Hampton Sides comes to Bookworks for meet and greet event on June 15

AT BOOKWORKS

Hampton Sides will talk about his book “The Wide Wide Sea” in a meet and greet event at 1 p.m. Sunday, June 15, at Bookworks, 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW.

The book’s subtitle is “Imperial Ambition, First Contact and The Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook.” Cook was a famous 18th century British naval officer, explorer and cartographer.

The New York Times named “The Wide Wide Sea” one of the 10 Best Books of 2024.

A Times review of the book states that Sides “isn’t just interested in retelling an adventure tale. He also wants to present it from a 21st century point of view. ‘The Wide Wide Sea’ fits neatly into a growing genre … in which famous expeditions, once told as swashbuckling stories of adventure, are recast within the tragic history of colonialism. Sides weaves in oral histories to show how Hawaiians and other Indigenous groups perceived Cook, and strives to bring to life ancient Polynesian cultures just as much as imperial England.”

The book was recently released in a paperback edition.

Sides, a Santa Fe resident, is also the author of “Blood and Thunder,” about the life and times of Kit Carson; “Ghost Soldiers,” about the rescue of Bataan Death March survivors; and “Hellhound on His Trail,” about the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the manhunt to capture James Earl Ray.

Also at Bookworks, Daniela Ramirez of Rio Rancho will present her new children’s book “Welcome Home, Esmerelda” at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 21.

It’s the story of a little girl named Esmerelda who has lived around the world, thanks to her dad’s job in the military. Now he’s relocating to San Antonio, Texas. Esmerelda is a wee bit nervous about the move. She has relatives in San Antonio whom she’s never met. Before she heads out Esmerelda talks on the phone with her grandma who offers her advice: “Remember home is not a place. It’s a feeling in your heart.”

The story was inspired by the author’s own experiences as a military kid. She is now a military spouse.

The book is intended for ages 6 to 9, and is also available in Spanish with the title “Bienvenida a casa, Esmerelda.”

AT WHEELWRIGHT MUSEUM

Historian Martha Sandweiss will discuss her new book “The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West” at 3 p.m. Friday, June 20, at the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe. Tickets are $10 at wheelwright.org.

The book paints a picture of post-Civil War reconstruction and Western expansion.

Sandweiss lives in Santa Fe.