In 1776, Captain James Cook set out with secret orders to find the Pacific entrance to the fabled Northwest Passage. He was also tasked with returning a Tahitian man to his Pacific island home after his time in England, where he was hosted by luminaries such as Lord Sandwich and King George III. This was the much-lauded Cook's third exploratory voyage, and he would be perhaps the first to encounter the people of the Hawaiian islands--an encounter that proved deadly.
Hampton Sides's descriptions of the natives Cook encountered and Cook's demeanor, both to his crew and to the native people, raise questions about Cook's suitability to lead this voyage. His sometimes rash actions countered his first two successful voyages and raised questions about first contact with native islanders. Cook's detractors depict him as an arrogant man who spread disease and robbed natives of their culture. Given today's attitudes and philosophies, I credit Sides's even-handed portrayal of Cook's encounters.
5/5 stars.
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