Vicarious travel is still possible and my recommendation is Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz. Part history, part travelogue, the book recounts Horwitz’s adventures following Captain James Cook’s epic voyages exploring the Pacific Ocean in the late 1700s.
Horwitz begins his own journey by working as a sailor on a replica of Cook’s ship, providing a vivid picture of the hardships encountered by the crew. Drawing on Cook’s journals, he creates a brilliant portrait of the impoverished Yorkshire farmboy who couldn’t swim, yet became the greatest navigator in British history.
In addition, as Horwitz revisits places Cook went – the islands of the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, and Hawaii – he also chronicles the continuing impact of European contact on indigenous peoples in today’s Pacific.