Podcasts Culture Mountain & Prairie with Ed Roberson Hampton Sides - Tales from a Most Excellent Adventure

Hampton Sides - Tales from a Most Excellent Adventure

Published: Sept. 17, 2021, 2:57 a.m.

Hampton Sides is a historian and New York Times bestselling author who is best known for his engaging works of narrative nonfiction, including the books \u201cBlood and Thunder,\u201d \u201cGhost Soldiers,\u201d \u201cOn Desperate Ground,\u201d and more. His latest project is an ebook and audiobook titled \u201cTHE EXOTIC: Intrigue and Cultural Ruin in the Age of Imperialism,\u201d which details the life and unbelievable adventures of a man named Mai, who was the first Polynesian to set foot on British soil. \u201cThe Exotic\u201d is much shorter than Hampton\u2019s previous books but much longer than a magazine article, giving the reader a chance to enjoy Hampton\u2019s one-of-a-kind historical storytelling in only a few hours of reading.

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Longtime listeners of Mountain & Prairie will remember Hampton\u2019s two previous appearances on the podcast. The first was an in-depth discussion of his book \u201cBlood and Thunder\u201d and the history of the American West, which was recorded live and on stage at the Aspen Institute. In his second appearance, we focused on his writing and research process, and his career progression from journalist at Outside Magazine to becoming a best-selling historian. Today\u2019s conversation takes us far beyond the American West, everywhere from remote islands in the South Pacific to King George\u2019s court in England. So if you\u2019re a fan of adventure, history, and profiles of Indigenous people who have often been overlooked by mainstream history, you\u2019ll love this book.

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Hampton and I connected virtually and had a fun conversation about the book and his process for writing it. We talked a lot about Mai\u2019s unbelievable journey from Polynesia to England and back again, as well as the opportunities and challenges of exploring history from an Indigenous perspective. We talked about Hampton\u2019s process for researching the book and how COVID has forced him to adjust his usual approach. Hampton was actually in the South Pacific researching the book in March 2020 when the pandemic hit, which, as you\u2019ll hear, added an extra layer of adventure to an already adventurous trip. And as usual, Hampton offers up some great book recommendations that I think you\u2019ll enjoy.

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\u201cThe Exotic\u201d is available exclusively on Scribd, which is an online service that gives you instant access to ebooks, audiobooks, articles, podcasts, and more. I\u2019ve thoroughly enjoyed Scribd over the past few weeks, and I\u2019d encourage you to give it a shot. You can access it for free for 30 days by following the link in the episode notes or on this episode\u2019s webpage. And I\u2019m not being paid for this endorsement-- I\u2019m just a fan of what Scribd is doing and the unique forms of writing that they are bringing to the world.

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I hope you enjoy this episode, and I hope you\u2019ll invest a few hours reading \u201cThe Exotic.\u201d\xa0 And if you haven\u2019t already, go back and listen to my past episodes with Hampton-- they are fun and educational conversations.\xa0 Thanks so much.

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

  • 4:00 \u2013 How Mai got Hampton\u2019s attention
  • 11:45 \u2013 Hampton discusses who Mai was
  • 22:00 \u2013 Hampton walks us through what Mai did while he was in England
  • 31:30 \u2013 Hampton explains what happens when Mai returns home
  • 36:30 \u2013 Hampton describes doing his research while COVID-19 took off and discusses how the pandemic affected his writing
  • 43:30 \u2013 Hampton talks about Captain Cook
  • 51:15 \u2013 Hampton\u2019s book recommendations

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