The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

The PW review of the latest from the author of On Desperate Ground struck me as hyperbolic: “propulsive account,” “exquisitely crafted and novelistic portrait of the mercurial captain enthralls” at first glance. Having since read the book, I’d venture it falls short of the praise it deserves.

A lot of credit goes towards tackling a subject that means confronting the consequences of imperialism, without kowtowing to cancel culture reflexes (the forward itself is a master class of acknowledging current sentiments regarding Cook, and explaining the author’s approach to him). This is novelistic history writing at its finest, about a monumental, if divisive, figure.

Adult Non-Fiction Hardcover pr7379261

Lazarus Man: A Novel by Richard Price

Set in 2008 Harlem, this novel by the author of Clockers and Lush Life revolves around the collapse of a tenement, and the lives of a group of characters impacted by the disaster.

While usually thought of as a crime writer (also as a screenwriter for shows including The Wire, The Deuce and The Night Of) Price it might be more accurate to say that Price uses the genre to cloak explorations of serious social issues. An ability to write pitch perfect natural dialogue tends to lull the reader into the story as though it’s unfolding around one. I’ve been a fan since 1974 when Price published his first book, The Wanderers, which blew my mind as I hadn’t realized until then that there were books written in the way people actually speak, confronting real life everyday concerns. He’s only gotten better.

Adult Fiction Hardcover pr7683068