Rating: 
Summary: Richie's Picks: SEA OF GLORY
Review: "There ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." --Mark Twain "By this time the sound of the dragging anchors had become 'almost an incessant peal,' Dana wrote, 'announcing that the dreaded crisis was fast approaching.' "They had drifted to within a ship's length of the reef. One of the anchors finally caught and, for a few brief moments, the Relief hovered in the wild surge of the breakers. '[T]he ship rose and fell a few times with the swell,' Dana wrote, 'and then rose and careened as if half mad: her decks were deluged with the sweeping waves, which poured in torrents down the hatches.' The strain on the cables proved too much, and at 11:30 P.M. the anchor chain parted. '[W]e found ourselves,' Long wrote, 'at God's mercy.' " I am a major fan of Joy Hakim's American History series, THE HISTORY OF US. But looking back through it today, I am surprised. While Ms. Hakim devotes five pages to an excellent biographical introduction of Nathaniel Bowditch (1773-1838), the author of THE NEW AMERICAN PRACTICAL NAVIGATOR, there is not a single word in her entire series about Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, the man who was undoubtedly Bowditch's most important student. Hakim is not alone in having ignored Wilkes. I telephoned an eighth-grade student to check on our middle school's American History text. Again, no mention of Lieutenant Wilkes. Despite my own love for American History, if I've ever heard mention of Wilkes, it has certainly slipped my mind. And yet, as the commander of the U.S. Exploring Expedition (referred to as the Ex. Ex.), Wilkes led an incredibly ambitious and successful four-year journey that ranks right up there with that of Lewis and Clark. "By any measure, the achievements of the Expedition would be extraordinary. After four years at sea, after losing two ships and twenty-eight officers and men, the Expedition 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 also mapped 800 miles of coastline in the Pacific Northwest and 1,500 miles of the icebound Antarctic coast. Just as important would be its contribution to the rise of science in America. The thousands of specimens and artifacts amassed by the Expedition's scientists would become the foundation of the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Indeed, without the Ex. Ex., there might never have been a national museum in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Botanical Garden, the U.S. Hydrographic Office, and the Naval Observatory all owe their existence, in varying degrees, to the Expedition." So why is the groundbreaking work of the Expedition so widely ignored? That is the question that Nathaniel Philbrick both asks and provides answers for in his latest, thrilling volume of nonfiction, SEA OF GLORY. The reason for the Ex. Ex. having become a complex and controversial subject that is ignored by American history textbooks has to do with Wilkes. On one hand, Wilkes was one heck of a history-making marine surveyor, and one bold, daring, and determined hombre when it came to exploring uncharted seas and supervising collection of information and specimens. But he was an equally crazy, abusive, and evil SOB when it came to leading men and dealing with natives, Brits, superiors, subordinates, Friends, Romans, Countryman...(You get the idea.) And since what comes around goes around, his return to America after four years of such phenomenal successes was cause for a court-martial rather than a rolling out of the red carpet. The trouble began not long after the Expedition set sail. "All his life, Wilkes had cast himself as the righteous outsider who must battle against the forces of ignorance and ineptitude to achieve what others thought could never be done. He was the antithesis of the 'team player,' and as he had proven...more than a decade before, he was capable of turning on the people closest to him if he thought it served his best interests...
"A year into the Expedition, Wilkes had essentially re-created the environment in which he had always operated: it was he, and he alone, against the rest of the world. It was a turbulent, hurtful, and ultimately wasteful way to conduct one's life, but it was the only way he knew how to do it." Nathaniel Philbrick once again showcases his ability to meld primary source materials with commentary and background in a manner that grabs and holds readers. It is incredibly exciting to travel with these nineteenth century Americans as they dodge icebergs, challenge dangerous straits, and climb Mauna Kea. It is truly fascinating to read about the disparities between what had at that time previously been reported--even in the well-traveled Atlantic--and that which Wilkes surveyed. As the author points out, "As the Ex. Ex. was proving, exploration was as much about discovering what did not exist as it was about finding something new." The book is immersed in the rich mathematical and scientific background information that is necessary to really understand the Expedition's procedures and accomplishments. But what is also thought-provoking--particularly in the context of today's communications revolution where we can be in touch with anyone, anywhere (including Mars) at a moment's notice--is that a vital and pivotal U.S. government operation and its commander could operate for four long years without word one passing between Wilkes and either his military superiors or civilian government officials in Washington, D.C. (Then again I suppose, considering testimony in the current highly publicized hearings going on, some might say that, "Things never change.") SEA OF GLORY reveals a significant chunk of American History that--as with the many aficionados of the Lewis and Clark Trail--will have readers wanting to visit Pacific Islands, Antarctic peninsulas, and Pacific Northwest landmarks. Thanks to Nathaniel Philbrick, the U.S. Exploring Expedition and its remarkable-yet-flawed leader will be given its due in our nation's history.
Rating: 
Summary: A Masterful Commander, Unlikable Too
Review: A rising power, eager to validate its status, may mount some showy scientific venture to demonstrate its national genius. Thus China thumped its chest last month by launching its first astronaut into orbit. For the U.S., a similar moment occurred in August 1838, when six Navy ships laden with scientists put out of Norfolk, Va., and shaped a course for the Pacific. This was the celebrated U.S. South Seas Exploring Expedition, familiarly known as the "U.S. Ex. Ex." Its three-year mission: to explore uncharted regions, to seek out new species and, yes, to boldly go where no man -- particularly Captain Cook -- had gone before. For antebellum Americans, voyaging to the Pacific via Cape Horn was "the equivalent of a modern-day trip to the Moon," Nathaniel Philbrick writes in "Sea of Glory." Mr. Philbrick has made this trip before with "In the Heart of the Sea" (2000), his book about the Essex, a whaler rammed and sunk by an irascible whale. The Essex was a model for Herman Melville's Pequod. In "Sea of Glory," Mr. Philbrick reprises the "Moby Dick" theme by focusing on the Exploring Expedition's monomaniacal commander, Lt. Charles Wilkes, who may have been a model for Captain Ahab. Wilkes was a driven man who overcame enormous obstacles, including his own incompetence as a seaman, to bring the voyage to a successful conclusion. Unfortunately for his reputation, he was also a martinet who made bitter enemies of his own officers. The depth of this enmity is vivid on the pages of "Sea of Glory," not only in Wilkes's words but also in those of a midshipman named William Reynolds, who began admiring Wilkes but quickly grew to despise him (as Reynolds's journal shows). The rancor between Wilkes and his subordinates sparked an ugly controversy that tarnished the expedition's reputation and obscured its feats, which were considerable. The Ex. Ex. surpassed Cook by establishing the existence of Antarctica; it also surveyed the lower Columbia River, charted hundreds of Pacific islands and collected so many scientific specimens that Congress eventually created the Smithsonian Institution to house them. It thus helped put American science on a sound footing -- an unlikely result for an expedition conceived to confirm a crackpot theory that the Earth was hollow and that a voyage to the South Pole would discover a hole through which the globe's interior might be explored. But Mr. Philbrick is less interested in the Ex. Ex.'s scientific accomplishments than in its political context. This was the era of Manifest Destiny and of eager claims for the full reach of the Oregon Territory ("Fifty-four Forty or Fight!"). By sponsoring the expedition, the U.S. asserted itself as a nation to be reckoned with, especially in the Pacific. Wilkes returned home in 1842 (one year late and with only two ships of the original six). By 1848, the U.S. had planted its flag in Oregon and California and become a Pacific power. From this newly acquired coast, the Ex. Ex. had already blazed a trail westward across the Pacific. Wilkes surveyed Pago Pago, the future capital of American Samoa; he surveyed the mouth of Hawaii's Pearl River and proclaimed it an excellent site for a harbor; his charts of Tarawa would serve Adm. Chester Nimitz well in 1943. He even surveyed the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines. Wherever Wilkes went, it seems, other Americans would eventually follow. Before gold was found in California, the sea was America's main frontier. People read "Two Years Before the Mast" and dreamed of rounding the Horn on a clipper ship bound for China. Mr. Philbrick is an experienced guide to this lost world, and "Sea of Glory," with its evocative prose, is a worthy successor to "In the Heart of the Sea." Here, for instance, is the New York of Wilkes's childhood: "Manhattan was surrounded by water, and hull to hull along the waterfront was a restless wooden exoskeleton of ships, their long bowsprits nuzzling over the busy streets, the eyes of even the most jaundiced New Yorkers irresistibly drawn skyward into a complex forest of spars and rigging. This was where a boy might turn his back on all that he had once known and step into an exotic dream of adventure, freedom, opportunity and risk." Mr. Philbrick does drag anchor occasionally. The U.S. merchantman attacked at Sumatra in 1831 was from Salem, not Boston. The huge "Peacemaker" cannon that blew up on the U.S.S. Princeton in 1844 was designed by Robert Stockton, not John Ericsson (although Stockton did base it on a gun of Ericsson's design). And it is odd, in a book that stresses the Ex. Ex.'s political context, to find no mention of the 1837 Caroline incident, in which a British force attacked a steamer on the U.S. side of the Niagara River, sparking a mild war scare. A reference to this episode would have helped explain the Navy's reluctance to divert six ships to a scientific errand and the reluctance of its officers to accept the command. (Wilkes, a mere lieutenant, ended up with the job because no one more senior would take it.) But these are quibbles. This is at heart an adventure story, and Mr. Philbrick tells it well. Wilkes dodged icebergs off Antarctica and lava flows in Hawaii, waged war on a Fiji Islands village and returned home to face a court martial instigated by his own officers. He survived that, too, and finally won the fame he craved during the Civil War, when he was lionized for seizing two Confederate diplomats from a British mail packet. But the prickly Wilkes squandered this glory by annoying the secretary of the Navy, who soon beached him. Some people never learn.
Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL READINGS
Review: Both landlubbers and seafarers will find much to enjoy in Nathaniel Philbrick's engrossing account of the United States South Seas Exploring Expedition of 1838. Traversing the Pacific Ocean it was surely one of the largest voyages of discovery in the Western world. Leading this groundbreaking mission was Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, a dichotomous, controversial gentleman. However, there is no controversy whatsoever about the first-rate readings of this tale by vocal performers Dennis Boutsikaris and Scott Brick. Already familiar to audio book aficionados they bring a wealth of experience, assurance, and power to their readings. When it comes to stories of the sea, Nathaniel Philbrick has few peers. A National Book Award winner for The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and author of the enduring In the Heart of the Sea, he is director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies. Bringing the same meticulous research and thoughtful prose that was so evident in his previous works, Mr. Philbrick has crafted his latest tale richly laced with drama and adventure. Suffice it to say that Charles Wilkes was not a fit man to head such a venture, yet the endeavor was more than successful as 2000 new species were brought back and 280 Pacific Islands surveyed. Sea Of Glory is a monumental work; a gift for armchair adventurers and historians alike. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: The U.S. Ex. Ex.
Review: I always enjoy reading a book about American History that tells me something about a topic of which I am completely ignorant. Before reading this book, I had no knowledge about the 1838-1842 circumnavigation of the globe that this expedition conducted. The author has taken a long-forgotten journey from our country's past and brought it to the attention of a new century, and for that he should be thanked. There were many benefits garnered from this trip, such as the founding of the Smithsonian, which is quite important to our nation. The narrative of the journey, and the various personalities involved, is extremely lively and interesting, and makes for fascinating reading. Discovering the almost unlimited power which the captain of a sailing ship had over his crew is quite chilling, and very foreign to those of us who today believe in individual freedom. The writing is first rate, and it moves along quite readily. If you want to learn something new about your country, and have a good read while doing it, I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Glory of a book!
Review: I am really at a loss on how to convey Philbrick's epic story and accomplishment to you. Unlike his last book, In the Heart of the Sea (which is a tremendous favorite of mine) which was an adventure story of survival Mr. Philbrick's SEA OF GLORY is a major contribution to U. S. History. How is it possible, that I had not heard of this expedition, it's results, it's contribution to the Smithsonian and science. Philbrick's answer is to blame its strange leader, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. Yet the telling puts lots of blame on politics and personality as they impact history. But the great thing is, that although many may have been aware of this expedition, Mr. Philbrick has brought it alive for the general reader, and I suspect to the lesson plans of many U. S. History classes. Having just read OVER THE EDGE OF THE WORLD about Magellan's voyage three hundred years earlier I found it a great prequel to the story of the Wilke's expedition that circumnavigated the world and accomplished some amazing things. One of Philbrick's real accomplishments is the personalization of the voyage, told through the one of the Expeditions officers, William Reynolds who at first idolizes his commander only to form a "hate" that even colors his own judgement and ability to fairly assess the Exhibitions results. This personal story makes this narrative more compelling and entertaining. I highly recommend Sea of Glory.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant work by Philbrick
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Biography - yes, History - No
Review: Mr. Philbrick would be better off writing for Tuesday afternoon soap operas and leave writing history to others. This is supposed to be a history of the U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838. Instead it is an indictment and psychological analysis of its leader, John Wilkes. Philbrick repeatedly makes assumptions about Wilkes' behavior that are just that -- assumptions. The people who were there probably didn't know what was going on, much less a writer 163 years later.
As a biography the book may have some validity. As a history of the expedition it is deeply lacking. We keep hearing of the conflicts between the various memebers of the expedition, the outrageous behavior of Wilkes -- forever. Little of the actual, day-to-day work of the expedition is in the book.
I bought the book based on the reviews shown on the cover. I will check things out a bit more closely another time.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid recounting of the forgotten Wilkes expedition
Review: Nathaniel Philbrick offers a splendid, often engaging, account of the United States Exploring Expedition - known to its participants as the Ex. Ex. - commanded by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes from 1838 to 1842; the first major scientific enterprise undertaken by the United States. Philbrick offers a fascinating account of the meglomanical Wilkes - whom some say was Herman Melville's true-life inspiration for Captain Ahab - and his single-minded determination to see the expedition succeed at all costs, inspite of notable self-imposed obstacles such as his nervous breakdown on at least one occasion and frequent hostility between his most gifted subordinates and himself. Philbrick shines in describing the expedition's journey around the globe, noting major discoveries made by distinguished scientists such as geologist James Dana. The exploration's vast natural history and ethnography collections would become eventually an important part of the early collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Indeed, Wilkes's expedition is credited now with the first accurate surveys of the Oregon and Washington coast, much of the Central and South Pacific and parts of Antarctica. Unfortunately, Philbrick's splendid narrative bogs down a bit towards the end in the political wrangling and courts-martial that ensured the expedition's fall into obscurity, after the return of the surviving ships and crew (Remarkably Wilkes lost less than fifty men to disease, warfare with hostile South Pacific natives and shipwreck, but did have a substantial turnover in officers and crew due to his mercurial nature.). Still, to Philbrick's credit, he has written an important, long-overdue look at the U. S. Exploring Expedition which should help restore both its importance - and Wilkes's - to American history, especially with regards to exploration and science.
Rating:
Summary: Important and entertaining US maritime history
Review: One of the many questions Sea of Glory raises is how could this amazing four-year voyage have rated so little attention from historians? Herein lies Philbrick's greatest achievement, telling the story. And what a story it is. Over three year's worth of sea faring adventures when much of the Pacific Ocean (then more commonly known as the South Seas) and its isles were uncharted and the Antarctic was still not a geographic fact.
While the EX EX had numerous encounters with natives, both those predisposed to violence such as in Fiji, and those who welcomed foreign sailors with open arms (to say the least) such as the Tahitians, it was the expedition's scientific achievements that were most notable.
Much of their findings influenced much of what the United States was to know about the Pacific, Antarctic and numerous islands, peoples, plants and animals.
That in itself is a not for an enriching even entertaining book. But as the TV ads say: there's more! The story of the expedition's leader, Charles Wilkes, is a fascinating character study. Philbrick gives Wilkes his due for his surveying skills and his necessarily aggressive leadership. But Wilkes had an uncanny ability to annoy, hurt and offend his underlings and had a tendency to capricious decisions and frequently folding under pressure. These intrigues add considerable spice to the story. As he did with his earlier masterpiece, "Heart of Sea" Philbrick expertly draws all characters, from the primary to the supporting cast. Keeping up with all of them was a difficult task that the author was certainly up to.
Sea of Glory is not just a wonderful addition to American and maritime history; it fills a void in it. I'm sure I join countless other readers in eagerly awaiting Philbrick's next work.
Rating:
Summary: Important and entertaining US maritime history
Review: One of the many questions Sea of Glory raises is how could this amazing four-year voyage have rated so little attention from historians? Herein lies Philbrick's greatest achievement, telling the story. And what a story it is. Over three year's worth of sea faring adventures when much of the Pacific Ocean (then more commonly known as the South Seas) and its isles were uncharted and the Antarctic was still not a geographic fact.
While the EX EX had numerous encounters with natives, both those predisposed to violence such as in Fiji, and those who welcomed foreign sailors with open arms (to say the least) such as the Tahitians, it was the expedition's scientific achievements that were most notable.
Much of their findings influenced much of what the United States was to know about the Pacific, Antarctic and numerous islands, peoples, plants and animals.
That in itself is a not for an enriching even entertaining book. But as the TV ads say: there's more! The story of the expedition's leader, Charles Wilkes, is a fascinating character study. Philbrick gives Wilkes his due for his surveying skills and his necessarily aggressive leadership. But Wilkes had an uncanny ability to annoy, hurt and offend his underlings and had a tendency to capricious decisions and frequently folding under pressure. These intrigues add considerable spice to the story. As he did with his earlier masterpiece, "Heart of Sea" Philbrick expertly draws all characters, from the primary to the supporting cast. Keeping up with all of them was a difficult task that the author was certainly up to.
Sea of Glory is not just a wonderful addition to American and maritime history; it fills a void in it. I'm sure I join countless other readers in eagerly awaiting Philbrick's next work.
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