The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook, is one of the best nonfiction books that I’ve ever read. Admittedly I am entranced by sea adventures, especially those that occurred during the Age of Exploration. It was four years from the time Captain Cook left England on July 12, 1776 until the ship returned to England on October 4, 1780 without him. He was killed in Hawaii on February 14, 1779. Some years ago, I had the chance to swim in the stunningly beautiful bay where he died. The New York Times opined that this was one of the 10 best books published during 2024.
After two long voyages, Cook was initially not intending to be a part of England’s next exploration in the Pacific. During the late 18th century, explorers were still uncovering the fabled northwest passage, but given so many failures to find it from the Atlantic, the new plan was to approach the alleged passage from the Pacific side. Charles Clerke was expected to lead the voyage. He had been with Cook before and he was eager to be the head of the next voyage, but at the last minute, Cook’s principal sponsors including the Earl of Sandwich, seduced him into taking command. Once again, Clerke was to be the second in command and captain of the HMS Discovery, while Cook sailed in the HMS Resolution.
The author took the reader through the trip to Tahiti where they returned a Polynesian named Mai to his home after he had traveled with Cook on his second voyage. Mai was a most interesting man who quickly adapted to life in England and was really the darling of the upper class who treated him with all sorts of favors. On the way back to Tahiti, Cook stopped in Cape Town before the hazardous sailing from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Horn. After rounding the cape, they touched down for repairs in Tasmania, and then they took Mai to Tahiti. Rather than being seen as a hero who could teach them much about the world he had seen, rather than being feted as he had by the English aristocracy, Mai was noted to be a commoner in the Tahitian culture who had forgotten his own humble origins. He failed to make a smooth transition back to his own homeland.
As Cook turned north to look for the passageway to the Atlantic, he literally stumbled into Hawaiin islands that had not been visited for many years and was unknown to the western world. He was revered as a god by the Hawaiians. When his ship had been repaired for more rigorous travel, he sailed to Alaska but failed to find the passage that he was looking for. Prior to giving it another go, with winter coming, he faced having run out of time. He chose to return to Hawaii for the winter months in order to give his exploration another chance to succeed. However, rather than landing on Maui or Kauai, he chose to go to the big island where he remained for the winter months. However, as the Resolution and Discovery were preparing to leave again in late 1778, the Hawaiians discovered that Cook and his men were really not gods. After there were substantial disagreements between Cook and the Hawaiians, a battle broke out in which Cook was killed. It was Clerke who then became the leader of the expedition, but after only a short while, he died from tuberculosis, a disease he had contracted early in the voyage.
There were other well trained officers to see the expedition back to England, but most interesting was the presence of William Blythe who later was captain on the HMS Bounty when a world-famous mutiny occurred. The author talked about the apparent deterioration of Cook which was apparent in his harsh treatment of the crew which was much different than during his earlier voyages. The interplay between Cook and his officers, as well as the crew and the many natives they encountered was all discussed by the author.
I don’t think this review does justice to the depth of the author’s understanding and descriptions of both the travel adventures and the various social interactions. I’m in agreement with the NY Times about the importance and quality of Sides’ writing. Give this book a chance, even if you usually don’t read nonfiction. You won’t be disappointed.
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