© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Author Hampton Sides will discuss the controversial explorer Captain Cook while in Kansas City

Written by Hampton Sides, "The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contract and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook," is a historic nonfiction about the voyage and decisions leading up to the killing of Captain James Cook.
©️ Herbert K. Kane, LLC
/
Hampton Sides
Written by Hampton Sides, "The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contract and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook," is a historic nonfiction book about the voyage and decisions leading up to the killing of Captain James Cook.

At a Rainy Day Books event, New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides will talk about his new book detailing the final voyage of Captain James Cook.

Bestselling author Hampton Sides takes readers on a high-seas adventure in his latest book, "The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook."

The nonfiction book recounts the voyage that would lead to the death of Cook, a once celebrated, now controversial explorer.

Sides, a New York Times bestseller, is drawn to adventure and characters when he's searching for a new subject.

"I'm looking for great characters," the author told KCUR's Up To Date. "I'm looking for complicated characters who perhaps, in today's age, are viewed both as villains and heroes. Cook is certainly one of those guys."

NY Times Bestselling author Hampton Sides presents "The Wide Wide Sea," 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jul. 10 at the Unity Temple on the Plaza Fillmore Chapel Kansas City, Missouri 66112.

Stay Connected
When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
When you listen to Up To Date, I want you to understand decisions being made in the city, feel inspired by community members, and empathize with people who've had different experiences. As an Up To Date producer, I connect you to the news through conversations with community members and elected officials. Contact me at elizabeth@kcur.org or on Twitter at @er_bentley_ruiz.
KCUR prides ourselves on bringing local journalism to the public without a paywall — ever.

Our reporting will always be free for you to read. But it's not free to produce.

As a nonprofit, we rely on your donations to keep operating and trying new things. If you value our work, consider becoming a member.