritime documents of the time from archives all over Europe, not only to track the Half Moon's course across the Atlantic, but to discern Hudson's motives in assuming the risks and challenges of this voyage…This true adventure story of 17th-century seafaring life is well-documented and exciting to read.
—The Post & Courier (Charleston)
From the flimsy historical record, the author synthesizes a plausible, and jaunty, version of [Hudson's] voyage.
—New York Times
Hunter provides valuable insights into the explorer’s enigmatic motivations. Why did Hudson—who was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to find an Artic route to China—venture so far west, conducting a long, wandering sojourn into mysterious and potentially dangerous territory? It’s a mystery that has long puzzled historians, but Hunter convincingly argues that Hudson may have been more than a mere employee of the Dutch. He may have also been acting as a spy for business interests in his native England, which had claims on land that Hudson explored and mapped for the first time. Hunter ably chronicles Hudson’s daily progress on his voyage—which included conflicts with, and abductions of, Native Americans—and he skillfully establishes the global context, involving Dutch, Spanish, English and French interests. Poring over hydrographic charts and picking through often-sparse historical material, Hunter assembles a comprehensive timeline of the 400-year-old voyage, but his firm grasp of the politics and history of Hudson’s time make the book stand out. Insightful look at Hudson, his pivotal achievement and the world events surrounding it. —Kirkus
Hunter (God's Mercies: Rivalry, Betrayal, and the Dream of Discovery) presents an exhaustively researched and highly detailed history of the discovery of the Hudson River by English explorer Henry Hudson in 1609. Hunter's sprawling and complicated tale almost overflows with a dizzying array of historical data and a vast cast of characters, yet somehow this potentially unwieldy wealth of information is successfully shaped into a deftly organized and balanced portrait of the unpredictable Hudson, his volatile crew, and their voyage aboard the Dutch ship Half Moon. Complete with mutiny, political maneuvering, spying, and conflict with natives, Hudson's sometimes bloody adventures are full of incident and accident brought to vivid life in Hunter's nuanced prose. —Library Journal
Hunter delivers a vivid rendition of Hudson’s entrance into New York Bay, ascent to the future site of Albany, and peaceful and violent encounters with the native peoples. Fans of the era of discovery will delight in Hunter’s history of Hudson’s famed expedition. —Booklist
A new work of historical non-fiction by Douglas Hunter, author of God’s Mercies
Published by Bloomsbury in the U.S. and U.K.
Distributed in Canada by Penguin.
What was the Half Moon like? Follow the link to learn more
•For media information, interview and appearance requests, and sub-rights, contact Peter Miller at Bloomsbury USA
•To contact Douglas Hunter directly, send an email here
Sailing with Serge Cryvoff aboard Noteworthy on the Hudson River, May 2009
Who was Henry Hudson? Follow the link to learn more
The year 2009 marks the four-hundredth anniversary of Henry Hudson’s discovery of the majestic river that bears his name. Just in time for this milestone, Douglas Hunter, author of the critically acclaimed God’s Mercies: Rivalry, Betrayal, and the Dream of Discovery, has written the first book-length history of the 1609 adventure that would put New York on the map.
—Bloomsbury Press
Learn how small clues in well-thumbed source texts can still yield valuable insights into events, character,and motivation.
To learn more about Hudson’s final, fatal voyage of 1610-11, read my book God’s Mercies.
Events, media, and miscellany
•Read my essay “Was Henry Hudson a Spy?” online at History News Network.
•Hear my conversation with Lewis Lapham , Editor of Lapham’s Quarterly and Editor Emeritus and National Correspondent of Harper’s, at Bloomberg Radio.
•Hear my conversation with Robert Sullivan and Eric Sanderson (Mannahatta) at the Tenement Museum in Manhattan, September 17.
•I’m appearing at the Different Drummer reading series in Burlington, Ont., November 17. Call Different Drummer Books for ticket, event info. 905-639-0925
Understand the nature and evolution of the documentary record.
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