A review by mightync
Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 by Nathaniel Philbrick

4.0

Another great book by Nathaniel Philbrick, this one about an oft-forgotten expedition to Antarctica, a multitude of islands in the Pacific, and the Pacific Northwest. The reason for its obscurity, and I'm willing to bet you've probably never heard of it either, is revealed here along with all the remarkable discoveries procured during the four years of exploration. The accounts of near-disasters, violent confrontations, dangerous treks, dazzling sights, and internecine turmoil are taken from the journals of the officers, sailors and scientists on board and are manifested brilliantly by Philbrick throughout. You can only shake your head at would could have been, and should have been, a crowning achievement for the Expedition's leader, Charles Wilkes, and a triumphant boon to American prestige, but instead became an overlooked afterthought, a ship lost at sea.