The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans Illustrated Edition

I loved this as well as his Great sSea on the Med. 5 starts to tremendous research, fluid writing and presentation. Thus five stars. But!The editing left a bit to be desired. A good editor would have trimmed this by a couple hundred pages. And there was a lot of repetition that a good editor should have caught. These are both on the editor not the author in my opinion.Most of all, Oxford, in its bean-counter driven race to the bottom of quality, blew it once again. To give a hardcover 1,000 page book a cheap paper spine like that is inexcusable. Mine basically dissolved 3/4 of the way through and I had to use book binding tape to hold it together. For a major book like this that will stand the test of time for decades this is truly disappointing.

Much of what the volume covers I’ve not studied since high school/college. Other chapters were largely new to me, even as an avid reader of history.I enjoyed the fact that the author references recent archeological discoveries while telling the stories.This is a lengthy read, but worth the effort a chapter or two at a time.

This book is a testament to the author’s erudition. One will learn much. There are times though when the very copiousness proves overwhelming. This work needed a good editor.

This is the bestest and onliest book on maritime history that I’ve ever read.

At times a dizzying and exhausting trip around the world, but it is a difficult challenge to attempt a book with such a broad scope.

Tedious, pedantic and absurdly overly wroughtVery, very disappointingEvan Burge

A stellar work demonstrating how trade from ancient history through the present drives world events. The author is a master of this vast subject.

The Boundless Sea is a serious work. It’s not necessarily for casual reading although it reads casually. I would have no problem calling it author David Abulafia’s Magnum Opus. I will have to admit that I had a personal interest in reading this book. I have a son who has recently become a deck hand on one of the “Tall Ships” that are taking to sea on exploratory and scientific missions. I thought maybe mama could bone up on some seafaring history for the sake of family conversation. I had no idea I’d become so fascinated and immersed in the history of sea faring.This book spotlights the history of human association and movement across the seas for the purpose of exploration, trade, commerce, philosophical/religious expansion and empire building. The book starts with the seafaring societies found in the Pacific and their innate abilities to shuttle from island to island without the aid of compass or sextant. In the Atlantic the Bretons, the Frisians were sailing the seas along with the Vikings who were making crossings to the New World. After them came the Portuguese, the Spanish, the Dutch and British came to rule the high seas. If I had to point out an outstanding segment for me it would be chapter 51 names War and Peace, and more War. Just the measure of the incalculable tonnage that has been sent to the bottom of the sea is amazing.The author gives a nod to the merchants and explorers and their quests for riches. The spice trade. The slave trade. We hear of the vessels that have both successfully and tragically traveled across the waters. are This book comes in at over 1,000 pages but it can be read in segments over an after dinner cocktail by the fire. With that visual out of the way I’ll admit that I read it on a bench on my patio with a cup of coffee nearby. This is highly interesting as well as informative if you’re at all interested in history which you'll learn often pivots on the history of the sea.

This must be one of the greatest histories ever written!It is definitely my Desert Island choice !!After reading the Conclusion, I felt a sense of bereavement that I had come to the end but immediately ordered book on the Mediterranean !!!A history of cultures on the move, exploration, settlement, interaction and growth. The scholarship is vast but accessible. Each chapter is a self contained adventure with information about sailing techniques, navigational aids, personalities and tragedies. Starting with the tiny crafts of Micronesia and ending with the enormous passenger ships and bulk transporters, every page is full f accessible and gripping information. This us a book to be read and re read !|sadly the author is ill served by his publisher! The 10 pages of maps are almost useless omitting most locations mentioned in each chapter and without any indication of journeys taken or the impact of wind and current. The indispensable notes are formatted in a style rendering them almost unusable ! However nothing can detract from Abulafia's style and wisdom, not to mention the witty asides!!!

This is the first time I have had to write a negative review. This is a remarkable book from an eminent historian.I should have realised that illustrations and maps would not come out well or, indeed, at all. And there have beenseveral pages missing. So, I have bought the hardback version.

I didn't notice who made the review comments on the back cover, nor who they write for. The Spectator, Telegraph and Times are hardly known for their balanced reporting so, if I'd been more alert, comments like 'masterpiece', 'tour de force' and 'dazzling history' would have rung a warning bell. My heart sank further when I read in the intro that the authors heroes are the 'merchants' and not the 'explorers who led the way', with the seamen who actually did the sailing not even getting a mention. Thereby taking his cue from Adam Smith whose 1776 'Wealth of Nations' led the way in lauding the role of selfish merchants in the creation and diffusion of wealth.I thought this was fine as a different perspective can help with insight. Also, there are plenty of maps and all the various seas are dealt with, apart from the Mediterranean which is dealt with in another tome by the same author. The text does open up vast areas of the world which I had very little knowledge of and shows the movement of peoples, but not enough on how they actually did the sailing, or built the boats ( the Polynesians being an exception, but they weren't traders. The Importance of Malaysia is especially enlightening, as is the potted economic history of China (ch12). So I did learn a lot, but the problem is this focus on the merchant heroes and, where the authors sources run out, the great men who controlled some of the sea routes, is done in great detail seemingly to show the extent of his knowledge and mastery of detail. This emphasis leads to the use of 908 pages and, at times, a high level of boredom. Especially when it is all taken as progress and, apart from the condemnation of slavery, all beneficial to humankind. There is very little analysis or questioning and it is much too long. Ok if you can stand it.

The author has set out to deliver an Herculean task, and delivers it in boatloads - with a fascinating and highly readable history covering his subject with fine detail and plenty of interesting characters, peoples and practices.This is how history should be tackled as, despite its length, the pace and interest are maintained throughout and even before I had finished reading it, I felt compelled to recommend it to others.This is a great book, on a perhaps the most important part of world history.Absorbing, educational, and thoroughly enjoyable - a heady mixture.

David Abulafia gives us here a very interesting book that is immensely absorbing, meaning that if you are not careful you can easily lose track of time as you read through this. In his preface the author sets out what this book is, and is not, and as he remarks himself, to compile something truly exhaustive, taking in everything, would amount to copious volumes. Written in an accessible style so this is ideal for those who want to learn more about the subject of humans and our relationship with the seas, as well as those perhaps taking a more scholarly interest.Although tackling such an issue means that there is quite a bit of detail at times, the whole book does not become bogged down, as Abulafia does give us not only some insightful knowledge, but also adds some light humour, among some horrors that come our way. Rich in detail at times so we start off with the old world, and the migration of our ancestors over the globe. There are a number of reasons why people travelled, not just due to population growth and in later times for empire building, but also out of good old curiosity. What we see is the expansion of our impact on the planet and are reminded that when Europeans came to different shores and supposedly ‘discovered’ some island or place, in fact meeting natives there, they were only rediscovering places that Man had already gone to long before. After all there were already Aborigines in Australia, and the Māori in New Zealand, and so on.Nowadays we think of the European navigation of the seas, but of course there were those who had already been there long before that, and not necessarily the big nations that you may think of, after all China was not an immediate player in this game. With people spreading and trade, so came also the discovery of new flora and fauna, as well as alliances between different nations and tribes. We also see the impact of the slave trade, not only with regards to the Americas, but elsewhere, and are reminded that for Europe the main impetus was sugar and its cultivation. Sifting the truth from legends and myths so we have genetic research used at times here, as well as extracts from documents, such as journals and letters.We are reminded of such things as how some of those native to the Pacific area were able to navigate quite accurately without writing skills as such, and long before ideas of longitude and latitude came about, meaning that they had to have known star constellations in both the north and south, as well as have an idea of time. Depending on where your interests lay so you may be more than aware of certain parts of this, but not the whole, meaning that there should be something here for most. With numerous maps and photos there is also an index, further reading and all the things you expect from a scholarly work. What I like is that Abulafia does not take everything for granted, reminding us that some things we can conjecture but not prove, and other things that are flights of fancy coming from someone’s fervid imagination. One thing is for sure, and that this is a monumental achievement and is sure to be enjoyed by many over the years to come.