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Simon Winchester
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Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories Paperback – Large Print, November 23, 2010

by Simon Winchester (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 695 ratings
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"Variably genial, cautionary, lyrical, admonitory, terrifying, horrifying and inspiring…A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester tells the breathtaking saga of the Atlantic Ocean. A gifted storyteller and consummate historian, Winchester sets the great blue sea's epic narrative against the backdrop of mankind's intellectual evolution, telling not only the story of an ocean, but the story of civilization. Fans of Winchester's Krakatoa, The Man Who Loved China, and The Professor and the Madman will love this masterful, penetrating, and resonant tale of humanity finding its way across the ocean of history.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    696 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper Large Print
  4. Publication date
    November 23, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.39 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    006200249X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062002495
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Winchester brings a knowledge as vast and deep as his subject to this history of the Atlantic Ocean.” — Entertainment Weekly

From the Back Cover

Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and 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 gray and heaving sea.

Winchester chronicles that relationship, making the Atlantic come vividly alive. More than a mere history, Atlantic is an unforgettable journey of unprecedented scope by one of the most gifted writers in the English language.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Large Print; Large type / Large print edition (November 23, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 696 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 006200249X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062002495
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.68 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.39 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 695 ratings

About the author

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Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester

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Simon Winchester studied geology at Oxford and has written for Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian, and National Geographic. Simon Winchester's many books include The Professor and the Madman ; The Map that Changed the World ; Krakatoa; and A Crack in the Edge of the World. Each of these have both been New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. Mr. Winchester was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by HM The Queen in 2006. He lives in Massachusetts and in the Western Isles of Scotland.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
695 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Avid Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Magisterial
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
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The enhanced version is spectacular. I'm reminded of my favorite historians - Paul Johnson, Daniel Boorstin, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto. All see change as the result of individuals - not grand social movements. People and their actions drive the narrative - not movements or theories or simple demographics. Repeatedly we see the influence of small groups (Phoenicians) and small nations (Portugal outweigh those of well-established larger empires.

The structure (allegedly) derives from the famous "All the world's a stage" speech that included the Seven Ages of Man. He adapted this as the seven eras of the Atlantic, a semi-chronological beginning hundreds of millions of years ago with the first separation of Pangea. The Atlantic, we are told, is not eternal or permanent; it came into being and it will vanish.

In an interview Winchester states he chose the Atlantic because that is where modern civilization emerged, that is a civilization based on ideas introduced by Europe - nationhood, representation, elections, science, education, the press, individual rights, etc. (The fact that some nations violated these does not change the narrative.)

We read about unknown heroes - those first tepid explorers who sailed into the terrifying unknown for myriad reasons. We also meet many unsung heroes, men and women who made incredible contributions yet were never given their due. This is grand storytelling, almost poetic in tone. I was slightly put off by a few of the reviews but thankfully I ignored these and was amply rewarded. My grade - A
3 people found this helpful
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Thomas Erickson
4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of stories of sea battles, discoveries, storms and humans that live near the Atlantic and travel it.
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2012
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I'm a fan of Simon Winchester and have read most of his books including Krakatoa and The Professor and the Madman. All good books worth reading. See my reviews.

Simon wrote a good 497 page book. The book read well with no boring parts. Some parts were more interesting than others. He does skip around time wise a lot and in different parts of the Atlantic and lands touching the Atlantic. The reader gets a good history of some of the early people who used the Atlantic, including the Vikings, the Romans, the early Irish, English, Germans, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and many more. Also there is the unsubstantiated thought of early people crossing from the West to Europe but evidence of this is not shown.

Explorers Lief Ericson, Columbus, Cabot, and many more are shown and their contributions to Atlantic land exploration.

Some mega millions of years ago when all the continents were together and the birth of the Atlantic is shown as well as the far mega millions of year from now when the Atlantic will cease to exist as the continents will go together again is shown.

Also the vast pollution man has done to the Atlantic with oil spills and dumping of highly radioactive materials is shown as well as fishing sites , for example the Grand Banks cod industry fished out are shown. Also the near extinction of certain whales and some fish species like the Blue Fin Tuna are shown. Also the effects of global warming are shown and the rise of sea levels, glacier meltdown in Greenland and loss of ice in Antarctica are shown. Both human pumping out of greenhouse gases and the cyclical nature of the climate cycles are shown to some limited degree.

Some great sea battles with sailing ships and later steel men of war and gigantic battleships are shown. Huge hurricanes and storms are shown. Some interesting B/W pictures.

I'll give Simon Winchester credit, he wrote a wide sweep of information chapters about the Atlantic and human interaction with it. A little bit on a lot of subjects. There is some jumping around in the timeline of his writing that the reader has to get used to.
A good book with lots of interesting stories of a wide berth of information for readers with different interests. Rated 4 stars
2 people found this helpful
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John D. Cofield
5.0 out of 5 stars Wideranging And Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2010
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Simon Winchester never shies away from big topics like volcanos and earthquakes, and now he has chosen the entire Atlantic Ocean! As with all of Winchester's works, the fortunate reader can expect impeccable scholarship and clear, well written prose combining to create a fascinating story.

Winchester explains in his preface that he chose to approach the story of the Atlantic using the framework of Shakespeare's seven stages of man from As You Like It. This was a masterstroke because it allowed Winchester to cover his monumental subject in a variety of ways, so that Atlantic is part memoir, part history, part scientific study. I enjoyed every part but found the sections in which Winchester deals with his own life story the most interesting, particularly the story of his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1963 on board one of the old liners. It was also fascinating to untangle some of the intriguing links Winchester details, such as how the state of Israel's founding depended on part on Atlantic connections. The final chapter, in which Winchester describes how climate changes are affecting the Atlantic and other oceans, made for sobering reading.

While Atlantic may seem to have little in common with some of Winchester's other works such as The Professor and the Madman or The Meaning of Everything, they are linked by his close attention to detail and his ability to tell an intriguing anecdote as well as his clear command of language. We are fortunate indeed to have so fine a writer with so many varied interests among us!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Per chi è curioso di natura!
Reviewed in Italy on February 9, 2020
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Questo libro cerca connessioni. E le trova. La narrazione a tratti diventa prosaica ma ciò non toglie che da questo libro c'è solo da imparare: si scoprono cose che, forse, non si saprebbero altrimenti. 5 stelline!
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Deepak Kishen Kaul
5.0 out of 5 stars Takes more than a drop to make an ocean
Reviewed in India on December 26, 2017
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Detailed and interesting
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Dr. Tim Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars How the Atlantic and Humans are intertwined, with lots of side explorations along the way. A lovely read.
Reviewed in Canada on July 3, 2016
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I have read every one of Winchester's books and enjoyed them all, although some have been more interesting than others due to subject matter or tone. Atlantic (which precedes Pacific) is a history of the ocean, more or less, and those who have sought to cross it, discover inside it, and make money from it. The core of the book is a story of the Atlantic in the rest of world history, covering everything from towns and, later, cities built on the shores to allow coastal navigation, shipping and fishing, through to the tentative explorations of the farther reaches of the ocean.

There's the story of European and North American commerce, military conquests, undersea communications, and more here, all written in Winchester's readable style. The latter part of the book looks at the life within the Atlantic: the exploration of the depths and the exploitation of the ocean itself by man. There's mention of the effects of global warming and pollution, and the way we all depend on the Atlantic for our water and more. There's some lovely facts here that I didn't know before, covering all manner of subjects and interest areas.

More than anything, this is an account of an ocean and the humans who interact with it over a long period of time. Atlantic has been called a love-letter to the ocean, but I think it's more of an exploration of a natural phenomenon that has shaped our lives from our earliest ancestors, following through the various civilizations that have used the ocean for various means. It's informative, certainly, but you'd expect that from Winchester. It's well written, but again you'd expect that. And it's going to raise your knowledge level and your curiosity, and that certainly is what I expect from Winchester. I really enjoyed reading Atlantic and it's strongly recommended for many different reasons.
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Arjan
5.0 out of 5 stars Prachtig boek om in een keer uit te lezen. Vol feiten maar nooit saai.
Reviewed in Germany on April 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
Als je in de zee en geschiedenis bent geinteresseerd is dit een werkelijk prachtig boek.
Simon Winchester schrijft in een zeer toegankelijke taal wat wel knap is voor sommige anders saaie items.
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M. Hillmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Colourful stories in historical context
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2011
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Simon Winchester is a story teller and a romantic - historical context, detail and colour brings this book to life. He dedicates the book to Able Seaman Angus Campbell McIntyre who was shipwrecked in 1942 on the notorious coast of Namibia in the South Atlantic in a failed attempt to rescue survivors from the SS Dunedin who had been similarly shipwrecked. Stories like this abound.

But he paints on a wider canvas to describe the importance of the Atlantic over the years - an ocean that with today's air travel does not have a high profile. For example parliamentary democracy as it is understood today was very much an Atlantic creation. No such institutions arose in Russia or China or Greece. The Icelandic Rock of Laws set the pattern for governance of the rest of the world, mimicked by the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Britain.

He approaches the Atlantic from all angles, from its early exploration to pirates and the slave trade; from sea battles through the ages to commerce; from the laying of the transatlantic cable and air routes across the ocean to climate change, ocean currents and receding ice cap.

The question of what motivated men to make the dangerous voyage into the Atlantic before America was "discovered" is answered by fish and whales. He makes a convincing case that the Norsemen created settlements in Newfoundland and Labrador between 975 and 1020 AD. The allure of fish, and specifically cod, drew the Vikings and the Basques as well as John Cabot who named Newfoundland before the imperial claims made by Christopher Colombus in 1492.

The technical tribulations of the USS Niagra and HMS Agamemnon in laying 2,500 miles of transatlantic cable in 1857 is ascribed as the most ambitious construction project ever envisaged in the world. The visionary and financier behind the project was Cyrus Field. After only 15 days the cable succumbed to some unknown submarine malady and no further cable was laid until Brunel's Great Eastern in 1866. By 1900 there were 15 cables but then in 1901 Marconi successfully sent the first radio signal across the Atlantic. The "distance in time" across the Atlantic rapidly diminished.

The immense research and colourful stories makes it another of Winchester's compelling books.
4 people found this helpful
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