The Placitas Community Library will host New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides at 2 p.m. Aug. 10.
He will discuss his latest nonfiction adventure story, which delves into high-seas exploration and examines the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration.
Sides, a historian, author and journalist based in Santa Fe, serves as editor-at-large for Outside Magazine. His work has been featured in numerous national publications, which include National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Esquire, and The Washington Post. He also teaches narrative nonfiction and serves as a journalist in residence at Colorado College.
During the event, he will be discussing his new book, The Wide Wide Sea, which delves into Captain James Cook’s final voyage and its controversial aftermath. The talk will explore Cook’s contributions to the Age of Exploration. According to a press release, the talk will highlight his leadership, the humane treatment of his crew and his respectful curiosity toward the societies he encountered. It will also cover the conflicts that ultimately led to his death in Hawaii during a confrontation with native Hawaiians.
Sides’ other bestselling narrative histories include Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, Hellhound On His Trail, In the Kingdom of Ice and On Desperate Ground.