This Week on History Happy Hour: In 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third major voyage to the Pacific. The incredible journey that followed took Cook from Australia to Alaska, and involved the first substantial European contact with the Hawaiian Islands…as well as the confrontation that led to his death.

Chris and Rick welcome Hampton Sides (making his second appearance on HHH) author of the acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook.

Hampton Sides is an award-winning editor of Outside and the author of the bestselling histories The Kingdom of Ice, Hellhound on his Trial, Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Anne, and their three sons.