Chronicle of Captain James Cook's voyages of discovery ( )

Oh, and he couldn't SWIM. ? I guess that's common but good grief, common on Captain. I am pretty clueless about the trajectory of voyages of all these explorers, so I love how I thought this was going to be all cold and Alaskan and it ended up being all tropical and Hawaiian. ( )

nonfiction/history - Captain Cook's ill-fated voyage to find a passage through northern North America, and his interactions with various native peoples along the way -- as thoroughly researched as known resources and records will allow, and pretty balanced in light of not having as much to go from on the natives' sides.

well done and very interesting look at a man who wasn't perfect, but who is often given the short stick. ( )

In The Wide, Wide Sea, Hampton Sides tries to present a factual and unbiased account of Captain James Cook’s third and ultimately fatal voyage. Using as many first-hand accounts as possible — including oral histories from the indigenous people — Sides does an admirable job of not deifying or demonizing Cook, but trying to ascertain his true actions and motives. Sometimes heavily documented texts can get boring, but Sides keeps things moving, and the actual voyage is too fascinating to ever become dull. I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to readers of nonfiction who like sea voyages, exploration, and history. ( )

It is a pleasure to read a book that accomplishes exactly what the author intends.

Highly recommended! ( )

I’ve read several books by Hampton Sides, and I’ve enjoyed every one of them. This is the story of one of history’s most venerated British adventurers, Capt. James Cook. Cook was an explorer and was a talented (and accurate) cartographer, something that during this time in history was very important. The book is about Cook’s third and final trip attempting to find a “northwest passage” from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean thereby saving months of travel, heartache, and exposure to violent weather. Life most explorers looking for this path, Cook found that route equally brutal, although he merely visited the route before turning back to return to Hawaii where his met his untimely and violent death. Sides is a talented journalist and this book will keep historians and non-historians alike interested to the very end. I highly recommend it. ( )

"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 Royal 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." ( )

Another excellent history by Hampton Sides - a thorough and thoughtful account of the last voyage of Captain James Cook (apparently the inspiration for the name James T. Kirk!). I found the descriptions of 18th-century Tasmania, various Pacific islands, and Alaska before the extinction of the Tasmanians, the reduction of the sea otter population to about 1,000 individuals by 1900, the Exxon Valdez disaster, etc. to be especially moving. It is also interesting to think about the degree to which we take our knowledge of geography for granted. Cook was the first to cross both the Antarctic and Arctic circles and among the many things that he was famous for included that he had shown that there was no Antarctic continent (he didn't go far enough south), and that ice formed in the Arctic Ocean from seawater and there could be no Northwest Passage. ( )

Finally a readable Captain Cook book written in modern narrative nonfiction form. Hampton Sides is one of the best of this genre. The pacing and proportion it's like a 14 hour movie that never flags. Captain Cook you can't get away from, he is named dropped all over the place, in places and in books. Yet, try to find good books about him and they are either hagiography or so detailed as to loose sight of the forest for the trees. He is a difficult subject because of the evils of colonialism; and Cook left very few written records other than ship logs, he was a reserved character in real life. Sides shows Cook to be a man torn by self-knowledge of despoiling native cultures, but also with no choice because of his mission. These contradictions drove Cook a little crazy in the end as he vacillates between benevolent bringer of civilization, and destroyer of worlds. Despite the evils of colonization, it still captures the imagination exploring at a continent-scale for the first time. Cooks third voyage was the longest distance and time wise of any exploratory journey to that time. This is a wonderful book about an amazing story by a remarkable writer. ( )

Exploration,Captain Cook,Polynesia,Hawaii,Alaska,New Zealand ( )

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. ( )