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joabroda's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
A very interesting read about the American expedition that charted the South Pacific and determined there was land (Antarctica as we know it today) at the bottom of the world. It took four years for the expedition to circle the world and Philbrick gives us a marvelous adventure filled with suspense and daring explorers. Facing the wild waters of Cape Hope, fighting the ice and weather at the worlds bottom, encountering cannibals in the South Pacific-the action in this book never stops.
The story is also about the captain of this fleet, Charles Wilkes. a man who got the job basically because no one else wanted it. Wilkes was not prepared, nor worthy of leading such a massive endeavor and his leadership skills come in to question over and over again.
This was just my second Philbrick book and I am looking forward to reading more by him
The story is also about the captain of this fleet, Charles Wilkes. a man who got the job basically because no one else wanted it. Wilkes was not prepared, nor worthy of leading such a massive endeavor and his leadership skills come in to question over and over again.
This was just my second Philbrick book and I am looking forward to reading more by him
ddaniels27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
billievee's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting history of a significant expedition that I never learned about in school. Wilkes is quite a character; my feelings on him ranged between pity, disgust, and admiration throughout the narrative (though I'd probably feel differently if I was one of the men getting flogged).
samcarlin's review against another edition
2.0
Usually I love books about sailing and exploration, but this one was boring. I never really got a sense of excitement or any thrill while reading it. I kept thinking that sometime it would get really interesting, and it never it. When I picked it up I thought the book was about the expedition and what was discovered, but really it was about the man who led the expedition, Wilkes, and how he treated his crew. I would not recommend reading it.
toitoine's review against another edition
5.0
Nathaniel Philbrick is probably the best writer about naval expeditions. His retelling of the whaleship Essex's fate is vividly fascinating and this narrative of the U.S. Exploring Expedition shares the same qualities.
This book focuses a lot on Charles Wilkes, the Ex. Ex. leader, and his relationship with the crew. William Reynolds, whose journal is one of the main sources here, gives us a striking opinion about his "captain" (emphasis intended) and all his apparent defaults.
Every step of the voyage of discovery has a short but well-researched introduction that lets us picture what the sailors might have lived during those four years of adventure.
A brilliant book for history buffs and adventure-lovers.
This book focuses a lot on Charles Wilkes, the Ex. Ex. leader, and his relationship with the crew. William Reynolds, whose journal is one of the main sources here, gives us a striking opinion about his "captain" (emphasis intended) and all his apparent defaults.
Every step of the voyage of discovery has a short but well-researched introduction that lets us picture what the sailors might have lived during those four years of adventure.
A brilliant book for history buffs and adventure-lovers.
rinda's review
4.0
Fascinating story of Arctic exploration that we never hear about. What a mess one human being can make of a good thing. Wilkes is the definition of the bad guy and story is definitely painted in that light. When ugliness gets ahold of something it won't allow the light of good to be seen. Fascinating how pivotal and informative this expedition was and yet due to the tarnish of the captain (well that title is questionable) and the politics of the time, none of it is held up as worthy of anything! Listened on audible.
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