NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “thrilling and superbly crafted” ( The Wall Street Journal )
account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration which culminated in Captain
James Cook’s death in Hawaii and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this
day. One of The New York Times Book Review’ s 10 Best Books of the Year A BEST BOOK OF THE
YEAR: THE NEW YORK TIMES TIME THE ECONOMIST NPR THE NEW YORKER THE SMITHSONIAN AND
KIRKUS REVIEWS “In this masterly history Sides tracks the 18th-century English naval officer
James Cook’s third and final voyage across the globe painting a vivid and propulsive
portrait."— The New York Times Book Review 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. 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. At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a
searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration THE WIDE
WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers.
