The Sea and Civilization
A Maritime History of the World
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · October 27, 2015
A monumental retelling of world history through the lens of the sea—revealing in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world’s waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human.
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- Who it’s for
- A broad, readable history that uses the sea to make world history feel legible.
- Genres
- Maritime History & Piracy, World History, Maritime History
- Published
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, October 27, 2015
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A monumental retelling of world history through the lens of the sea—revealing in breathtaking depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world’s waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human.
Continue reading
The Sea and Civilization is a mesmerizing, rhapsodic narrative of maritime enterprise, from the origins of long-distance migration to the great seafaring cultures of antiquity; from Song Dynasty human-powered paddle-boats to aircraft carriers and container ships. Lincoln Paine takes the reader on an intellectual adventure casting the world in a new light, in which the sea reigns supreme. Above all, Paine makes clear how the rise and fall of civilizations can be linked to the sea. An accomplishment of both great sweep and illuminating detail, The Sea and Civilization is a stunning work of history.
Sea-Lane Story
A broad, readable history that uses the sea to make world history feel legible.
Come here for
- Big-picture maritime history, clearly laid out
- Civilizational sweep without academic fog
Expect
- Accessible explanation
- Long-view, sustained reading
Where it sits
| Maritime History & Piracy | 95% |
|---|---|
| World History | 45% |
| Maritime History | 29% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Naval History
- Oceania History
- Maritime History
- Authors
- Lincoln Paine
- Publisher
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Published
- October 27, 2015
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Naval History