Product Description

The dramatic story of the largest voyage of discovery in the history of the world -- and the last such all-sail convoy. Headed by the controversial Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, and consisting of six sailing vessels and 346 men, the 'Ex. Ex. ' (the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838--42) represented the largest voyage of discovery in the history of the world. Four years later, after losing two ships and seventy-one men, the expedition had logged 87,000 miles, surveyed 280 Pacific islands, and created 180 charts -- some of which were still being used as late as World War II. The Expedition's scientists collected 4000 zoological specimens, including 2000 new species, and thousands of ethnographic artifacts that would become the basis of the Smithsonian Institution. The Expedition also mapped 800 miles of coastline in the Pacific Northwest, providing the federal government with the information it needed to stake its claim on the Oregon Territory. The Expedition's crowning achievement was the discovery of a new southern continent that Wilkes would name Antarctica. The Expedition ended in a dramatic series of court martials, with Wilkes and his crew levelling accusations of misconduct against each other.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #523117 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The sheer sweep and ambition of Nathaniel Philbrick's Sea of Glory rather takes the breath away, but shouldn't come as any kind of surprise--his earlier book, In the Heart of the Sea, displayed a similar mastery of matters nautical. But the new book is something special: Philbrick's source has been little-known 19th century journals and letters, detailing the astonishing story of a nautical odyssey that traversed the Pacific Ocean and opened up the new continent of Antarctica.

In 1838, US Ex Ex (actually the United States South Seas Exploring Expedition) set out to explore every inch of the Pacific. The two ships that comprised the expedition covered nearly 300 islands and encountered an amazing range of human savagery (notably the Fijian islanders' taste for human flesh). At the head of this hardy body of men was the formidable figure of Lt Charles Wilkes, a man whose internal conflicts often made life hell for those about him. His driven personality ultimately precipitated catastrophe, and the resulting court martials became the talk of New York.

The achievement of Philbrick in this massive saga is considerable: as well as detailing the voyages of discovery at the heart of the narrative (the US Ex Ex ships brought back more specimens in the natural history field than even Captain Cook's better-known expeditions), he's concerned with telling a human drama, with the controversial Charles Wilkes at its heart. We have the harrowing saga of a man said to have inspired Melville's tyrannical Captain Ahab, his epic voyages counterpointed by a passionately disputed court martial. --Barry Forshaw

Review
An unprecedented voyage of discovery by the American Navy that would do for the Pacific Ocean what Lewis and Clark had done for the American West. A perfect subject for a writer with Nat Philbrick's feeling for 19th-century America, his rich prose style, and his abiding love for the sea and for the particular lives of men under sail. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA was a Sunday Times Number One bestseller in hardback and was hugely praised by the critics.

The best-selling author of In the Heart of the Sea tells the story of an epic United States expedition that set out to discover new lands and to put the United States itself on the map of nations of discovery. Difficult as it was to find parts of the world that either the British or the French had not already visited, the US solution was characteristically American: they would mount a bigger expedition, with more ships and more men than had ever been seen before, to set out on one of the longest voyages of discovery in the history of Western exploration. It should have all been plain sailing, but there was a major flaw at the heart of this expedition and that was the personality of the expedition leader, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. Individualistic, explosive and unsure of himself, Wilkes was a loose cannon as the ships sailed through sometimes uncharted but always troubled waters. What should have been a triumph, with a massive load of specimens and a new survey of Antarctica, turned into a damp squib when the problems surrounding Wilkes' relationship with his fellow officers stole the fire. Philbrick has a gem of a story on his hands, one where fact beats fiction, and he handles it with characteristic panache and deceptive ease. (Kirkus UK)

The Daily Telegraph, 28 February 2004
'a stirring yarn, a satisfying lump of cultural history, and a thoughtful moral fable.'

Customer Reviews

Around the world with the Ex. Ex. and a Tosser
What native-born American hasn't heard of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? (Well, OK, the quality of public education being what it is, there are, perhaps, contemporary high school graduates that haven't a clue. But, you get my point.) However, I'd never heard of the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838-42, even after a primary and secondary education in private schools and fifty-six years of reading and general awareness.

During the four years the intrepid Ex. Ex. naval squadron was at sea sailing 87,000 miles, it surveyed 1500 miles of the Antarctic coast, 280 Pacific islands (including all of the Fiji Group), Puget Sound, 800 miles of the Oregon coast, the Columbia River from its mouth to the vicinity of Portland, and San Francisco Bay. Almost as asides, it also scaled Mauna Loa to its summit and surveyed the overland route from Oregon to San Francisco. During its circumnavigation of the globe, the Ex. Ex. suffered the disappearance or shipwreck of two vessels and the deaths of a couple dozen men.

Like his other narrative IN THE HEART OF THE SEA: THE TRAGEDY OF THE WHALESHIP ESSEX, this volume by Nathaniel Philbrick is a splendid, immensely readable book. It covers the genesis and 10-year preparation for the Ex. Ex., the odyssey itself, and its aftermath, with special emphasis on the leadership skills, or lack thereof, of its turbulent, troubled, and remarkable commander, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. Contrary to other otherwise excellent works of popular history, SEA OF GLORY also includes maps and three sections of perfectly apropos illustrations; kudos to the author for including them.

What was a monumental achievement was ultimately overshadowed by America's preoccupation with its western territories and the controversy, including court-martial, surrounding the martinet Wilkes, truly a Tosser with a capital "T" if there ever was one.

SEA OF GLORY was a major revelation about a largely forgotten event in United States history. I'm glad I took the time to read it, and heartily recommend it as an instructive and entertaining volume.

Superb reading for the Exploration Enthuasist
It was a review of this book in the National Geographic Adventure magazine which first caught my eye, and prompted me to purchase Philbrick's excellent narrative of the US Exploring Expedition. The Expedition sailed from Norfolk, USA, carrying the scientific and exploratory hopes of the United States on a trip to South America, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Asia that encompasses nearly 5 years. Over 500 men, in 6 ships left in 1838, to return in 1842, much reduced in number, but with enough scientific specimens (over 4000) to form a large portion of the Smithsonian collection. Commanded by Lieutenant Wilkes, the story of the US Ex. Ex has largely been forgotten, but Philbrick has produced a book which hopefully will bring to the forefront the achievements of the US Ex. Ex and its' men.

"Sea of Glory" is truly a spectacular rendition of events, as Philbrick portrays the deterioration of the relationship between Commander and his men, while journeying through some of most inhospitable seas in the world. Wilkes comes across as a near megalomaniac and odious character (almost immediately after beginning the expedition, he promoted himself Captain!), belittling the achievements of his underlings and inflating his own. It is a miracle that he was succeeded in bringing the expedition home largely unscathed. Nor does the story end there. The final chapters reveal the trials and tribulations of Wilkes (and other members of the expedition) as he realizes that he may be held accountable for his actions. Upon return of the expedition, there were no fewer than 5 court martials involving Wilkes and officers of the vessels comprising the expedition, largely petty incidents raised by Wilkes as revenge for perceived slights by the officers.

Philbrick writes extremely well, in a very fluid and easy manner, and it takes little effort to read. Large portions of the book are based upon the journal of Midshipman Reynolds, once an ardent admirer of his commander but by the conclusion of the expedition despising him. Philbrick superbly brings this out, contrasting parts of the journal from early on in the voyage to sections of the journal written much later, the journal's author much jaded and embittered by the actions of his commander. But Philbrick does not focus only on Wilkes; the achievements of the expedition are also discussed, and the sometimes incredibly imposing situations the expedition faces, such as the attack by natives on the expedition in the Fiji Islands which resulted in the death of Wilkes' nephew. A book of this type benefits from having illustrations and maps, and on neither account does it fail. There are a number of maps produced in the book, although I have to say the main map (in the preface), which traces the voyage of the expedition throughout the 5 years it spent abroad, is a little hard to follow due to the back and forth nature of parts of the expedition, and also when the expedition split up for short periods of time. There are two sections of very nice illustrations which show the main characters involved and some events that occurred.

"Sea of Glory" is a true story that ranks alongside the best of adventure books, and I cannot recommend this book highly enough. A worthy addition to the library.

A tale of tyranny
A lot of people will have heard of Captain Bligh or the Mutiny on the Bounty, but compared to Lt Charles Wilkes, Bligh was a saint. It is Wilkes that made this book fascinating for me. You will really want to see justice done in the end. Wilkes endurance however is something to be admired " If Wilkes drove his men hard, he drove himself harder. Every night, he worked well past midnight on his charts Surgeon John Fox reported that Wilkes averaged no more than five hours a night, and often went for days at a time with no sleep at all. Sleep deprivation leads to a loss of emotional control as well as a failure to make complex social judgements-just the areas in which Wilke's personality was already lacking'.

If you like books about the sea this is well worth reading.