Sea of Glory: America's Voyage of Discovery, the U.S. Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842.SEA OF GLORY: AMRRICA'S VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY, THE U.S. EXPLOR. ING EXPEDITION, 1838-1842. Nathaniel Philbrick. 2003. Read by Scott Brick. 9 tapes. No time listed. Penguin Audiobooks. 0-14-280024-4. $39.95. Cardboard; content, author, reader notes. SA When Lieutenant Charles Wilkes set out as the head of the four-year "America's first ocean-going voyage of discovery" in 1838, his mandate was to see if a continent existed at the South Pole South Pole, southern end of the earth's axis, lat. 90° S. It is distinguished from the south magnetic pole. The South Pole was reached by Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, in 1911. See Antarctica. (yes--Antarctica), to survey and map unclaimed islands and the mouth of the Columbia River Columbia River River, southwestern Canada and northwestern U.S. Rising in the Canadian Rockies, it flows through Washington state, entering the Pacific Ocean at Astoria, Ore.; it has a total length of 1,240 mi (2,000 km). , and to collect specimens of all kinds. Using Wilkes's letters to his wife Jane, diaries kept by officers and crew, and other documents, Philbrick tells the absorbing story of the major controversies that surrounded the expedition. One blanches at Wilkes's erratic er·rat·ic adj. 1. Having no fixed or regular course; wandering. 2. Lacking consistency, regularity, or uniformity: an erratic heartbeat. 3. behavior (and eventual court martial COURT MARTIAL. A court authorized by the articles of war, for the trial of all offenders in the army or navy, for military offences. Article 64, directs that general courts martial may consist of any number of commissioned officers, from five to thirteen, inclusively; but they shall not ), at his crew's trashing of the people and villages of Fiji, and at his outrageous physical and emotional abuse of his officers and crew. Yet, they returned with information and material that formed the foundation of the Smithsonian and established science as a legitimate government concern. Wilkes bad accomplished almost everything he set out to do and later proved tireless in promoting his findings' value. Brick's rich voice and conscious pacing lend excitement and ease listening to some detailed passages. A good story for listeners who got hooked on Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Irish explorer who was knighted for the success of the 1907-09 "British Antarctic Expedition" under his command. and his story of Antarctic survival and for patrons absorbed in the Lewis and Clark bicentennial bi·cen·ten·ni·al adj. 1. Happening once every 200 years. 2. Lasting for 200 years. 3. Relating to a 200th anniversary. n. A 200th anniversary or its celebration. Also called bicentenary. . Edna Boardman, Bismarck, ND |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion