Sea of Glory
Review Date:
15/03/2005Cruising Review Date:
01/2001Publisher: Harper Collins, 2004 CA
Lieutenant Charles Wilkes is an odd but ruthless man and in ‘Sea of Glory’ Nathaniel Philbrick reviews the exploits of this self driven but hardly selfless man.
It’s a tale of talent, egotistical excesses, political chicanery abuse, death and hardship. Most importantly it exposes the sacrifices which were so characteristic of the men who shaped the history of our world. The graphic details of their conquests and trials is testament to the author’s talents as he successfully unravels accounts of the expedition.
Wilkes is a brilliant and talented man who eventually succeeds in securing his dream of taking an expeditionary force to sea as an agent of the United States of America and to exercise his extraordinary skills as a surveyor in some of the world’s most unforgiving environments.
This Expedition –known as the United States Exploring Expedition- sailed in 1838 and over the next four years charted much of the southern oceans including a continent later to be named Antarctica. Six sailing ships and 346 men encounter some of the most extreme natural excesses this wild world has to offer. The expedition is credited with bringing back more artefacts and specimens than all of James Cook’s voyages combined. Their cache was the foundation on which the Smithsonian Institute became established.
The book brings together contemporary maps, drawings, illustrations and photographs all of which contribute to a truly entertaining and educational volume. – JB
