SEA OF GLORY ~ NATHANIEL PHILBRICK 1st AMERICA’S VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY THE U.S. EXPLORING EXPEDITION 1838 – 1842 The U. S. Exploring Expedition of 1838 – 1842 was one of the most ambitious undertakings of the nineteenth century and one of the largest voyages of discovery the Western world had ever seen – six magnificent sailing vessels and a crew of hundreds that included botanists, geologist, mapmakers, and biologist, all under the command of the young brash Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. There goal was to cover the Pacific Ocean, top to bottom, and to plant the American flag, around the world. Four years after embarking, they returned to the United States having accomplished this and much more. They discovered a new southern continent, which Wilkes would name Antarctica. They were the first Americans to survey the treacherous Columbia River, the first to chart dozens of newly discovered islands all across the Pacific. They explored volcanoes in Hawaii, confirmed Charles Darwin’s theory of the formation of coral atolls, and collected thousands of specimens that eventually became the foundation of the Smithsonian scientific collections. This was an enterprise that should have been as celebrated and revered as the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Philbrick explains for the first time why the Ex Ex vanished from the national memory. Using new sources, including a secret journal, Philbrick reconstructs the darker saga that official reports, which focused on the Ex Ex’s accomplishments, never told. The story pivots on Charles Wilkes – simultaneously ambitious, proud, petty, and courageous, a self destructive dynamo who undermines his own prodigious feats by alienating his crew and officers, fighting battles with his sponsors, and jealously guarding what should have been a proud national legacy. Against him stands William Reynolds, promising young officer who signs on to the voyage filled with enthusiasm and admiration for Wilkes and ends it’s in bitter disillusion, finally facing his former commander in a sensational courtroom confrontation. This book is in good condition there is slight damage to the dust cove (tear please see picture). The binding is tight and there are no tears or markings. This book measures 9 ¼ by 6 ½ inches with 452 pages with a shipping weight of 3 lbs