Beyond the Charts

Charles Alexander was born and raised in Michigan. His working life has taken him through many trades and professions, including years in broadcasting, firefighting, construction, warehouse work, property inspections, and other practical fields. He holds a degree in broadcasting arts and spent several years working in radio before turning his attention toward his family, research, and writing. In addition to historical study, Alexander has written several children's stories and has long pursued traditional skills such as herbal medicine and apothecary practice.His interest in the voyages of Captain James Cook began unexpectedly during a series of discussions about exploration history. What began as curiosity quickly became a deep investigation into the original journals and writings of Cook and the men who sailed with him. Rather than relying on modern retellings, Alexander focused on reading the firsthand accounts preserved from the voyages themselves. The language, events, and atmosphere of this book are drawn directly from those early writings, written in the vernacular of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in an effort to allow readers to experience the voyages as they were recorded by those who lived them.Alexander believes that the truest understanding of history comes from the words of the people who witnessed it. Much of his research centers on forgotten records, contradictions within accepted narratives, and the overlooked details preserved in primary sources. His hope in writing this work is not only to tell a compelling story, but to encourage readers to question how history is written and to seek the original records for themselves.He lives in Michigan with his wife and children, where they maintain a homestead, grow much of their own food, preserve their harvest, and continue a way of life rooted in self-reliance and learning.