Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842

3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 · rating details · 1,493 ratings · 141 reviews

America's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea;and no one writes more eloquently about that watery wilderness than Nathaniel Philbrick. In his bestselling In the Heart of the Sea Philbrick probed the nightmarish dangers of the vast Pacific. Now, in an epic sea adventure, he writes about one of the most ambitious voyages of discovery the Western world has ever se...more

Hardcover, 452 pages

Published October 1st 2004 by Turtleback Books (first published January 28th 2001)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Boat Books

61st out of 306 books — 291 voters

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Best American History books

314th out of 768 books — 1,036 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,663)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 23, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: antarctica, history, washington, science, exploration, non-fiction, nautical, pacific

I never heard of this expedition, which over four years charted large swaths of Antarctica, hundreds of Pacific Islands, the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and collected sufficient thousands of new ethnographic and biological specimens to initiate the founding of the Smithsonian Insitution. I was glad to be enlightened and to be charmed again by Philbrick’s skill in synthesizing so much historical fact into a narrative that reads like a novel. The tale blends an epic of scientific discovery on the orde...more I never heard of this expedition, which over four years charted large swaths of Antarctica, hundreds of Pacific Islands, the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and collected sufficient thousands of new ethnographic and biological specimens to initiate the founding of the Smithsonian Insitution. I was glad to be enlightened and to be charmed again by Philbrick’s skill in synthesizing so much historical fact into a narrative that reads like a novel. The tale blends an epic of scientific discovery on the order of Captain Cook with a personal story of an overbearing leader on the order of Captain Bligh.

Lieutenant Charles Wilkes was placed in charge of the squadron of six sailing vessels and about 200 men due to his political connections, skills in navigation, and track record in founding the National Observatory. His organizational competence unfortunately could not make up for his insecurity over his low rank, limited sailing experience, and dogmatic and paranoid personality. He favored a lot of junior officers over the older officers who threatened his ego and authority, leading to terrible dissension and near mutiny through much of the voyage. Appointing himself Commodore and excessive use of flogging undermined morale. Also, his aversion to delegating tasks left him overworked to the point of nervous breakdown on many occasions.

Despite these precursors for disaster, few of his men died on the expedition and most of the mission was successfully accomplished. A couple of ships were lost due to mishaps, with recovery of the men. Aside from many close calls with storms and dodging of icebergs near Antarctica, the most danger was incurred due to arrogant treatment of some Fiji islanders. To redress a past murder of a couple of Englishment, Wilkes took a group of chiefs hostage to gain information on the guilty parties and then burned the village of their origin. When the attempted escape of one hostage stimulated a skirmish leading to the death of two of his men, a brutal slaughter of dozens of natives ensued. This part of the story was well told and helped me see in microcosm the seeds of the whole European trend of colonial conquest.

A series of sensational court marshal proceedings over charges and countercharges between Wilkes and his officers at the end of the expedition detracted popular accolades for Wilkes and undermined the credibility of his discoveries. America as whole became more interested in conquering and exploiting the West than exploring or colonization in the world beyond, so the outcomes of the expedition were not appreciated for a long time afterward. With the focus on the personalities and operational aspects of the expedition, the scientific aspects of the voyage unfortunately were given short shrift. Nevertheless, this was a satisfying read. I appreciated more Philbrick’s other works about the survival tale of the whaleship Essex (Heart of the Sea), history of the Plymouth colony (Mayflower), and account of Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn ( The Last Stand).
(less)

6 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2012 Carl Brush rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nathaniel Philbrick gets a WriterWorking prize for the best epigram ever to frame a book for this quote from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: “I have ventured this many summers in a sea of glory but far beyond my depth.” Sea of Glory is the story of Charles Wilkes and the voyage of the great American Exploring Expedition of 1838-42. It was America’s first great effort to stake a place in the annals of world science and exploration. It gave this country a share in the discovery of Antarctica as a conti...more Nathaniel Philbrick gets a WriterWorking prize for the best epigram ever to frame a book for this quote from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: “I have ventured this many summers in a sea of glory but far beyond my depth.” Sea of Glory is the story of Charles Wilkes and the voyage of the great American Exploring Expedition of 1838-42. It was America’s first great effort to stake a place in the annals of world science and exploration. It gave this country a share in the discovery of Antarctica as a continent. It led to the founding of the Smithsonian. It should have been as famous and legendary as Lewis and Clark’s trek over mountain and plain. Yet, few of us have ever heard of it. Why?
The determined and perseverant man who led the expedition and was responsible for achieving so many of its objectives was a vain, overbearing, insecure shipwreck of a human being. Every slight--perceived or actual--was for him an invitation to combat which he swore to win with the most brutal, high-handed methods he could command. He was awarded leadership of the project because everyone else had turned it down. And he was, as the bard puts it, far beyond his depth. A naval lieutenant with an undoubted knack for mapping and surveying, he had gained a reputation by inventing ingenious techniques for charting the shoals and hazards on the east coast. However, he was only a lieutenant. A lieutenant suddenly in charge of five ships embarking on a three year voyage through the most hazardous waters on earth. And they wouldn’t make him a captain. He lobbied and lobbied, but still they wouldn’t. He pouted and stomped his feet and wrote nasty letters, but they sent him on his way without his promotion. And he never recovered.
He kicked around his subordinates, always looking for brewing plots and mutinies, transferring men from one ship to another on the most trivial pretexts to avoid dangerous friendships from developing. When the voyage had to be extended beyond its original three-year limit and enlistments ran out, he whipped and starved and imprisoned people until they agreed to stay on for the duration. Shades of Rumsfeld and Cheney. He donned a captain’s uniform to cloak himself in an authority he did not possess. And when they finally got home and he faced courts martial and had his officers testifying against him, he published self-serving exhortations absolving himself and damning others for every mishap and conflict. And when offenses that might have drawn prison time resulted in a trivial reprimand, he took it as if he had been whipped around the fleet and keelhauled.
Despite it all, the man brought the expedition through astounding hardships. To sail those ships, little wooden boats that require men to climb several stories in the air to tug on ropes and sails caked over with ice in blizzards so thick they can’t see the deck below, through thousands of miles and months of icebergs is a feat of skill and endurance impossible to imagine. And everywhere they went, they collected samples of flora and fauna, charted the reefs of hitherto unmapped pacific islands, conducted experiments on gravity and volcanoes and currents that influenced navigation well into the twentieth century. The French and English were in close competition during all this, especially on the matter of Antarctic discovery, and by objective standards Wilkes beat them out on most counts.
In the end, though, his vainglorious boasting made him and his voyage hard for public and officialdom alike to take. Between the time he left and the time he returned, the whigs took over from the democrats and were not interested in helping glorify the success of something their rivals had initiated. Still, a more diplomatic, charismatic man could have risen above all that and appealed to patriotic fervor that was to soon be embodied in Polk’s phrase “manifest destiny.” But he didn’t. Couldn’t. It’s a lesson in how hard, skilled labor isn’t enough. Not nearly. You need help, support, people to work with who enjoy and advocate for you and what you are doing. Too bad Wilkes never understood that. His name might be up there with Lewis and Clark. Too bad Bush never understood that. We might not be having to pull our national reputation out of the slough of despond.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 28, 2011 John Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: booksilike

A fantastic historical account of an important, but little-remembered chapter in American exploration of the South Seas and Antarctica. It reads more like a novel, and in fact, the voyage itself was the inspiration for a number of important American novels--notably "Moby Dick" and Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym." I find Philbrick's storytelling as compelling as his history, but he's also careful to document every important source and reference, so serious historians can get a lot from...more

like · see review

Apr 23, 2010 David Bales rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

This could have been a great book: it was a history of the "United States Exploring Expedition" of 1838 to 1842, which was a squadron of four ships that set out to explore Antarctica, the Pacific Northwest and islands of the Pacific like Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii. Led by Charles Wilkes, the "U.S. Ex Ex" as it came to be known collected thousands of specimens, mapped accurately the mouth of the Columbia River and numerous Pacific islands, (the Marines used Wilkes' 1840 map for the invasion of Taraw...more

like · see review

Jan 31, 2010 Jrobertus rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book describes an American voyage of discovery, "Ex ex" carried out from 1834 to 1842. Six ships sailed to Antarctica, mapped many islands in the south Pacific, and charted future American territory in Puget Sound and the Columbia river. The data and artifacts eventually found their way to the newly founded Smithsonian. The real story, though, is about the Ex Ex leader Charles wilkes. It appears his drive did force the expedition to make many scientic and navigation successes, but his insec...more

like · see review

Jan 05, 2010 Tneeno rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sea of Glory is a very good read, not only as an exciting tale of seafaring and exploration, but also as a cautionary tale. It tells the story of the US Exploring Expedition to Antarctica and the Pacific in 1838-42. The head of the expedition, Commander Wilkes, was a classic toxic boss, and was the storm center of a mass of intrigues and infighting that plagued the expedition from Day 1. I strongly recommend it, not only for people in the military, but for corporate executives. Wilkes' massive m...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 16, 2009 Marv Himmel rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like non-fiction audio books. The Sea of Glory is the telling of one of America's little known epic adventures. By the early 19th century most of the major land masses of the world had been discovered, the American revolution had succeeded, the eastern seaboard was well populated and Americans were pushing westward into and across the plains toward the west. England and France were the major sea going nations of the world, and the U.S. felt the pressure to "get in the game" of discovery. This...more I like non-fiction audio books. The Sea of Glory is the telling of one of America's little known epic adventures. By the early 19th century most of the major land masses of the world had been discovered, the American revolution had succeeded, the eastern seaboard was well populated and Americans were pushing westward into and across the plains toward the west. England and France were the major sea going nations of the world, and the U.S. felt the pressure to "get in the game" of discovery. This is the story of one Commander Wilkes' voyage of discovery. He was selected by the U.S. Navy and congress to command a fleet of three ships on a three year mission to determine if, in fact, there was a southern continent (Antarctica), to map the shoreline and surrounding shoals and reefs of many of the Pacific islands, especially the Fiji Islands, and to explore and map the northwest coast of North America and the Columbia River. In addition to the mapping mission, a number of scientists were sent along to collect as much new scientific knowledge and specimens as possible.

It is a story of physical hardship as well one might expect, but it is also the story of the collision of huge egos, isolation, power, inhumanity and ambition set in the rigid confines of naval tradition of that time.

The results of this voyage led to the establishment of the Smithsonian and helped confirm the work of Darwin. It established the existence of the Antarctic and led to the U.S becoming a dominant player in the development of the Pacific Islands and the west coast of the United States.

If you are a history buff at all, than this is one you need to add to your reading list.

I find that when I read / listen to / history, I like to follow along on Google Maps as the story unfolds. In this case, you will be able to identify many of the islands, promontories, and landmarks of the South Polar area by the place names given them by Commander Wilkes in honor of his crew members.

The voyage lasted four years and only two ships returned. (less)

like · see review

Sep 15, 2010 Dad rated it 4 of 5 stars

My wife bought this book for me as a birthday present. She must have had a heck of a time finding this kind of book because I'm such a finicky reader. If a book doesn't grab me right away I have difficult time continuing. I'll only go so far and quit.

What caught my attention was that this exploring expedition is not well known. It seems that we Americans are more focused on he European explorers Magellan, Columbus, Vasco de Gama, etc.

I'm only at the beginning of this true adventure and I'm vast...more

like · see review

Dec 09, 2010 Steven Kent rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, stuff-that-s-good-to-konw

This book tells the story of a little-known scientific expedition led by a monomaniacal officer that should have failed but instead located the continent of the Antarctic and made incredible discoveries.

Wilkes, the leader of the expedition, was a political appointee with none of the right skills. He had not a one of the personal skills that led to the successes of Lewis and Clark. He alienated and regularly flogged the sailors serving on his voyage. When he did not receive the promotions he want...more

like · see review

Mar 26, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: civil-war-navy, general-history

Sea of Glory recounts in detail the trials and triumphs of the incredible U. S. Exploring Expedition, often called the "Ex. Ex." at the time, but now more often identified as the Wilkes Expedition after its tempestuous commander. After reading this book, it is astonishing that this voyage is not better-known in American history; it should rank right up there with Lewis and Clark, and the polar expeditions of Byrd and Peary.

Nathaniel Philbrick ably tells the story of the expedition that succeeded...more

like · see review

Jul 14, 2010 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, history

Not what I expected. This is the story of America's first real sea exploration but it really is the story of the voyage's nearly deranged captain, Charles Wilkes. That was interesting enough but I was disappointed that so little of the incredible scientific aspect of the voyage was discussed. Of the 5 discs, less than half of one is devoted to a discussion of the actual scientific findings. And those were incredible and important. In addition, there were also linguistic, anthropologic and social...more

like · see review

Feb 21, 2010 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010

I am almost sorry to have finished reading this book today, as I had a great time reading it. I had read the author’s previous book, In the Heart of the Sea : The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, and had loved it, so when I saw this book in the used bookstore, I purchased it. It deals with a voyage and an era of exploration barely known to the general public, but which was instrumental in bringing science to the attention of the American public. Why the general public did not hear much about the...more I am almost sorry to have finished reading this book today, as I had a great time reading it. I had read the author’s previous book, In the Heart of the Sea : The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, and had loved it, so when I saw this book in the used bookstore, I purchased it. It deals with a voyage and an era of exploration barely known to the general public, but which was instrumental in bringing science to the attention of the American public. Why the general public did not hear much about the Exploring Expedition (known as the Ex. Ex.) is the meat of this nonfiction work.

The Ex. Ex was made up of six sailing vessels, containing sailors, officers, botanists, geologists, and biologists, with a mandate to go forth to explore, to survey, and to amass information. It was the fortune and misfortune both that the operations of the Ex. Ex. were directed by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the U. S. Navy; by the time the expedition set sail, he had not been to sea in fourteen years except to command a ship that surveyed the Grand Banks off of Nantucket for two months. He was a very able surveyor, and knew it; and he also had an inflated sense of his innate worth, coupled with the realization that the Navy was not going to promote him to Captain for the Ex. Ex. He also was a very difficult person to deal with when he felt threatened; and being surrounded on the Ex. Ex by men who had been sailing for 20 or 30 years left him threatened most of the time.

While the Ex. Ex. did indeed make history (Wilkes Land in the Antarctic is named for him, on the continent that he discovered; however, credit for his discovery was not granted until the 1950s), after sailing around the world, surveying hundreds of Pacific islands (during World War II, it was found that the only chart available on a particular Pacific island was one done by the Ex. Ex.), surveying Puget Sound and the mouth of the Columbia River, climbing Mauna Loa on Hawaii to set up a scientific station, and collecting thousands of specimens and notebooks of information, Wilkes arrived home and was immediately plunged into court-martial proceedings, both instigated by him and against him, that essentially made the Ex. Ex. infamous rather than famous.

The collections of the Ex. Ex. are now in the Smithsonian (indeed, they were partly the reason why the bequest of James Smithson was used for a museum), but the story of the Exploring Expedition and of the men who conducted it, is a story that is both fascinating and dramatic.(less)

like · see review

Feb 18, 2013 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fascinating book about sea exploration, scientific and political jostling in the early years of the United States, and the ways that leadership can help or hinder a difficult project.

I have to admit I'd never heard of the United States Exploring Expedition (or "U.S. Ex. Ex."), and the author makes it clear that although most people don't know about it right now, it was very famous in its time. It was an age when Antarctica hadn't been discovered, most of the Pacific was uncharted (although it...more

like · see review

Jun 22, 2012 Jb rated it 5 of 5 stars

The great American South Pacific and the Pacific Northwest expedition of 1838-42 was a project equivalent to sending a man to the moon in the 1960s. Much was accomplished: new continent found, pacific islands charted and tons of artifacts and specimens collected. But why is this glorious and adventurous mission seemingly lost in history? Well, much of it has to do with aftermath tackiness. Not only were several officers court marshaled but exploitive attempts were made by the egocentric mission...more

like · see review

May 31, 2012 Nathan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Charles Wilkes was not a name that held any familiarity for me prior to reading “Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842” by Nathaniel Philbrick. Wilkes did, however, provide an incredible service to the early United States and lived a life worth analyzing. “Sea of Glory” is an interesting historical account of the U.S. Exploring Expedition from the early 1800s that included exploration of South America and the Pacific Rim, including the Pacific Nort...more Charles Wilkes was not a name that held any familiarity for me prior to reading “Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842” by Nathaniel Philbrick. Wilkes did, however, provide an incredible service to the early United States and lived a life worth analyzing. “Sea of Glory” is an interesting historical account of the U.S. Exploring Expedition from the early 1800s that included exploration of South America and the Pacific Rim, including the Pacific Northwest, Fiji, and the arguable discovery of Antarctica.

Part of Wilkes’s anonymity likely stems from his disagreeable personality, but that is part of what makes “Sea of Glory” an interesting read. Wilkes was an incredibly driven individual whose expedition led to an amazing scientific collection. The Smithsonian Institute estimates that the Wilkes collection, amassed between 1838 and 1842, weighed nearly 40 tons. Dr. Jane Walsh notes that “the naval officers, crew, and nine civilian scientists, who sailed on six small ships for four years, gathered specimens of natural history at nearly every stop, including several thousand zoological specimens; 50,000 plant specimens; thousands of shells, corals, fossils, and geological specimens; even jars of sea water from different localities. They also collected 2,500 ethnological and archaeological specimens, which they generally referred to as “curiosities,” to illustrate the varied cultures with whom they came in contact. (http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollecti...). Wilkes also made significant advances in cartography, including maps of the Pacific Islands that were still in use during World War II. Despite Wilkes’s incredible accomplishments, history largely forgot

The Wilkes Expedition played a major role in development of 19th-century science, particularly in the growth of the U.S. scientific establishment. Many of the species and other items found by the expedition helped form the basis of collections at the new Smithsonian Institution.
(less)

like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

I read "Sea of Glory" because I so thoroughly enjoyed "In the Heart of the Sea" (by Philbrick) a few years back. "Sea of Glory" falls short of its predecesor (in my mind) because it is simply a straight re-telling of the story of the US Ex Ex without the added scientific and social anecdotes from modern studies that made "In the Heart of the Sea" so compelling. Nevertheless, I enjoyed Philbrick's narrative and appreciatived the relative brevity (around 350 pages as I recall) of the story. Writin...more

like · see review

Jul 18, 2011 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Once upon a time, the USA saw itself a nation of doers, not thinkers. But that view was changing, and so they decided to go exploring - something Europeans had been doing for a while now, in the name of science and conquest. A bit late to the game, there was only one area of the world left to explore: the far South, where, rumours had it, a continent might be found.

Exploration was not enough: there had to be usable, pragmatic aims. These included charting hundreds of Pacific islands and atolls s...more Once upon a time, the USA saw itself a nation of doers, not thinkers. But that view was changing, and so they decided to go exploring - something Europeans had been doing for a while now, in the name of science and conquest. A bit late to the game, there was only one area of the world left to explore: the far South, where, rumours had it, a continent might be found.

Exploration was not enough: there had to be usable, pragmatic aims. These included charting hundreds of Pacific islands and atolls so that whalers might find their way around them, and approaching the Western coast of the US (not yet part of the USA at that point, and largely controlled by the Hudson Bay company) to chart and explore that area.

The man who would lead this expedition was Charles Wilkes: a somewhat frustrated, solitary, stubborn, vindictive and paranoid man, who could be diplomatic and casual when having a trusted voice of common sense around, but who was not generous with his trust and never forgiving of any perceived slight. This book is the story of that expedition - and the failings of Charles Wilkes as a leader and man, as well as his virtues as an explorer, scientist and visionary.

It is a book full of naval vocabulary, high adventure, and repetition: Charles Wilkes makes the same mistakes over and over and over again. It is entirely factual, so there is an added element of excitement in knowing that this tale is revealing something genuine and real. It is also a tale about an expedition that, if not forgotten, has certainly been overshadowed by others. Above all, it is a tale of the strange and unhealthy chemistry between men at sea, under a flawed and unstable leader.

The book has a slow start - it takes the expedition almost 10 years to get going, and at times the political labyrinth is a tiring read. Once at sea, the pace of the story picks up - only to soon fall into the habit of repetition (and the narration can get a bit preachy, telling the reader what to think a little too often). There are some tragic moments in the book that are stunted by slavish adherence to known facts: where no evidence exists, the book does not fictionalise anything, so when one of the ships is lost, we never find out how or when or what happened, but merely realise that its absence must mean its loss.

It is nonetheless a gripping book, and after getting about halfway through, I could barely put it down. It's a shame it takes so long to build up momentum, and sometimes over-quotes relatively unimportant observations made by the officers in order to present the narrative in their own words. Sometimes, it feels like there are too many officers aboard, and not enough sailors (towards the end, we realise there is a reason why only one sailor's voice is ever heard: the other sailors never produced a written record, and are therefore never quoted, never fictionalised, never included in this factually driven narrative). It's not quite as memorable as the Heart of the Sea, but it is definitely a worthy addition to any bookshelf. I have to admit though, it could have gotten away with being a little more free with the facts, and perhaps a little more tightly edited towards the start...(less)

like · see review

Nov 22, 2010 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating look at exploration, the United States in its early years, and personalities on a 4-year voyage. Heads up--it's no picnic. This Exploration Expedition (called the Ex Ex for short) went to Cape Horn, Antarctica (in hopes of discovering whether it was a continent), Australia, back to Antarctica, the South Seas, Hawaii, the northerwestern coast of what is now the United States (Oregon, WAshignton), then across to Japan and around Africa and back to New York. On a mission to di...more

like · see review

Jan 25, 2013 Neil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Almost, but not quite five stars. It's not quite as good as In the Heart of the Sea, but better than Mayflower.

Here Philbrick deals with a little known exploring expedition and makes a good case that it ought to be a benchmark in early American history. What makes the story work, however, are the personalities and the political battles that Philbrick captures so vividly. He brings the history to life in a context that I think modern readers can understand.

The Exploring Expedition, America's fir...more Almost, but not quite five stars. It's not quite as good as In the Heart of the Sea, but better than Mayflower.

Here Philbrick deals with a little known exploring expedition and makes a good case that it ought to be a benchmark in early American history. What makes the story work, however, are the personalities and the political battles that Philbrick captures so vividly. He brings the history to life in a context that I think modern readers can understand.

The Exploring Expedition, America's first wide-scale attempt at surveying the surrounding oceans, complete with studies in natural science and ethnography, became a political football due to some extremely conservative leaders of the Navy at the time. To get around their recalcitrance, the president gave planning over to the Secretary of War, who selected as its leader a lieutenant, Charles Wilkes, who had recently completed a successful surveying voyage in the Atlantic.

Unfortunately Wilkes turned out to be vain and thin-skinned. He never quite got over not being named a full Captain at the start of the voyage. He held petty grudges, used extreme forms of physical punishment, and often subverted what was best for the expedition to his own desires to get all of the glory for its major discoveries and first. The three year voyage to South America, the waters off Antarctica, the South Pacific, and the Pacific Northwest between the Columbia and the San Francisco Bay turned into four years. Along the way, Wilkes lost a ship, lost many sailors, and committed a rather atrocious massacre after losing a couple of men in the Fiji Islands. He alienated all of the other officers as these relatively young men competed with each other throughout the trip.

Still, the Ex Ex was the first to map a big chunk of the Antarctic coast, made dozens of surveys that were used into the 20th century, made dozens of scientific and geographic discoveries, and brought back the stock that would become the base collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Until Philbrick wrote this book, much of it was forgotten because political battles and attempts to court martial Wilkes and many of his subofficers cast a harsh light on the Expedition during its own time. A fascinating story that brings the challenges of life at sea at the end of the age of sail to light.(less)

like · see review

Oct 03, 2012 Charlie Grant rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought Philbrick did a great job of taking historical fact and weaving an interesting narrative around the Expedition, its mission and the lives of the leader/officers/crew. He does a particularly good job of painting a semi-sympathetic but honest portrait of Charles Wilkes, the leader of the expedition. He also does a great job of showing how this one man's personality and the politically awkward genesis of the expedition led to its eventual "slide into obscurity", despite the fact that it a...more

like · see review

Apr 18, 2013 Robert Melnyk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting book about an Expedition I had never heard about. It was an amazing 4 year expedition that charted much of the Pacific Ocean, Antarctica, and the Pacific Northwest. It still amazes me how these sailors navigated around the globe with basically just a compass and the stars to find their way. This book told the story of the expedition as far as all the adventure and the danger, but also concentrated on the relationships between the leader of the expedition, Charles Wilkes, and his...more

like · see review

Feb 18, 2009 Peter McCracken rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book - about an incredible exploration, just a few years after Lewis & Clark, that no one's ever heard of. On the one hand, Wilkes was a terrible manager, leader, and motivator -- and the result is we've all forgotten him, when he had a chance to change how we see the world. On the other hand, the only way to have succeeded in this expedition might have been to be a terrible manager, leader, and motivator.

This is far better than "Mayflower," which really isn't about the Mayfl...more

like · see review

Feb 06, 2010 Jeff rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history-american, favorites

A little remembered but crucially important venture sponsored and supported by the young US Government. It's largest and most costly scientific investment until the space race of the 1960's.

Philbrick does an amazing job of conveying the personalities, the events, the luck (both good and bad), and extraordinary dynamics of this incredible, true-life adventure. Extensive and thorough notes, huge bibliography. His well-reasoned conclusion will surprise you!

For Philadelphians, this year's Flower Sho...more

like · see review

Mar 09, 2010 Thomas rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sea of Glory, like Nathaniel Philbrick's other better known book In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, is a tale of America's Golden Age of Whaling - though here he focuses on the Exploits of the United States Exploring Expedition. The Exploring Expedition (or Ex. Ex. ) is charged with mapping the South Pacific in a time when no accurate maps or charts existed for that part of the world.

It's a gripping tale of the amazing hardships and risks associated with the exploration...more

like · see review

Apr 15, 2013 Ianwells rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this cover to cover. It covers a period of history and an expedition I knew nothing about. Wilkes 4 year expedition brought back more artifacts from the south pacific than all 3 of cook's voyages combined and he discovered a continent - Antarctica. His artifacts became the reason to start the National museum Smithsonian. And the reason we don't hear about this is basically a horrible management approach by Wilkes and his character. This book documents the voyage historically and gives det...more

like · see review

Aug 27, 2012 DR rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It’s amazing that American history has lost track of the U.S. Exploring Expedition (1838-42) or the “Ex. Ex.” As a journey of discovery, the expedition is incredibly significant – it’s like Lewis and Clark at sea. Six wooden ships sailing the vast watery wilderness for science, the Stars & Stripes and the future Smithsonian Institution. Along the way, it confirmed the findings of Charles Darwin and established Antarctica as a sixth continent. Four years of exploration and challenging seamans...more It’s amazing that American history has lost track of the U.S. Exploring Expedition (1838-42) or the “Ex. Ex.” As a journey of discovery, the expedition is incredibly significant – it’s like Lewis and Clark at sea. Six wooden ships sailing the vast watery wilderness for science, the Stars & Stripes and the future Smithsonian Institution. Along the way, it confirmed the findings of Charles Darwin and established Antarctica as a sixth continent. Four years of exploration and challenging seamanship ranging from Pacific atolls to the accurate mapping of 1,500 miles of Antarctic coastline. (A hundred years later, crafting battle plans during World War II in the Pacific, the Navy learned that the only available chart of Tarawa was the one drawn by the Ex. Ex.!)

Nathaniel Philbrick, although a meticulous historian, has the instincts of a novelist and knows how to tell the human story behind the facts. Both the actions aboard the historical “Ex. Ex.” Vessels and this 364-page narrative focus on a kind of MUTINY OF THE BOUNTY conflict between the titular expedition leader and a junior officer, William Reynolds. As with Capt. Bligh in 1790, the collision of personalities ends up in a courtroom. “Martinet” – the word was invented for this Lt. Charles Wilkes, maybe the world’s worst exploratory expedition commander except for Sir John Franklin (1845) or Robert Falcon Scott (1910). For a crew of which Wilkes thought so little, a half dozen of them became admirals and Civil War heroes, while his abused cabin boy wrote an 1890 bestseller, TWENTY YEARS BEFORE THE MAST (he was illiterate back when the Ex. Ex. set out). Sadly, when Wilkes & Reynolds died a couple of years apart in the late 1870s, neither man’s obituary cited their service in the hugely successful U.S. Exploring Expedition. Its fruits, literally, still fill a museum today.

More than once I wished that a talented novelist like Dan Simmons would do with this material what Simmons did in THE TERROR for the doomed Franklin Expedition. It’s a terrific story – interesting for the myriad historical details (71 pages of notes & bibliography) as well as the nautical drama of vainglorious but brave men at sea.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 16, 2011 Jenny Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

I upgraded the star rating on this review because of the way that this book stayed with me long after I had read it. That tells me just how good it really was.

I loved the way the author brought alive this great, but unknown American 19th century voyage of discovery which belongs in the same category as the voyages of Captain Cook and that of the Beagle.

What makes the book so rich is that the author could draw on the diaries of articulate officers, so you get a deeper, more psychological, view of...more

like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Tom Darrow rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good book about a little-known, but very important, expedition in US history. My sister, who is a biologist, had never heard of this journey, although she was familiar with many of the scientific results that came out of it.

The book covers the lengthy and political process of organizing the expedition, the trip itself, and the conflict that happened once they got back. The book skips back and forth between being a narrative and a character study. Some portions of the trip are covered in great d...more

like · see review

Nov 01, 2011 Steve Statham rated it 4 of 5 stars

I hate to admit ignorance, but this book related a piece of American history I had never known before — the U.S. Exploring Expedition to Antarctica from 1838-1842. It was major news at the time and the ships and crew were celebrated as heroes, yet this expedition is largely forgotten today. That puts Sea of Glory into a special category of my favorite types of history books, the kind that inform and entertain, while also surprising you. It's a rare history book that I can dive into and not know...more

like · see review

May 22, 2009 Brooke rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-history

Philbrick is one of my favorite authors. Like McCullough, he has a way of making history come alive. My roommate said it was entertaining to be in the same room with me while I was reading because I kept making comments/sounds, "Really? Interesting!....What? No way!...*GASP!*"

I'd never heard of the U.S. Ex.Ex.--what a fascinating part of US History to be missing out on! Sea voyage around the world, Antartic discovery/exploration, surveying of the Polynesian islands. Perhaps what will stick with...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 88 89 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (29)

More editions...

Genres

History

113 users

Non Fiction

46 users

History > American History

23 users

Adventure

11 users

Science

6 users

Travel

5 users

Biography

5 users

War > Military

4 users

History > World History

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Nathaniel Philbrick

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.

After grad school, Philbrick worked for four years at Sailing World magazine; was a freelancer for a number of years, during whic...more

More about Nathaniel Philbrick...

Books by Nathaniel Philbrick

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Sea of Glory

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842
avg rating	preview: Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 Goodreads rating: 3.93 (1493 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17787.Sea_of_Glory?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328015777l/17787.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17787.Sea_of_Glory?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 by Nathaniel Philbrick[/url]

Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website