Sea of Glory [Hardcover]

Nathaniel Philbrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

About the Author

Nathaniel Philbrick is a historian and broadcaster who has written extensively about sailing. He is director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies on Nantucket Island, and a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association. He was a consultant on the movie Moby Dick. Aged 41, he has lived on Nantucket with his wife and two children since 1986. His previous book, In the Heart of the Sea was a Top Ten best seller in hardback and paperback.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins; illustrated edition edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007121156
• ISBN-13: 978-0007121151
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nathaniel Philbrick
Life at a Glance

Born
1956 in Boston, Mass.

Educated
Linden Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh, Pa.; BA in English from Brown University in Providence, RI, and an MA in America Literature from Duke University in Durham, NC

Sailing
Philbrick was Brown's first Intercollegiate All-American sailor in 1978; that year he won the Sunfish North Americans in Barrington, RI; today he and his wife Melissa sail their Beetle Cat Clio and their Tiffany Jane 34 Marie-J in the waters surrounding Nantucket Island.

Married
Melissa Douthart Philbrick, who is an attorney on Nantucket. They have two children: Jennie, 23, and Ethan 20.

Career
After grad school, Philbrick worked for four years at Sailing World magazine; was a freelancer for a number of years, during which time he wrote/edited several sailing books, including Yaahting: A Parody (1984), for which he was the editor-in-chief; during this time he was also the primary caregiver for his two children. After moving to Nantucket in 1986, he became interested in the history of the island and wrote Away Off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People. He was offered the opportunity to start the Egan Maritime Foundation in 1995, and in 2000 he published In the Heart of the Sea, followed by Sea of Glory, in 2003, and Mayflower, due in May 2006.

Awards and Honors
In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award for nonfiction; Revenge of the Whale won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; Sea of Glory won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize and the Albion-Monroe Award from the National Maritime Historical Society. Philbrick has also received the Byrne Waterman Award from the Kendall Whaling Museum, the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for distinguished service from the USS Constitution Museum, the Nathaniel Bowditch Award from the American Merchant Marine Museum, and the William Bradford Award from the Pilgrim Society.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant work by Philbrick, September 3, 2010

By 

Jared M (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sea of Glory (Paperback)

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.

1.0 out of 5 stars Dry, January 18, 2011

By 

Lorri - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sea of Glory (Paperback)

This may be about the sea, but it is dry, dry, dry. I forced myself to read it and at about page 100, decided life was too short. I'll donate the book to my local library for some other poor unsuspecting reader.

4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Expedition No One Knows About, December 31, 2007

By 

Michael E. Fitzgerald (Kingwood, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sea of Glory (Paperback)

I became aware of the US Exploring Expedition a few years ago. Like most of us, I never realized it had happened. One can only wonder why history has deposited such an enormous undertaking into its dust bin. In an age of significant international exploration by all European countries, this was a most singular and unique achievement.

Lasting four years, from 1838-1842, and resulting in the formal discovery, naming and mapping of 1,500 miles of the Antarctic Continent, the expedition charted 280 Pacific Islands, including the first charting of the Fiji Group, 800 miles of the Oregon coast, a 100 mile stretch of the Columbia River and the overland route from Oregon to San Francisco.

Marked by severe acrimony between its commander, Charles Wilkes, and 90% of his officer corps, this accomplishment is a testament to the perseverance of all of the expedition's 527 members. It covered thousands upon thousands of miles and marked the first time any single exploring expedition touched every continental land mass. In the US Exploring Expedition's myriad of accomplishments lies the projection of US influence into the Pacific, the eventual acquisition of Midway Island and ultimately the State of Hawaii, and equally important, the recognition of the military value of Puget Sound, Pearl Harbor and San Francisco Bay. Wilkes was one of the first to understand that the West Coast of North America would dramatically impact access to Asia and influence the development of the Pacific Ocean.

A noteworthy work by a gifted writer, this is a breathtaking account of one of history's greatest adventures.