The Wide Wide Sea

Here's another book that made me feel deeply the dramas of another time and place. Yes, I learned in school about European world explorers who sought adventure and riches as they searched the "new world," but this book struck me hard with both the hazards of their travels and the dangers they posed to the indigenous people they encountered in the Pacific Islands. Hampton Sides creates a feeling of immediacy as he unfolds a portrait of the experienced English explorer, Captain James Cook. This, Cook's final voyage, was undertaken apparently as he was undergoing an unfortunate personality transformation. An exotic… show more.

I'm a sucker for books on exploration, Polynesia, seafaring, and the Royal Navy, so this book checks all the boxes. I can't wait to visit the Big Island of Hawaii, to see where Captain Cook met his end. I've read several books by Hampton Sides and have never been disappointed.

This book is fundamentally a deep dive into the tragic legacy of colonialism, disguised as an adventure tale. It succeeds admirably on both fronts.

I was trying hard not to rename an author in this exercise. But I admittedly failed. Sides does it again with The Wide, Wide Sea, an enthralling narrative on the final voyage of Capt. James Cook.

The author wastes no time putting me on the deck of the Resolute, Cook’s ship, for his third and final journey, as he and the crew sail to the Polynesian islands, Hawaii, up near the top of the earth and back to Hawaii–where he meets his demise. Even though you’re aware of the outcome, you can’t help but flip through pages with growing… show more.