If you live in Alaska, you likely have some awareness of Captain James Cook — at least because his name is on one of Anchorage's largest hotels, along with the body of water just offshore of the city, Cook Inlet.

A new biography, The Wide Wide Sea, recounts the entirety of Cook's expedition that took him to Alaska, and puts the explorer in a new context that I think many Northern Journal listeners will appreciate. In this episode, we hear from the book's author, Hampton Sides, who conducted some of his research in Anchorage.