Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 1

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In Two Volumes.
1844
The two volumes herewith presented to the public contain an uninterrupted narrative, in Captain Parry's own words, of the five voyages made by that distinguished navigator, under the sanction of the British government, in search of a passage from the eastern to the western side of the American Continent, through the Arctic Ocean. Although abbreviated, the curtailment has been effected, not by any change in the language of the original writer, but merely by omitting all such details as were not inviting to the general reader; and, in a word, changing the character of the work from that of an official report to that of a narrative. The effort has been to preserve all interesting and amusing particulars; to record all facts and transactions of importance; to present an accurate though brief notice of all valuable accessions to geographic as well as general knowledge, effected in the progress of the voyages; and, at the same time, to keep the reader's attention ever on the alert by the rapid and uninterrupted succession of striking incidents.
It is hoped that the aim here designated has been accomplished; and that, in the abridged narrative of Parry's Voyages, there will be found matter, not only to interest the reader for amusement, but also to improve. The scenes and adventures recorded by the navigator are in the highest degree novel and remarkable; and it cannot be other than profitable to know what perils were encountered, what courage, firmness, and ingenuity were displayed, what moral and physical influences were developed, and what triumphs of human skill were achieved, in the progress of voyages undertaken solely to advance the interests of science.