The Wide Wide Sea

Outline

The Wide Wide Sea (2024) follows the final voyage of the British explorer Captain James Cook, who set out in 1776 to search for a northern sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Hampton Sides describes the ship’s journey across the Pacific, Cook’s encounters with the peoples of the islands, and the tensions that led to his death in Hawaii in 1779. The book explores exploration, ambition, empire, and cultural misunderstanding.

• Captain James Cook set out in 1776 on his final voyage to search for a northern sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
• The book follows the ship's journey across the Pacific and Cook's encounters with the peoples of the islands.
• Tensions during these encounters led to Cook's death in Hawaii in 1779.
• Hampton Sides shows how exploration, ambition and empire can collide with cultural misunderstanding, with tragic results.

Hampton Sides is an American historian and journalist known for vivid narrative histories. His other books include Ghost Soldiers, Hellhound on His Trail, and In the Kingdom of Ice.