Hampton Sides

El 12 de julio de 1776, el capitán James Cook, ya considerado el mayor explorador de la historia británica, emprendió su tercer viaje a bordo del HMS Resolution. Dos años y medio después, en una playa de Hawai, Cook fue asesinado a golpes y apuñalado en un conflicto con la poblacion indigena. ¿Que llevo a Cook a estos ultimos momentos, tan contrarios a su reputacion? Reconocido por su liderazgo humano, su dedicacion a la ciencia y la curiosidad y el respeto, sin prejuicios, con los que se aproximaba a sociedades que le eran desconocidas, Cook ya habia cartografiado vastas extensiones del Pacifico e iniciado el primer contacto europeo con numerosos pueblos indigenas.La mision declarada para su tercer viaje era devolver a sus islas natales a un tahitiano, Mai, que se habia convertido en una figura de la alta sociedad londinense. Pero Cook portaba ordenes secretas de aventurarse al norte, descubrir el legendario Paso del Noroeste y cartografiar y reclamar tierras antes que los rivales imperiales de Gran Bretaña. Y el propio Cook fue diferente en su ultimo y fatal viaje.

A NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOK OF 2024A BARACK OBAMA BOOK OF THE YEARFrom New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides the epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration culminating in Captain James Cook s death Extraordinarily compulsive and fascinating I felt it somehow told me more about the making of the modern world than any book I had read for ages STEPHEN FRY BOOKS OF THE YEAR Observer An astounding tale recreated in swashbuckling detail Sides delivers it with narrative urgency The cast of characters is a joy Sunday Times An enthralling account of Captain Cook s final fatal voyage An excellent new book The Economist A rollicking good read with a tone that reminds me of David Grann s recent tale of the 1741 Wager shipwreck riveting Daily Telegraph Vivid and propulsive New York Times On July 12th 1776 Captain James Cook already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history set off on his third voyage in HMS Resolution Two and a half years later on a beach in Hawaii Cook was killed beaten and stabbed in a conflict with the indigenous population What brought Cook to these final moments so at odds with his reputation Renowned for his humane leadership dedication to science and the curiosity

"Los contemporáneos describieron el Polo Norte como el «objeto inalcanzable de nuestros sueños», y el impulso de llenar este último gran espacio en blanco en el mapa creció irresistible. En 1879 el U

Un monde sépare lexcentrique patron du New Herald Tribune, James Gordon Benett Jr et le capitaine George De Long, militaire et patriote. Pourtant une expédition va les rassembler : celle, terrifiante, de l USS Jeannette au pole Nord. A la fin du XIXe siecle nombreux etaient ceux obsedes par lune des dernieres zones non cartographiees du globe : le pole Nord. James Gordon Bennett, patron du New York Herald, qui avait attire lattention en envoyant Stanley chercher Livingstone en Afrique pour le compte de son journal, lance une expedition pour atteindre ce dernier. Pour se faire, il confie son commandement au jeune officier de marine, George Washington De Long. Le 8 juillet 1879, LUSS Jeannette quitte San Francisco, avec 33 hommes a son bord, sous le regard dune foule en transe, contaminee par la fievre arctique. Une fois passee les comptoirs dAlaska, puis le detroit de Bering, le bateau est pris dans les glaces et derive. Au bout de deux ans dun voyage eprouvant, la coque se brise et lequipage est contraint dabandonner le navire. Seuls sur la banquise, avec de maigres maigres ressources, les naufrages entament une longue marche dans lenfer gele de lune des zones les plus isolees au monde. Avec rebondissements et ressorts dignes dun thriller, voici un "roman vrai", envoutant, melant heroisme et determination. Avec habilete, les chapitres alternent entre la vie mondaine new yorkaise de la fin du XIXe siecle, ecrit dans un style flamboyant, et lhorreur de la survie sur la banquise, dans un style pudique ou lauteur manie parfaitement la litote. Tres documente, le recit decrit parfaitement le quotidien des hommes, la vie des indigenes qui accueilleront lune des trois equipes. Lauteur sest ausi appuye sur la correspondance entre George De Long et sa femme Emma, femme forte et importante de ce livre, dont il publie des extraits.

Autour dune figure devenue légendaire – Kit Carson, qui combattit puis défendit les Indiens – Hampton Sides construit une fresque magistrale de la conquête de lOuest au XIX e

¿Por qué escupen las llamas? ¿Por qué las lagartijas siempre están haciendo flexiones? ¿Cómo evitan los pingüinos que se les congelen los pies? ¿Para qué sirven las tetillas masculinas? ¿Detectan el

La era de la exploración estaba llegando a su fin, pero el misterio del polo norte permaneció. Los contemporáneos describieron el polo como el "objeto inalcanzable de nuestros sueños", y el impulso de llenar este ultimo gran espacio en blanco en el mapa crecio irresistible. En 1879 el USS Jeannette zarpo de San Francisco con multitudes animando y en medio de un frenesi de publicidad. El barco y su tripulacion, capitaneados por el heroico George De Long, se dirigian a las aguas inexploradas del Artico, llevando las aspiraciones de un pais joven que queria ser la primera nacion en alcanzar el polo norte. Dos años despues de la terrible travesia, el casco del Jeannette resulto roto por una impenetrable franja de hielo, obligando a la tripulacion a abandonar la nave en medio de torrentes de agua. Horas mas tarde, el barco se habia hundido por debajo de la superficie, dejando a los hombres a mil millas al norte de Siberia, donde se enfrentaron a una caminata aparentemente imposible, a traves del infinito hielo, con los suministros minimos. En todo momento, ante la ceguera de la nieve y el asedio de los osos polares, ante tormentas feroces y laberintos de hielo, la tripulacion se rebelo ante la locura y la hambruna mientras luchaban desesperadamente por sobrevivir.Llena de emocionantes e imprevisibles giros, En el reino del hielo es una fascinante historia de heroismo y determinacion en el lugar mas brutal de la Tierra.

From Hampton Sidess Ghost Soldiers, a gripping narrative of World War II POWs on the brink of freedom. The men of Cabanatuan had been held by the Japanese since the Bataan Death March, in increasingly dire circumstances. With the war turning in the Americans favor, the POWs worried that their captors would murder them all in the frenzy of an all-out withdrawal. Then one day in early January, 1945, the prison guards simply left. For a brief moment the haggard survivors of Cabanatuan were given the keys to their prison, though swift death was promised to anyone who dared leave. The prisoners waited nervously, all while (unbeknownst to them) a daring raid was being planned which would result in their rescue or their end. This is Hampton Sides at his most riveting, a fitting tribute to these soldiers who would be prisoners no more. An eBook short.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers, a chronicle of the extraordinary feats of heroism by Marines called on to do the impossible during the greatest battle of the Korean War."Superb ... A masterpiece of thorough research, deft pacing and arresting detail...This war storythe fight to break out of a frozen hell near the Chosin Reservoirhas been told many times before. But Sides tells it exceedingly well, with fresh research, gritty scenes and cinematic sweep." The Washington PostOn October 15, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of UN troops in Korea, convinced President Harry Truman that the Communist forces of Kim Il-sung would be utterly defeated by Thanksgiving. The Chinese, he said with near certainty, would not intervene in the war.As he was speaking, 300,000 Red Chinese soldiers began secretly crossing the Manchurian border. Led by some 20,000 men of the First Marine Division, the Americans moved deep into the snowy mountains of North Korea, toward the trap Mao had set for the vainglorious MacArthur along the frozen shores of the Chosin Reservoir. What followed was one of the most heroic--and harrowing--operations in American military history, and one of the classic battles of all time. Faced with probable annihilation, and temperatures plunging to 20 degrees below zero, the surrounded, and hugely outnumbered, Marines fought through the enemy forces with ferocity, ingenuity, and nearly unimaginable courage as they marched their way to the sea.Hampton Sides superb account of this epic clash relies on years of archival research, unpublished letters, declassified documents, and interviews with scores of Marines and Koreans who survived the siege. While expertly detailing the follies of the American leaders, On Desperate Ground is an immediate, grunts-eye view of history, enthralling in its narrative pace and powerful in its portrayal of what ordinary men are capable of in the most extreme circumstances.Hampton Sides has been hailed by critics as one of the best nonfiction writers of his generation. As the Miami Herald wrote, "Sides has a novelists eye for the propulsive elements that lend momentum and dramatic pace to the best nonfiction narratives."

A harrowing tale of courage and sacrifice at the limits of human enduranceA stirring story a brilliant exposition of narrative non-fiction: moving, harrowing, as gripping as any well-paced thriller. The TimesThe age of exploration was drawing to a close, yet the mystery of the North Pole remained. Contemporaries described the pole as the unattainable object of our dreams, and the urge to fill in this last great blank space on the map grew irresistible. In 1879 the USS Jeannette set sail from San Francisco to cheering crowds and amid a frenzy of publicity. The ship and its crew, captained by the heroic George De Long, were destined for the uncharted waters of the Arctic.But it wasnt long before the Jeannette was trapped in crushing pack ice. Amid the rush of water and the shrieks of breaking wooden boards, the crew found themselves marooned a thousand miles north of Siberia with only the barest supplies, facing a seemingly impossible trek across endless ice. Battling everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and frosty labyrinths, the expedition fought madness and starvation as they desperately strove for survival.

Hampton Sides raconte le dernier voyage de James Cook, le plus important de lère de lexploration, qui a laissé un héritage complexe et controversé encore débattu à ce jour.Le 12 juillet 1776, le capi

Hellhound on His Trail is the story of two very different men whose lives catastrophically interweaved over the course of some nine months in the late 1960s: one was a thief and con man called James Earl Ray, the other one of the greatest American figures of the twentieth century, Martin Luther King Jr.Hampton Sides follows in Rays footsteps as he escapes from prison, creates a new identity for himself and becomes convinced of his mission to kill King. Hellhound on His Trail is equally the story of King himself in his last months, fighting to keep his ideals alive in the face of intensive FBI surveillance and his own exhausted frustration. With relentless storytelling drive, Sides follows Ray and King as they crisscross the country, one stalking the other, until the fateful moment, on 4 April 1968 at a Memphis hotel, when the drifter finally caught up with his prey. Nationwide riots were sparked by the assassination, followed by the largest manhunt in American history.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the author of Ghost Soldiers comes an eye-opening history of the American conquest of the West"a story full of authority and color, truth and prophecy" (The New York Times Book Review).In the summer of 1846, the Army of the West marched through Santa Fe, en route to invade and occupy the Western territories claimed by Mexico. Fueled by the new ideology of Manifest Destiny, this land grab would lead to a decades-long battle between the United States and the Navajos, the fiercely resistant rulers of a huge swath of mountainous desert wilderness. At the center of this sweeping tale is Kit Carson, the trapper, scout, and soldier whose adventures made him a legend. Sides shows us how this illiterate mountain man understood and respected the Western tribes better than any other American, yet willingly followed orders that would ultimately devastate the Navajo nation. Rich in detail and spanning more than three decades, this is an essential addition to our understanding of how the West was really won.

Harley-Davidson bikers Grand Canyon river rats Mormon archaeologists Spelling bee prodigies For more than fifteen years, the bestselling, award-winning author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers has traveled widely across the continent exploring the America that lurks just behind the scrim of our mainstream culture. This sparkling mosaic of our country, in all its wild and poignant charm, may be the best road trip youll ever takefull of strange vision, hilarious detours, and sudden beauty in unlikely places (The New Yorker). Reporting for Outside, The New Yorker, and NPR, among other national media, the award-winning journalist has established a reputation not only as a wry observer of the contemporary American scene but also as one of our more inventive and versatile practitioners of narrative non-fiction. In these two dozen pieces, collected here for the first time, Sides gives us a fresh, alluring, and at times startling America brimming with fascinating subcultures and bizarre characters who could live nowhere else. Following Sides, we crash the redwood retreat of an apparent cabal of fabulously powerful military-industrialists, drop in on the Indy 500 of bass fishing, and join a giant techno-rave at the lip of the Grand Canyon. We meet a diverse gallery of American visionaries from the impossibly perky founder of Tupperware to Indian radical Russell Means to skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. We retrace the route of the historic Bataan Death March with veterans from Sides acclaimed WWII epic, Ghost Soldiers. Sides also examines the nation that has emerged from the ashes of September 11, recounting the harrowing journeys of three World Trade Center survivors and deciding at the last possible minute not to "embed" on the Iraqi front-lines with the U.S. Marines.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER The greatest World War II story never told (Esquire)an enthralling account of the heroic mission to rescue the last survivors of the Bataan Death Marchfrom the author of Blood and Thunder.On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation. In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring, Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying conditions.

*** BARACK OBAMAS SUMMER READING LIST 2024 ****** One of the New York Times Top Ten Books of 2024 ****** NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ***The story of Captain Cooks third voyage. Extraordinarily compulsiveandfascinating on every page, it combines the satisfaction of a Patrick OBrian or CS Forester maritime blockbuster with the insights and revelations of a true historian. I felt it somehow told me more about the making of the modern world than any book I had read for agesSTEPHEN FRY, BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2024, OBSERVERFrom New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, the epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, culminating in Captain James Cooks deathAn astounding tale . . . recreated in swashbuckling detail . . . Sides delivers it with narrative urgency. The cast of characters is a joySunday TimesAn enthralling account of Captain Cooks final, fatal voyage An excellent new book The Economist A rollicking good read, with a tone that reminds me of David Granns recent tale of the 1741 Wager shipwreck . . . riveting Daily TelegraphVivid and propulsive New York Times---On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach in Hawaii, Cook was killed beaten and stabbed in a conflict with the indigenous population.What brought Cook to these final moments, so at odds with his reputation? Renowned for his humane leadership, dedication to science and the curiosity and respect, not judgement, with which he greeted societies that were new to him, Cook had already mapped huge swathes of the Pacific and initiated first European contact with numerous native peoples.The stated mission for his third voyage was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London high society, to his home islands. But Cook carried secret orders to venture north, to discover the fabled Northwest Passage and chart and claim lands before Britains imperial rivals. And Cook himself was different on his final, fatal voyage.Deeply researched and vividly told, The Wide Wide Sea is at once a ferociously-paced, epic adventure and a searching examination of the consequences of the Age of Exploration from a master storyteller.----Sides has written a riveting book, deeply researched, light of touch and always judicious and full-sailed about an exceptional mans final extraordinary journey SPECTATORA wonderful, visceral yarn and an enthralling read, replete with brilliant detail ROBERT MCCRUMPRAISE FOR HAMPTON SIDESEnthralling . . . as gripping as any well-paced thriller but a lot more interesting because it is also trueTHE TIMESStunningly vivid MARK BOWDEN, AUTHOR OF BLACK HAWK DOWNSplendid in every way. . . a marvellous nonfiction thrillerWALL STREET JOURNALExtraordinary . . . meticulous research shores up a fast-paced narrative FINANCIAL TIMESViscerally dramatic . . . spellbinding . . . ...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and heroism in the Gilded Age from the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers. A splendid book in every waya marvelous nonfiction thriller. The Wall Street JournalOn July 8, 1879, Captain George Washington De Long and his team of thirty-two men set sail from San Francisco on the USS Jeanette.Heading deep into uncharted Arctic waters, they carried the aspirations of a young country burning to be the first nation to reach the North Pole. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the Jeannettes hull was breached by an impassable stretch of pack ice, forcing the crew to abandon ship amid torrents of rushing of water. Hours later, theship had sunk below the surface, marooning the men a thousand miles north of Siberia, where they faced a terrifying march with minimal supplies across the endless ice pack. Enduring everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and labyrinths of ice, the crew battled madness and starvation as they struggled desperately to survive. With thrilling twists and turns, In The Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most brutal place on Earth.