"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Until a thousand years ago, no humans ventured into the Atlantic or imagined traversing its vast infinity. But once the first daring mariners successfully navigated to far shores—whether it was the Vikings, the Irish, the Chinese, Christopher Columbus in the north, or the Portuguese and the Spanish in the south—the Atlantic evolved in the world's growing consciousness of itself as an enclosed body of water bounded by the Americas to the West, and by Europe and Africa to the East. Atlantic is a biography of this immense space, of a sea which has defined and determined so much about the lives of the millions who live beside or near its tens of thousands of miles of coast.
The Atlantic has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists and warriors, and it continues to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Poets to potentates, seers to sailors, fishermen to foresters—all have a relationship with this great body of blue-green sea and regard her as friend or foe, adversary or ally, depending on circumstance or fortune. Simon Winchester chronicles that relationship, making the Atlantic come vividly alive. Spanning from the earth's geological origins to the age of exploration, World War II battles to modern pollution, his narrative is epic and awe-inspiring. A Q&A with Author Simon WinchesterQ: Writing a “biography” of a massive subject like the Atlantic Ocean is audacious and seemingly daunting. What inspired you to write the book, how long did it take you, and what did your research entail?
Winchester: It occurred to me one afternoon while, for the umpteenth time, I was crossing ‘the pond’ on a flight between London and New York, that we took the waters below us far too much for granted. I thought back to the first crossing I had ever made, back in 1963, on a ship—and the romance of the ocean as I saw it then—and I decided that it could be very interesting to look into the role the Atlantic has played in humankind’s history. I spent the next eighteen months travelling, going everywhere from the Faroes and Iceland in the north, to Tristan da Cunha and Patagonia in the south. The book itself took eight months to write, four to edit.
Q: What was the most unusual or fascinating fact you discovered while researching and writing Atlantic?
Winchester: I remain intrigued by the thought that the State of Israel was in effect born as a result of a lack of cordite in the Royal Navy’s ammunition stores during the Battle of the Atlantic in 1916. A White Russian biologist, Chaim Weizmann, at the time a professor at the University of Manchester, worked out how to solve this problem, and when the British government of the time offered to reward him for his game-changing invention, he declined—asking only for Arthur Balfour to make his famous Declaration of 1917, which led to the formation of Israel.
Q: Why is the Atlantic significant in the development of Western civilization? Is there one important thing about the ocean we should know but do not?
Winchester: The first true parliamentary democracy was founded in the Atlantic, in Iceland in the tenth century—and the concept spread rapidly through northern Europe. It was then followed in short order by the establishment of a similarly organized network of traders and trade routes, the so-called Hanseatic leaguers. That two such crucial aspects of modern human civilization—government and trade—are based still today on principles laid down beside the Atlantic Ocean is a fact little remembered by most —and when I found the story out, it astonished and delighted me.
Q: You are a sailor yourself. Have you sailed the Atlantic? What was the experience like?
Winchester: I have sailed the entire Indian Ocean; and I have sailed a little in the South Atlantic—undertaking the voyage in a tiny (30ft) steel gaff-rigged schooner. But while I had few major problems sailing between the coasts of India and South Africa, once I had ‘rounded the bend’, as it were, and passed into the Atlantic, everything changed: the sea became very rough and (a particular problem in a steel yacht) very cold. And so I abandoned the Atlantic attempt—a decision that gives me ever greater respect today for the ocean itself, and for those sailors who are brave and determined enough to sail it. (In my defense—since 16 year olds now make the journey—I should point out that I went out without radio or radar, and with only a sextant as a navigation aid. GPS and e-mail make modern yachting a somewhat less arduous business. But the inescapable fact that I wiped out troubles me still. A bit.)
Q: How do today’s giant cruise ships compare to their predecessors like the Queen Mary or the Titanic? Have we lost something fundamental in how we experience the ocean with modernization?
Winchester: I detest the big cruise ships of today, immense Vegas style monstrosities filled with amusements specifically designed—or so it seems—utterly to detach the passenger from the realities of the ocean he is crossing (and to make even more money for the shipowners, of course). One surely goes to sea to experience the sea, it seems to me—and if you are in a gigantic floating play-center, and one that barely moves with the waves, then why not just stay home, and in doing so burn less fuel and pollute the world a little less?
Q: Is it possible for 21st century humans to regain a sense of awe and respect for this magnificent natural wonder? What might it take for us to do so?
Winchester: It is my fond hope that just a few good people who may read and like this book will stop for a moment, and perhaps then begin to think about and regard the ocean in a different way. And then maybe go down to the shore and look at it, and consider some of its wonders. And then, most importantly, tell the next generation that this body of water, like all the great oceanic bodies of water on the planet, is a rare and precious entity deserving of our care and our respect. I realize this may be no more than wishful thinking: but after writing this book I have come to feel a very powerful connection with the Atlantic Ocean, and I so very much want others to look at it in the same way.
Q: How does the Atlantic compare to other oceans? What makes it special/unique?
Winchester: Of the world’s great oceans the Atlantic is not the biggest; it is not the prettiest; it is not the most benign. But it does possess the greatest concentration of the marker-events of human history. And if, as seems unarguable, the Mediterranean could once fairly be said to have been the inland sea of classical civilization, then surely the Atlantic Ocean, by virtue of this huge concentration of ideas, events, inventions and developments, has become, and unarguably also, the inland sea of modern civilization. No other ocean comes close to filling this role – which is why the Atlantic rises, head and shoulders, above all of its taller, prettier and calmer maritime cousins.
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Book Description Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A tan to the pages. Ex library copy with usual stamps & stickers. Seller Inventory # wbb0025083082
Book Description Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Photographic (illustrator). First Edition. at the beginning of the text are two maps, one showing the political geography of the Atlantic Sea and the other showing the physical. List of maps and illustrations, acknowledgements, bibliography, glossary and index. The text is illustrated with both black and white photographs, illustrations and maps. Colour photographic/illustrated card cover with green, black and red coloured titles to the front panel and green and red coloured titles to the backstrip. A history of the Atlantic Ocean  from its birth to its eventual extinction millions of years in the future. What the book does look act in depth is the " . age of exploration colonisation of the Americas; the rise and fall of the slave trade, and the flourishing of transatlantic commerce; extraordinary tales of sea-borne emigration; and the great naval battles that have left an indelible imprint on Atlantic history."  from the rear panel blurb. There is no damage to describe. Size: Trade Paperback. (13), XIV, (1), 2-498 pages, Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Illustrator: Photographic. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Ships & the Sea; Maritime; History. ISBN: 0007364598. ISBN/EAN: 9780007364596. Inventory No: 0267301. Seller Inventory # 0267301
Book Description Softcover. Condition: Very Good. Photographic (illustrator). First Edition. at the beginning of the text are two maps, one showing the political geography of the Atlantic Sea and the other showing the physical. List of maps and illustrations, acknowledgements, bibliography, glossary and index. The text is illustrated with both black and white photographs, illustrations and maps. Colour photographic/illustrated card cover with green, black and red coloured titles to the front panel and green and red coloured titles to the backstrip. A history of the Atlantic Ocean  from its birth to its eventual extinction millions of years in the future. What the book does look act in depth is the " . age of exploration colonisation of the Americas; the rise and fall of the slave trade, and the flourishing of transatlantic commerce; extraordinary tales of sea-borne emigration; and the great naval battles that have left an indelible imprint on Atlantic history."  from the rear panel blurb. Creasing to the book corners and rubbing to the book panels. The front panel has started to curl. Light age toning of the textblock edges and of the internal pages. Size: Trade Paperback. (13), XIV, (1), 2-498 pages, Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Illustrator: Photographic. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Ships & the Sea; History. ISBN: 0007364598. ISBN/EAN: 9780007364596. Inventory No: 0114151. Seller Inventory # 0114151
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Fair. 500 pages. some wear, creases, marks foxing ATLANTIC: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon WinchesterHarperPress, UK, 2010ISBN 97 80007364596Trade pb, 500ppFAIR: some wear, crea ses, marks; foxingIn a narrative tour de force, Simon Winchester dramatises the life of the Atlantic Ocean, from its b irth in the farther recesses of geological time to its eventual e xtinction millions of years in the future.At the core of the book is the story of mankind's complex relationship with this immense sea, which stretches for 9,000 miles from pole to po le. The Atlantic has profoundly influenced the lives of those who have lived along its shores, from hardscrabble pioneers in winds wept locations such as the Aran Islands and Newfoundland, to the inhabitants of the great port cities of Lisbon, Rio, London and N ew York.'Atlantic' brings to life key episodes in thi s compelling human drama - the age of exploration and the subsequ ent colonisation of the Americas; the flourishing of transatlanti c commerce and the rise and fall of the slave trade; extraordinar y tales of sea-borne emigration during the nineteenth century; an d the great naval battles that have left an indelible imprint on Atlantic history. Seller Inventory # 1135al
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Good. 500 pages. minor wear some creases / marksATLANTIC: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Wincheste rHarperPress, UK, 2010ISBN 9780007364596Trade pb, 500ppGOOD: minor wear; some creases / marksIn a narrative tour de force, Simon Winchester d ramatises the life of the Atlantic Ocean, from its birth in the f arther recesses of geological time to its eventual extinction mil lions of years in the future.At the core of the book is the story of mankind's complex relationship with this immense sea, which stretches for 9,000 miles from pole to pole. The Atlan tic has profoundly influenced the lives of those who have lived a long its shores, from hardscrabble pioneers in windswept location s such as the Aran Islands and Newfoundland, to the inhabitants o f the great port cities of Lisbon, Rio, London and New York.'Atlantic' brings to life key episodes in this compelling human drama - the age of exploration and the subsequent colonisat ion of the Americas; the flourishing of transatlantic commerce an d the rise and fall of the slave trade; extraordinary tales of se a-borne emigration during the nineteenth century; and the great n aval battles that have left an indelible imprint on Atlantic hist ory. Seller Inventory # 1135s
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Good. First Edition First Printing. Number 1 is printed inside. Creases on cover and spine. Slight creases on top corners of the pages inside. Foxing on the closed page edges, the front end paper and on the last page. Seller Inventory # 071790
Book Description Softcover. Condition: Good. The definitive biography of the world\s most important body of water -- the Atlantic. One hundred and ninety million years ago, the shifting of two of the world\'s tectonic plates led to the creation of an immense chasm. This giant gash in the flanks of the planet slowly opened up and eventually evolved into the most important and most travelled ocean in our world. In this utterly original biography, Simon Winchester explores the life of the Atlantic; it\'s birth, its relationship with mankind, and what lies in store for it once man has left the stage. He charts the development of the first settlements by the Oceanside -- the communities of Celts and Vikings and whose lives depended on the sea -- and delves into the age of exploration, venturing to forgotten worlds. The building of some of the world\'s most beautiful port cities -- London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Casablanca -- is also examined, along with the creation of settlements and colonies in and around the sea. Completely unique and highly readable, Atlantic takes its reader on a wonderful journey through time, along the waves of our planet\'s most significant ocea 498 pages. Tanning to pages. Cover has a few creases. Inscription to previous owner on inside cover. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 1-2 kilos. Category: History; History; ISBN/EAN: 9780007364596. Inventory No: 256480. Seller Inventory # 256480
Book Description Soft Cover. Condition: VG+. Reprint. 8vo. original printed paper wraps (slightly rubbed & creased, else clean & bright); pp. xiv, 498, with illustrations. A very good copy. Seller Inventory # 033651
Book Description Paperback. The epic life story of the Atlantic Ocean from the bestselling author, Simon Winchester. In a narrative tour de force, Simon Winchester dramatises the life story of the Atlantic Ocean, from its birth in the farther recesses of geological time to its eventual extinction millions of years in the future. At the core of the book is the story of mankind's complex relationship with this immense sea, which stretches for 9,000 miles from pole to pole. The Atlantic has profoundly influenced the lives of those who have lived along its shores, from hardscrabble pioneers in windswept locations such as the Aran Islands and Newfoundland, to the inhabitants of the great port cities of Lisbon, Rio, London and New York. Atlantic brings to life key episodes in this compelling human drama - the age of exploration and the subsequent colonisation of the Americas; the flourishing of transatlantic commerce and the rise and fall of the slave trade; extraordinary tales of sea-borne emigration during the nineteenth century; and the great naval battles that have left an indelible imprint on Atlantic history. Travelling by small sailing craft, container ship and general cargo vessel, Simon Winchester will journey around the edges and across the vast expanse of the ocean to report from the places that encapsulate its most fascinating stories. It is an enthralling mixture of history, science and reportage from a master of narrative non-fiction, and the definitive account of this magnificent body of water. First published 2010. 2010. A trade paperback copy in near fine, unmarked condition. Seller Inventory # 5694183
Book Description Octavo, paperback,498 pp.black and white photographs. The epic life story of the Atlantic Ocean from the bestselling author of narrative non-fiction, Simon Winchester. In a narrative tour de force, Simon Winchester dramatises the life of the Atlantic Ocean, from its birth in the farther recesses of geological time to its eventual extinction millions of years in the future. At the core of the book is the story of mankind's complex relationship with this immense sea, which stretches for 9,000 miles from pole to pole. Also available in hardcover [stock id 31814]. Seller Inventory # 31813