The Wide Wide Sea

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From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides comes an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration - the fateful final journey of Captain James Cook On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach in Hawaii, Cook was killed - beaten and stabbed in a conflict with the indigenous population. What brought Cook to these final moments, so at odds with his reputation Cook was renowned for his humane leadership, dedication to science and the curiosity and respect, not judgement, with which he greeted societies that were new to him. Cook's new voyage carried secret orders to venture north, to discover the fabled Northwest Passage and chart and claim lands before Britain's imperial rivals. And Cook himself was different on this final, fatal voyage. The great navigator became mercurial, leading his ships into danger time and again, and meting out savage punishments against native peoples. Whatever was driving Cook, his mission revealed the sharp edge of a colonial sword bringing catastrophe to those in its path. And, after returning from the Arctic to the shores of Hawaii, Cook's expedition finally tore itself apart ...

Author Bio

Hampton Sides is an editor-at-large for Outside magazine and teaches literary journalism and narrative history at Colorado College. The bestselling author of Kingdom of Ice, Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, and Hellhound On His Trail, he lives in Santa Fe with his wife Anne.