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It is possible that there are more physical locations on this planet (not to mention our moon) named after Captain James Cook than any other single person. He lived in an era that valued discovery, and he personally enjoyed the support of a government that still believed in collecting territories for governance, although (unbeknownst to them) that phase was coming to an end. He had successfully commanded a pair of wide-ranging voyages and was preparing to retire when the lure of the Northwest Passage overcame his good sense, and he ventured out to sea for one more great trek.
Nearly everyone knows how this story ends in a little cove on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and our contemporary cancel culture has not spared the (in)famous Captain Cook. Yet, even as armchair judges, juries, and executioners are content to examine him and other historical figures with 21st-century lenses, there remains value in learning about his adventures on the high seas of two centuries ago.
This book by the incomparable Hampton Sides makes a concerted effort to showcase the details of the Captain’s third (and final) voyage. Sides smoothly presents the details surrounding all of the major characters (some of which were also destined for infamy) as well as oral histories from the cultures that were visited on this expedition. The reader is given plenty of opportunity to see events both major and minor from different perspectives and, in many cases, offered differing modern-day interpretations of these interactions. As is this author’s habit, all of these are skillfully written with both brevity and clarity. Absolutely no part of The Wide Wide Sea gets bogged down in esoteric detail.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this reading experience, since I have perused many sources about Captain Cook already. I did not expect to learn as much as I did, and that is probably what kept me from doing other things (like mowing the lawn) while I worked my way through this book. I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a legitimate excuse to postpone any tedious task, but alas, now that I have finished it, my lawn awaits.
Rated: None. Four usages of mild language. Venereal diseases are mentioned numerous times, with occasional proper anatomic terms, along with Cook’s intense efforts to reduce their spread to indigenous peoples.
