2024 the best non fiction books of all time review

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day.

“Hampton Sides, an acclaimed master of the nonfiction narrative, has taken on Cook’s story and retells it for the 21st century.”—Los Angeles Times

On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment?

Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science–the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment.

Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook’s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook’s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter.

At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers.

Reviewer: Michael D. Hoy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A very well-written book about Captain Cook's last voyage
Review: I'm a member of the Captain Cook Society and so already had interest and knowledge in this subject matter. While there are many more academic books on the subject of Cook's 3rd and final voyage, and other aspects of his life and those times, this one is the easily best for the general reader. The author used exactly the right mix of interesting detail and enjoyable (but not flowery) prose to produce an accurate and engrossing story of real history.

Reviewer: Jeff N.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Historical easy read, thought provoking.
Review: Great historical review. Factual with detail.

Reviewer: wooster
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Very Exciting ‘Sea Story’
Review: Excellent book, covering the 3rd (and final) journey of Captain Cook…which included his return to Tahiti, Tasmania and New Zealand…and eventually the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands.Captain Cook's mission (which began in London) was to sail his ships south along the Atlantic Ocean and breach the bottom of Africa to enter the Pacific Ocean. From there he was to travel north (all the way to the Artic) to map and explore North America and Alaska, while also searching for the (non-existent) Northwest Passage (the mythical, ice-free sea route that supposedly connected both coasts of America). He accidently ran right into Hawaii while travelling north.This was Captain Cook’s 3rd world voyage (I keep wanting to say Captain Kirk…lol...will someone please beam me up) and it lasted about 5 years, occurring in the late 1700s (about the same time as the American Revolution was being fought on the other side of the world).This story is very exciting. When the ships would leave a port, I couldn’t wait to see what kind of adventure the ship and crew would encounter next…either at-sea or at their next port.The story is taken from the very descriptive writings and logbooks of the crewmembers themselves, so that the reader gets a very good sense of what things were like during this voyage and what the crew experienced at some of the most exotic places on earth, particularly the first encounters with the Hawaiians and Alaskans. At times I felt like I was ‘right there’.The author did an excellent job tying everything together and making this a very enjoyable (and enlightening) reading experience. Highly recommended for history buffs.

Reviewer: Steven Goldstein
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A fascinating read
Review: Clearly most of the reading public has, at one time or another, read about how Captain James Cook was the first European to "discover" the Hawaiian islands. What I certainly didn't know was the totality of the voyage during which this discovery took place. This is the story of Cook's final voyage, its original purpose, its accidental finding of the Hawaiian islands, and of the personal dynamics of the epic multi-year voyage during which the visits to Hawaii took place and the reasons for Cook's death there. If you enjoy non-fiction, this book is a feast.There is nothing remotely dry about the telling of this tale. The book reads like a novel, with good character development, great detail, and literary descriptions more common in fiction.

Reviewer: F. Moyer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An amazingly well-documented voyage – even though taken 250 years ago!
Review: Cook sailed on three multi-year voyages of discovery. This book is focused on his third voyage, which is probably his best known voyage because Cook was killed by island natives on that third voyage.After Cook’s first two voyages, he was England’s preeminent explorer. So when England began organizing an expedition to search for a Northwest Passage (which would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans), Cook was the natural choice to lead the expedition.The book isn’t particularly kind to Cook’s memory in the first half of the book. By the third voyage, Cook is older. His urge to explore new island discoveries seems less than during his first two voyages. His crew disciple seems more excessive on this third voyage. Perhaps Cook wasn’t the best choice for this third voyage of exploration.But Cook’s reputation is treated much more laudatory in the second half of the book. His sailing prowess in the face of danger (fog, winds, heavy seas, icing – and their related damage to the ship) avoided tragedy more than once. And his courage while trying to personally establish first-contact with armed, superstitious natives was brave, though also perhaps far too close to the point of foolhardiness.Normally, a book about a voyage taken 250 years ago would have to be light on facts and heavy on conjecture regarding what people really thought and what really happened. But this was a voyage of discovery. In addition to sailors and marines, the ship had astronomers, artists, anthropologists, botanists and diarists. It was probably one of the best documented voyages, before or since. And author Hampton Sides turned all that information into an excellent book.Bottom Line: I’ve often thought that a good history book (i.e., non-fiction) can be more interesting and exciting than the most imaginative fiction. This book is such an example.

Reviewer: Addison Dewitt
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Informative and Very Well-Written
Review: Usually history books are somewhat dry, but Hampton made this entire book a pleasure to read. I highly recommend this book!

Reviewer: Robert Allen
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Educational and interesting
Review: One of my favorite authors, never disappoints. Fascinating account of Captain James Cook and his exploits. Never knew he was responsible for so much discovery. To see the names that he gave to those discoveries still in use today gives depth and better appreciation for those places.

Reviewer: David Young
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Brilliantly written, exciting, informative and move along a a great clip. One of the many books I've read about James Cook. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: Redrag
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It is a very well written account and appears to be very well researched bringing in the history of the cultures touched where possible. To me the story really takes off as we head up to Alaska and towards the fatal conclusion.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: well-researched and fast moving. fascinating research of the oral history of the Hawaiins

Reviewer: robert
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Don't read a lot of history books, but afterlistening to the Ryen Russilo pod, I thought I'd give it a try.Was one of the most enjoyable reads I've had all year.I Learned a lot and finished it in a weekHighly recommend

Reviewer: Elizabeth A. Davies
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I am halfway through this book and am just loving it. This is history writing at it's best. It's thorough and well-rounded. The author does a great job of describing the times, how people lived and what life back then was like generally. He paints a vivid picture of Cook and the men involved in this journey of discovery - and the people they encountered along the way."Vivid" really is the word here - so much so that once I started reading I've found it hard to put down. A great story told masterfully.