Book Club Discussion Questions for The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides

1. What aspects of Captain James Cook's character do you find most compelling or contradictory? How do they shape your understanding of him? Do you find the author's portrayal balanced or biased?
2. Discuss the role of Indigenous peoples in the book. How does Sides incorporate their perspectives, and why is this important, in your opinion? How might the story change if we had more accounts from the people Cook encountered?
3. Sides uses primary sources, like journals from Cook's crew, to construct his narrative. What did you think of this technique?
4. Sides mentions Cook's increasingly erratic behavior on the voyage. What factors do you think contributed to this change?
5. Consider Cook's stated mission to return the Tahitian man, Mai. How does this mission reflect European attitudes toward Indigenous cultures, in your opinion?
6. What role does the HMS Resolution play in shaping the events of the journey? How does the ship itself become a character in the story?
7. In what ways do you think Cook's voyages contributed to the scientific knowledge of the time? Do you feel these benefits were worth the costs?
8. How does Sides' narrative style enhance the story? Are there specific passages that stood out to you for their descriptive power?
9. How does The Wide Wide Sea compare to other historical accounts you've read about exploration? What makes it unique or particularly engaging?
10. Did your perception of exploration and its implications change as a result of reading the book? What lingering questions do you have about this period in history? Did you learn anything new or surprising from the book?
11. Given modern discussions about colonialism and the tearing down of statues of figures like Cook, how do you reconcile the events of Cook's voyages with today's values? Should explorers like Cook still be celebrated, or should their legacy be reevaluated?
12. Overall, what did you think of The Wide Wide Sea? Are there other books on this subject that you'd recommend? Are there other nonfiction history authors whose writing style you enjoy?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Vintage. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.