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The Keynote event is currently SOLD OUT. If you are interested in joining the waitlist for this event please reach out to us via email.

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The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook
By Hampton Sides
Vintage Books, 2025

One of the giants of the European Age of Exploration, Captain James Cook’s three voyages in the Pacific radically expanded the European perception of the world, helping to set the stage for the next chapters of British history and imperialism. Initially known as a principled, disciplined explorer, Cook’s first two voyages were marked by his renowned seamanship, dedication to science, and respect for others, both his crew and the Indigenous peoples whom he encountered.

His third voyage, however, was a different story.

In The Wide Wide Sea, Hampton Sides takes us on a ride with Captain Cook into the late 18th century world, where the Industrial Age was dawning, the New World was fighting back, and an expanded view of the globe created political imperatives for international competition. Driven by these external forces and also subject to deeper tides within himself, Sides’ narrative puts us there as Cook unravels. 

Tapping into original sources, such as crew diaries and Indigenous oral tradition, Sides gives equal weight to the Indigenous peoples Cook encountered, including the native Hawaiians who ultimately ended his life. The story is both a swiftly-paced adventure on the high seas and an exploration of the moral and political complexities of the man and the era.

This event is presented in partnership with Historic Lewes.

About the author
Hampton Sides is the New York Times bestselling author of eight histories, including Ghost Soldiers, which won the PEN USA Award for Nonfiction. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal, among others. A native of Memphis, Sides earned his BA in history at Yale and sits on the boards of the Society of American Historians and the Author’s Guild. He and his wife Anna, also a journalist, live in Santa Fe.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partners — Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2025 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all of our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Ronald Collins & Susan Cohen, Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Griswold Home Care for Sussex and Kent Counties and Sally Mott Freeman & John K. Freeman; our Closing event is presented by the Delaware Community Foundation. Saturday’s Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Founding Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library, for event promotion and production, and Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Thanks also to the  Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.