The Wide Wide Sea
The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides is one of 2026's most credible books, appearing on 2 of the year's most respected lists, including The New York Times, The Economist, for a Consensus Score of 30 out of 100.
Appears on these lists
Our take
AI-draftedSides takes on Captain Cook's fatal third voyage, and the book's real subject turns out to be the unraveling of a legend rather than the triumph of one — a meticulous, capable navigator slowly losing his judgment across years at sea, ending in his killing in Hawaii. What separates this from earlier hagiographic Cook biographies is the deliberate inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and consequences. It's less a monument to exploration than an autopsy of what exploration cost, told with real narrative discipline.
In the press
“Propulsive and vivid history.”
The New York Times Book Review“Thrilling and superbly-crafted.”
The Washington Post
How the Consensus Score is calculated
Our Consensus Score is our own transparent editorial metric — not a user rating. It weighs each list by the credibility of its source, how recent the listing is, and any award status. Here is the full breakdown.
| Source | Authority | Recency | Award | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The New York Times | 1.00 | 0.70 | 1.00× | 0.70 |
| The Economist | 0.95 | 0.70 | 1.00× | 0.67 |
| Weighted sum → Score | 1.36 → 30 | |||
Similar consensus books
Because they appear on some of the same lists.
Frequently asked
What lists is The Wide Wide Sea on?
The Wide Wide Sea appears on 2 lists in our 2026 corpus, including The New York Times, The Economist.
What is its Consensus Score?
The Wide Wide Sea has a Consensus Score of 30 out of 100, our transparent editorial measure of how many credible lists agree on it.