What readers think of The Wide Wide Sea, plus links to write your own review.

Hampton Sides is the kind of history teacher that you wish you had. He takes the little-known mystery of larger-than-life explorers like James Cook and makes their discovery time accessible to novices. Explorers and sailors were the aristocrats of their class. "The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook" is the adventure you didn't know you needed.

Cook's last mission led to his demise, as he developed a relationship with Hawaiian natives that went wrong. Knowing how quickly diseases spread to those who seldom meet new people, this is no surprise. In 1776, people would give anything for feathers and nails, and this simple greed also led to conflict. It was quite the world.

Cook develops anger that his friends claim he did not have before. Someone stole a nanny goat, and he responded by destroying large pieces of land. His Polynesian sidekick, Mai, even carries out this carnage against his people. The Islanders had a healthy respect for and fear of Cook, but you begin to sense the moment when things went wrong.

Since his death is mysterious, we have several hints for the main culprit behind Cook's demise. Once natives start trading otter pelts for golden weapons, the air is ominous. When survival was the only goal, Cook did what he could for each goal, but the Hawaiians had other plans. The inevitable ending is more tragic than I had anticipated.

You have to take certain things into account when appreciating the setting. The low life expectancy makes the story more tragic, and the lawlessness of killing someone that slighted you makes the actions seem more random. There is no denying the adventure of sailors in the age of exploration, so the story carries much weight for history buffs.