On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook sets off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. Cook was a top captain in the British navy so what led to his brutal murder? Sides details the unreal hardships the men endure with meager food and water until they reach Pacific islands where indigenous people treat them something like gods. Trade happens and islanders have never seen iron which becomes the bartering item for food, water and yes, sex. The imperial attitude of the British ends up being Cook’s downfall. It’s fascinating to realize the Pacific was being initially explored by white sailors at the same time the American Revolution was in full swing on the east coast. Nonfiction adventure of wooden ships and iron men!

"The Wide, Wide Sea" by Hampton Sides is the story of Captain Cook's final voyage. The mission was to sail the Resolution and the Discovery in search for the Northwest Passage and return native Tahitian Mai to his homeland laden with animals and gifts. King George III hoped to Tahiti into a more "civilized" society through Mai. On the way they would encounter native Tasmanians (who would become extinct within 100 years) and lead a particularly brutal encounter in Moorea. After an initial somewhat peaceful greeting, an act of petty theft convinced Cook to order a fiery decimation of the native village. On one hand, the English believed in private property. Period. But the Polynesians believed a person must be worthy of their possessions, or share communally. Clever thievery was an act of skill, not necessarily of maliciousness. This major cultural difference was one that Cook wouldn't acknowledge, and ultimately proved to be his downfall in Hawaii.

I wasn't a fan of how Sides handled Cook's attack on Moorea. Not defensive of his actions specifically, but quick to explain it away as a bout of mental illness. Sides quotes Cook's defenders and suggests that a battle-hungry Mai was partially to blame, but doesn't posit the idea that maybe Cook was acting on personal pride. Sides also made the mistake of wondering why the natives didn't fight back. Fear and cultural destruction are powerful tools and Cook knew how to utilize them effectively. I'm still not convinced that Cook was "unique" in his respect for Indigenous peoples, for his acts of violence prove he really was no different than any other 18th century navyman. His treatment of Mai doesn't make for a fair argument because Mai had been indoctrinated as a beneficial tool for colonialism. However, if you can overlook these flaws, you will learn the finer details of Cook's final voyage in a detailed, accessible and compelling way. I do enjoy Sides' narrative voice very much, I only wish they had been a bit more critical and objective of Cook. Since this book only covers Cook's final voyage, the reader is given minimal insight into Cook's mindset on the previous two. If a reader is already fully familiar with Cook, perhaps some his actions would appear more "out of character."

Bestselling history writer Hampton Sides takes a fresh look at Captain James Cook's final voyage.
By 1775, 48-year-old Captain James Cook had completed two highly successful voyages of discovery and had earned a comfortable retirement. The Admiralty gave him a plum position: an honorary post at Greenwich Hospital near London, where his only responsibility was to "keep a paternal eye on the thousand or so Navy pensioners" who lived there. He quickly became bored, however, and longed to be back on the open ocean. His restlessness was exacerbated when he learned that the Admiralty was planning an expedition to look for the fabled Northwest Passage from the Pacific side—something that had never been attempted—and had assigned his former ship, the HMS Resolution, to the task. The powers that be, too, felt that Cook was the only man who could pull off such a journey, and so manipulated him into asking for the commission (which doesn't appear to have been much of a challenge). In July 1776 Cook left England on his final—and fatal—voyage. It's this tale of exploration and tragedy that Hampton Sides relays in his nonfiction account, The Wide Wide Sea.

The author tidily sums up his task: "This is not a biography but a narrative history with a large, diverse cast of characters…It's the story not only of James Cook but of the men who accompanied him on his swan-song voyage to the Pacific. They took part in a monumental enterprise that left lasting impacts, good and bad, on the world." It would seem like an enormous task to describe all that occurred on the expedition—over three years, Cook sailed from England to New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawai'i and the Bering Strait. But in The Wide Wide Sea, Sides does what he does best: condenses a complex subject into an eminently readable, compelling story—a true account that reads like a novel. Although he doesn't break new ground—Cook and his voyages have been the subjects of many books—he does approach his topic with fresh eyes, acknowledging Cook's tale is a "morally complicated" one and allowing current debates about the explorer's cultural impact to inform the narrative.

It's unfortunate that there are so few records of Cook's actions from the perspective of the residents of the lands he "discovered," but many of Cook's men left behind journals. Sides laboriously combed through an extensive trove of documents squirreled away across the globe, combining the many sources to paint a nuanced picture of the captain and events that transpired on the journey. He's an expert in providing enough detail to get readers hooked on a story without allowing it to bog down the book's flow, and his skill is on full display here.

Also quite interesting is the author's attempt to understand Cook's increasingly erratic behavior as the journey wore on. I've read a number of books about Cook's expeditions, but I don't recall conjecture as to why he became so irrational toward the end of his life. Sides clearly draws the line between fact and speculation on this matter and others throughout, something I appreciate in works of narrative nonfiction.

The author claims not to "lionize, demonize nor defend" Cook, but I still found the portrayal fairly sympathetic. The captain and crew certainly had a negative impact on the people and cultures they met, but nevertheless Sides claims that Cook was one of the more socially enlightened navigators of the age. The author sees him as an anthropological observer, interested in understanding the cultures of those he met rather than dismissing them as inferior. He also excuses some of the side effects of European contact (e.g., venereal diseases, rats) as happening regardless of this specific voyage; the ills likely would have been introduced by the first European vessel to land, and that ship just happened to be Cook's. Although I understand the points he makes, I found I wasn't completely convinced by them, at least not enough to overcome my discomfort with the interactions between the explorers and the Indigenous populations they encountered. That said, the account is a factual one, and Sides makes no attempt to ignore the expedition's misdeeds, even though he might try to rationalize them.

The Wide Wide Sea's subject matter is challenging from a 21st-century perspective; statues of Cook have been torn down worldwide, viewed as symbols of European exploitation. But we should keep in mind that the book is, at its core, history, and as such the events portrayed here need to be understood and remembered. And readers can't go wrong with a book by Hampton Sides, a master at penning marvelously readable history. I highly recommend it for a wide audience, including those who don't usually read nonfiction.

An excellent account of Cpt.Cook's third and final voyage of exploration. The author shows the rigors of sailing in those days and the presumption of the English of the superiority of their culture above that of the native lands they were visiting.

As Sides says in his Author's Note at the beginning, "In Cook’s long wake came the occupiers, the guns, the pathogens, the alcohol, the problem of money, the whalers, the furriers, the seal hunters, the plantation owners, the missionaries."

So, no hagiography here; "The Wide Wide Sea" isn't the adult version of the morally and politically vacuous Europeans Discovered Things and Established Colonies narrative I daresay most of us in the global North heard in grade school (and probably high school as well). But of course none of the European explorers, even those consciously in the service of empire, could know the future, and they would have had to be extraordinarily perceptive to, for example, observe human sacrifice in Polynesia and recognize a kinship with capital punishment as practiced by their own governments. (And so on, with respect to everything from clothing to food to religious belief. Do the Natives prostrate themselves before their chiefs? Well, how about the way servants are supposed to turn their faces to the wall when the master of the house passes by?)

Anyway, it's easy to vilify the European explorers en masse, but if you can't see the future then how much responsibility do you appropriately bear for the consequences that flow, a hundred or two hundred years later, for your acts? I thought about this frequently as I read "The Wide Wide Sea," and came to no conclusion.

Remember how much heat Bill Maher took for pointing out that whatever you might say about the 9/11 hijackers, it made no sense to call them cowards, the way a chorus of establishment voices did? Same here. Sides vividly evokes the precarity and the terror of sea voyages over thousands of miles in tiny, often leaky ships with maggoty food, scummy water, and, especially, raging storms. Whatever we think of them, the explorer-captains had to be brave. Their crews had to be braver.

And, on the other hand. Mostly the European explorers approached Native peoples with contempt. Often they killed people. They brought rats and disease. And in their wake, as the quotation above points out, events that for many peoples and cultures amounted to the end of the world.

Sides makes some attempt to describe how Native peoples might have experienced their first encounters with Europeans, sometimes extrapolating from what human beings in general are like, sometimes quoting from Native oral histories that have been recorded. What, frustratingly, he doesn't much do is offer a critical perspective on his European sources themselves. He gives us their narrative of events, and in the absence of Native accounts, those narratives and perceptions are left to stand. The lack of Native accounts is of course not Sides's fault, but I do wish he had read his sources more critically.

An aspect of this book that I found heartbreaking: the abundant and (in the case of uninhabited islands) often fearless wildlife the explorers encountered. This richness, like so much human richness, has been devastated.

"The Wide Wide Sea" is always fascinating, often frustrating, and well worth the time spent reading. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

I had only ever heard good stories/history about Captain James Cook and honestly do not remember ever hearing about his third [and last] voyage or his death during that voyage so I was excited to read this.

Yeah.

Imagine learning that someone you admired did an about face and became someone that even his shipmates didn't recognize and then finding out they died [in a brutal and ugly way] because of said behavior; THAT is what happens with this book, and I was left just wondering if I should still admire all the good that Captain Cook did, or will I ever be disillusioned by what I just learned? The jury is still heavily out on that.

This telling, by the respected author and historian Hampton Sides, is nothing short of brilliant. I cannot even imagine all the time and research that went into an endeavor such as this. There was just so much detail and I learned SO MUCH about the sailing ships of that time and how they ran and what happened while they were on the voyage [there was never a case of scurvy on Captain Cook's ships, but who needs that when you have a plethora of venereal disease??] - I was completely enthralled for most of the book [something that blew me away was, that they left England on September 12, 1776 and only learned bits and pieces about the War for Independence whilst on their trip - crazy to think about] and some of what I learned reminded me of the movie "Master and Commander" in how they dealt with "bad people" on board and how they rationed food etc.

While I was saddened to read such an account of someone who I respected [along with a lot of other people], I find I am not particularly surprised. Given his age and frame of mind when he left, it is no wonder that he went a little off the rails. Makes one wonder, now with modern medicine, if something like Alzheimer's or a brain tumor was at work here as well [given just how dramatically different he was on this voyage from his previous ones]; of course, we will never know [especially because of how he was murdered - EEK!! That was a section that was particularly gruesome]; it is just more food for thought than anything else at this point.

If you love history, if you are a fan of Captain Cook, if you love anything to do with the sea and sailing and discover, this book is for you. It is just filled with so much that will amaze you and also fill you with both anger and deep sadness, it would be a shame to skip it. It is one of the best reads for me so far this year!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Hampton Sides, and Doubleday Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Doubleday for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.

This is not my first book on James Cook, however, I think it is my first one since pulling back the veil of colonization has become the norm. I feel like this was a more fair assessment of the impact of the explorer age on the world. I told us how Cook was mostly an exception to the rule with his Quaker sentiments.

He was known for being quite fair and had more of a fascination with the science and anthropology of interacting with new cultures. While there are many things around the world named for the English he personally used indigenous names trying to honor the autonomy of the peoples he encountered. He did not convert and did not engage with violence, with only one killing attributed to him in his whole life… And that was in the final minutes. He kept detailed records, so a lot of what we know came from him.

He had a bit of an understanding about disease and curiously found the cure for scurvy without really knowing it. And he was always trying to restrict his men who had venereal diseases from interacting with the natives, albeit not successfully. He had a mostly humble way with a human first approach… Until the very end when, the Hawaiians miss took him for a god and things went awry…

This book has a little something for everyone: adventure and discovery, history, science, anthropology and of course violence.

Read this one if you liked The Wager.

This is a satisfying maritime history of Captain Cook’s final voyage and death in Hawaii. It begins with quite a bit of background on previous sails and a number of prominent characters, including a Polynesian man who lived in England for a few years before returning with Cook.
The story is well filled in with details but remains engaging and readable. I particularly appreciate that the author included native history and perspectives, and pointed out when the historical record becomes especially lopsided. This would be a good readalike for fans of The Wager.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

First and foremost, I would like to thank both Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing me with the heavily sought after ARC. And needless to say, I will be headed to my local bookstore for the hard copy of Hampton Sides’ Wide Wide Sea before the weekend.

Sides’ beautifully brings the reader on a journey of considerable length and historical significance, while maintaining a neutrality and respect for all peoples involved. Capt. Cook as the main character of the book is both heroic and flawed. Sides’ depiction of Cook cleverly and subtly touch on a leader dealing with a deteriorating mental state.

Questionable decision making, at best, inevitably lead to the untimely death of one of the world’s greatest explorers. Sides captures the mental demise with a series of odd moments as Cook leads his men on a perilous journey towards the Northwest Passge.

I personally loved the narrative style and flow of the story. As the sailors weighed anchor and bounced from port to port, the reader could sense the impending adventure that awaited the crew at each stop.

Without needing to read the author’s acknowledgements, one sensed the diligence in researching the story and Sides once again brings to life a sobering tale of exploration.

On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution . Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment?

Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science-–the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment.

Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook’s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook’s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. (GoodReads synopsis)

I will be adding Hampton Sides to the same rank of Erik Larson and David Grann. I am always interested in historical novels that are told like stories. “In the end, we are all stories,” according to the Doctor (Doctor Who). I fully believe that people forget so many things because they are not told, or because they do not read. In this case, there are many things that Captain James Cook did well. And yet on the other hand, there are many things that he did that were tragic. That can be said about a great many “heroes” from anyone’s standpoint.

The writing is compelling and interesting. It is completely obvious that Sides does not put in his own opinion, but instead bases the novel on the known facts. There are many instances were Sides states, “it is unknown, but it is implied”, or “rumored”, etc., indicating to the reader when there was not a definite answer.

Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.

DAMN.

Masterfully written account of life on the high seas on James Cook's final voyage. The chain of events from when he landed on Hawaii where he was greeted as a God, to meeting his grisly fate of the same beach three months later is worth the price of admission alone.

Even better than David Grann's The Wager.

This book was such a great read! I have enjoyed several earlier Hampton Sides books and this one lived up to all of them.
You've undoubtedly heard of Captain James Cook. He was a famous explorer and is credited with "discovering" many remote places in the world and then (somewhat reluctantly on his part) "claiming" them for Britain. The words in quotation marks are definitely addressed by Sides in a modern way, still taking into account how people thought 250 years ago.
This is the account of Captain Cook's last voyage. The story was fascinating and fast-paced and the writing was lovely. If you enjoy history at all, I recommend this most strongly. I've been telling everyone to read it.

I'll start by letting Hampton Sides give his mission statement for his account of Captain James Cook's third and final voyage:

"I've tried to present the captain, and the goals and assumptions behind his third voyage, in all their flawed complexity. I neither lionize, demonize, nor defend him. I've simply tried to describe what happened during his consequential, ambitious, and ultimately tragic final voyage."

The author has largely succeeded, with the caveat that the English perspective still dominates as they are the ones who wrote everything down. Nevertheless, there is an admirable striving to keep in mind how Cook and his crew must have been perceived by the native civilizations with which he made contact (it would be too simplistic but not entirely inaccurate to describe the natives as victims).

I was particularly struck by how Cook could seem enlightened (his respect for native rituals, disinterest in Christianizing the natives) at some moments, and exceptionally cruel at others both with the peoples he encountered and with his own crew. Most readers will emerge with respect for the daring and resourcefulness of the British expeditions, but with considerable regret for many of their consequences.

Of particular note is the story of Mai, a Tahitian native who was taken back to Britain on Cook's second voyage and returned on this voyage. The way in which he straddled both worlds is a fantastic story in itself (and was previously published as a short ebook).

If you didn't get enough of sea voyages after reading The Wager (didn't everybody read this?), I think you'll enjoy this. The Wide Wide Sea doesn't have quite the narrative drive of The Wager, but it probably will give you quite a bit more to think about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Double Day Books for allowing me to preview Hampton Sides’s The Wide Wide Sea. I previously read Sides’s excellent book In the Kingdom of Ice, which I found to be an incredible adventure story. Not knowing much about arctic exploration, it was fascinating to learn about a world where certain regions were unknown and unexplored. The Wide Wide Sea follows a similar pattern in tracing the final journey of British explorer Captain Cook. I also did not know much about Cook, but having read David Grann’s The Wager recently as well, I was really interested in this period of naval exploration, especially as countries like Spain and England competed for the new land and sea routes. Sides opens the story discussing Cook and his legacy as an explorer (or negative discoverer) and how his views of indigenous groups were often more tolerant and inquisitive of other explorers of his time. I also appreciated Sides’s notes to begin about the changing views of Cook’s explorations and the idea of “discovery” and private property in many of the Polynesian lands that Cook explored. What was most important, though, was the nature of contact and how the limited narratives we have about sexual contact between the British and indigenous peoples they met. Sides indicates that our knowledge is primarily one-sided, but this was one of the more surprising elements of the book to learn how the men frequently spread disease through sexual contact, and how frequently Cook tried to stop this practice. Like In the Kingdom of Ice, Sides uses the journals and letters existing from the logs and diaries to give us insight into the different participants, and he does amazing work building relevant and engaging characters, as we learn about their motivations and thoughts about this journey. I also really appreciated that Sides brings in the indigenous beliefs and stories, especially when the men visit Hawaii, to learn more about the possible motivations for trade, contact, or even understanding how the indigenous people may have viewed Cook and his men.
One of the other fascinating parts of the book was the story of Mai or Omai, a young Polynesian man who was brought to England in the 1700s as almost a human pet. As horrible as that was, it was fascinating to learn about his experiences adapting to English culture, and how this cross-cultural experience affected him on his return to Polynesia/Ra’itea. I really enjoyed reading about his return to the islands and the challenges he had re-integrating into their society. Furthermore, his family was killed by people from Bora Bora, so much of his return was focused on revenge on the people who murdered his family and stole his land. It was really interesting, but also somewhat sad. It sounded like Cook really cared about Mai and that others also took more than a passing interest in him and his well being; yet, those who were educating him in England seemed to have different intentions. Nevertheless, Mai’s story plays an important part in the first 1/3-1/2 of the book. The other part of the book deals more with Cook’s arrival in Hawaii for the first time, travels to Alaska, attempts to
However, it was Sides’s ability to use the letters and journals of the participants to develop their characters and understand their motivations. In much the same way, Sides uses the logs and existing literature on the journey of Captain Cook’s travels to the Alaskan coast, attempts to navigate towards the arctic circle, and his return to Hawaii. I loved reading about these descriptions of the landscapes untouched by development and the traditions and beliefs of the indigenous people that Cook’s ships encountered. As Sides notes, Cook was not always tolerant and accepting of these other cultures, but more often than not, he was willing to learn more about them to understand their motivations, and most likely access their resources like water and timber for their ship. This was another thrilling adventure with some sad consequences. Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn about all of the areas that Cook explored that were previously unknown to European explorers. Highly recommended book.

My thanks to Doubleday books, Hampton Sides and Netgalley.
I love this author when it involves the sea. I don't want to read anything about landlocked anything. For me? It's Mr. Sides and the sea!
And boy howdy, does he know how to make a reader wish for a front row seat! Hampton puts a reader right smack dab in the middle! I love his writing and research.
So. Captain Cook. I can't hate in the man. He did what most any one of us would have at that time. He just freaking explored.
Yes, I know it was so much more than that to others, but let's be real.
I'm not going to get into the past or current politics of this. Rest assured, that I think it's all idiotic. That was the past.
Australia was the main country that I'd always wanted to visit, then I heard that it was a 20 hour flight. W.T.F? No. Nope. Hell to the cuss word, and more cuss words and yes, a few more! Whew! I feel better now! So, maybe a ship?
It's Hampton Sides for fish sakes. Read it!
All the stars!😜

Voluminous, thoroughly researched, and providing deeply interesting insight into Cook's travels and experiences. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity!

We are lucky to have Hampton Sides provide a new book about the final voyage of Captain Cook. In preparing to write the book, Sides, as we would expect, visited practically all the locales visited by Cook’s ship, Resolution, and the accompanying ship, Discovery: New Zealand, Tasmania, Society Islands, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington coasts, Vancouver Island, Alaska, Russian Far East, England.
And he read all the journals of the voyage: Cook’s, of course, and the journals kept by other people on the ships.
And he read all the relevant secondary literature in history, anthropology, archaeology and natural history.
From all of this, as he has in his other books, Sides has produced a thoughtful satisfying narrative. He places us in the middle of the action and never loses focus as he also considers the voyage’s short-term and long-term impacts. I think Sides is fair in his assessment of Cook, neither praising him too highly or portraying him as an out-and-out villain. And Sides gives us vivid descriptions of the immediate and long-term--in some respects irreparable--damage the uninvited voyagers inflicted upon the people and environment of Polynesia. As he should, Sides makes us feel sad for the inhabitants of these islands of paradise.
Coleridge, Melville, Conrad, and no doubt other writers and artists drew inspiration from Cook’s voyages, especially this third one. Sides shows us why. He also shows us why this voyage will—and should---never be forgotten. This is a terrific book.

Thank you Doubleday for providing an advance copy in galley form for review consideration via NetGalley. Please note: Quotes taken from a galley may change in the final version. The book will include maps and illustrations that I did not see. They surely will make the book even more appealing. (Opinions expressed here are my own.)

This fascinating and engaging history of James Cook’s last voyage presents a complicated man. He had extraordinary skills and abilities that had brought great fame and success, and yet fatal errors in judgement toppled the great man to his death.

After two voyages into uncharted waters, surveying and mapping unknown lands and making first contact with human societies across the Pacific, Cook was preparing for a comfortable retirement. But his king had another task for him: a third voyage with the mission of seeking a Northwest Passage. First, he was to return a man to his native homeland in the South Seas. In England, Mai became a celebrity and a dandy, and Cook resettled him with his numerous gifts, including livestock and plants from the king who wanted to display British civilization and superiority.

The voyage was filled with challenges. The Resolution’s subpar repairs resulted in leaks. There was the vagaries of the sea and weather to contend with. They met unfamiliar human societies both friendly and hostile. Life was complicated by Cook’s sometimes aberrant behavior and bad judgement.

Making first contact with Hawaii altered Cook’s luck. He arrived as the islanders were celebrating the god Lono, perfectly timed to for Cook to be considered the return of the god, and he was worshipped as Lono. The Resolution required extensive repairs resulting in the men overstayed their welcome, draining the island paradise’s resources. Meantime, the islanders were mad for anything made of iron, resorting to stealing it in their greed.

Cook sailed further than any man before, rounding the coast of Alaska and crossing the Arctic Circle. But he encountered ice instead of a northern shortcut and quickly turned back before the ships became encased in the ice. He returned to Hawaii for repairs and provisioning, but became embroiled in the conflict that ended his life. This visit, the islanders discovered that Cook was no god.

The book presents Cook, the good and the bad, and his legacy, the good and the bad. Cook had a scientific attitude, observing and recording the cultures and people he encountered without judgement. He was careful to protect the islanders from sexual disease, but he also left a ship load of rats behind. Cook’s emphasis on fresh foods resulted in no losses of crew to scurvy, while he was more diligent and brutal in his punishments. His discoveries of new lands gave his country impetitus for colonization to claim the natural resources, while missionaries arrived to enforce Christian beliefs and morality.

It was so interesting to learn about the many cultures Cook encountered, from New Zealand to the Inuit of Alaska.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

Thank you to #DoubledayBooks and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #TheWideWideSea. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I've been a fan of Hampton Sides since I read "Hellhound on His Trail" several years ago. He writes compulsively-readable narrative non-fiction about historically important people and events.

The Wide, Wide Sea follows the final voyage of Captain James Cook in the 1770s. Considered the greatest explorer during the "age of exploration" and "first contact, Cook was known for his respectful treatment of indigenous people. For his 3rd voyage, he was tasked with finding the rumored Northwest Passage. But this expedition was plagued with problems from the beginning, turning this into Cook's final voyage. Cook is a complex character and today's views on imperialism and its impact on indigenous people make this a really interesting story.

Highly recommend.

The chances of me not loving The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides were admittedly nil. I rank Sides as one of the best best non-fiction writers today. You also add in the fact he is writing about my favorite explorer of all time in Captain James Cook. Sides looks specifically at Cook's final journey around the world which, if you know nothing about it, is epic. Last year, in 2023, a lot of people who don't usually read non-fiction took a chance on David Grann's The Wager and loved it. Well, it is not an insult to either book to say that The Wide Wide Sea is this year's The Wager. It's only February but this book will be in my Top 5 of the year when it is all said and done without question.

Sides has a gift for taking big stories and making them feel small and intimate. I also already knew he can write an exceptional book about ocean voyages (if you haven't read In the Kingdom of Ice yet, you should rectify that as soon as possible). He added another wrinkle with this book. Before it begins, Sides states that he is going to look at this story with recognition of how some of these actions look to us today. Before you write this book off, this doesn't mean Sides took today's politics and painted everyone as an evil imperialist. Instead, what he provides is context. Sure, a lot of things you will read about would be abhorrent to most people today, but Sides places them in their time and calls out double standards when he sees them.

What I didn't expect was that Sides willingness to look back at Captain Cook with a contemporary lens makes him even more interesting. Cook was (for his time, let's not overstate this) a more compassionate explorer than most. If you put Hernán Cortés on the inhumane side of the scale, Cook is on the other end. That is, until this final voyage. Cook's third voyage shows cracks in his armor and it leads to ruin. I knew how it ended and I was still riveted because Sides is just that good. Make sure you read this book.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Doubleday Books.)