Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 1,174 ratings · 271 reviews

Blending history and anecdote, geography and reminiscence, science and exposition, the New York Times bestselling author of Krakatoa tells the breathtaking saga of the magnificent Atlantic Ocean, setting it against the backdrop of mankind's intellectual evolution

Until a thousand years ago, no humans ventured into the Atlantic or imagined traversing its vast infinity. But o...more

Hardcover, 495 pages

Published November 2nd 2010 by Harper (first published January 1st 2010)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

No One Had a Tongue to Speak by Utpal Sandesara

Historical Weather Events

7th out of 19 books — 7 voters

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Storms, Tempests, Gales, Hurricane, Twisters

58th out of 63 books — 21 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 2,845)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Oct 07, 2010 Will Byrnes rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nature, science, brain-candy

Using as his central pillar a Shakespearean monologue from As You Like It that lists the seven stages of a man’s life, Simon Winchester offers us the life of an ocean.

He covers a very wide swath in his examination of that very un-pacific Atlantic. Beginning with big-picture geology, he looks at the infant Atlantic and gives a preview of what the world will look like when the Atlantic is no more. There is plenty here about tectonics, volcanism and the mighty forces of a planet that is constantly...more Using as his central pillar a Shakespearean monologue from As You Like It that lists the seven stages of a man’s life, Simon Winchester offers us the life of an ocean.

He covers a very wide swath in his examination of that very un-pacific Atlantic. Beginning with big-picture geology, he looks at the infant Atlantic and gives a preview of what the world will look like when the Atlantic is no more. There is plenty here about tectonics, volcanism and the mighty forces of a planet that is constantly changing. But his primary focus in on the relationship of people to the Atlantic.

He looks at a host of firsts across many disciplines, the first to cross the ocean, the first paintings centered on the ocean, the first poems, stories, etc. He tells how Islamic control of both ends of the Mediterranean contributed to European expansion across the less contested Atlantic, round about 1492. Much attention is paid to the Atlantic as an arena for battle, from the earliest seagoing battles to contemporary submarine warfare, with a surprising entry here on the importance of chestnuts to munitions manufacture, and of how technical expertise re weapons production influenced the creation of a state decades later. He looks at how trade became a basis for 11th and 12th century globalization, traces the development of commercial oceanic trade, and brings it all up to date with a look at current Atlantic traffic, both asea and aloft. He offers a look at some of the ecological implications of that commerce, and notes new technologies that hopefully will mitigate, somewhat, the harm that commerce causes. He also looks at the impact of overfishing.

Atlantic is not a fast read. I suppose that is because of the huge quantity of facts presented. But it is well worth the time.

Some might argue that Winchester has over-reached, that such a globe-girdling tale cannot truly be distilled into a meager 459 pages. (the page count in my pre-release copy may not match the final number) Perhaps the subject is too large for a single volume. But do not be dissuaded by this. Winchester has put together a vast array of fascinating material, diving deep to find bits information that will surprise and please. Winchester’s Atlantic covers many aspects of the great ocean, which seems fitting when one considers the reach of the ocean itself. I had the pleasure recently of being at a lake in Montana that spreads its waters in three directions, one of which is towards the Atlantic. How remarkable the reach of this vast body of water. What a titanic (couldn’t resist) achievement that Winchester has offered us all an opportunity to recognize just how important this body of water is to humanity, to our survival, to our history, to our politics, to our culture, to our art, to our very identity and to our future. The Atlantic Ocean only has another 170 million years before it succumbs to the demands of geology and perishes. So there is not a minute to spare. Swim out to your store and pick up a copy while there is still time.
(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 25, 2011 Margaret rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: didn-t-finish

Oh, dear, Simon Winchester, I think you have to stop being my literary boyfriend now. Someone get this man an editor, quickly. I've never skipped over so many pages of a book before.

It's not that he hasn't dug up fascinating facts and interesting tidbits. It's just that it feels like he took all his notes on 3 x5 cards, then threw them in a pile on the floor and wrote the book like that. I'm reading an interesting description of St. Helena, and then there are poems? A passing mention of how the...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 22, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, history, memoirs, science, politics

This is a very enjoyable book; it covers many aspects of the Atlantic Ocean. The book describes its formation and its ultimate end, exploration, the use of the ocean for commerce, for food, for battles, and the inspiration the ocean has for literature, art and music. And of course, the book contains some stories of shipwrecks and of the ecological damage that people have inflicted on the ocean.

Unlike some of the other reviews, I found this book to be an easy read. Winchester writes in a delight...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 17, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read other books by Winchester, I was delighted to pick up this one and even more so to discover that he was reading it.
He uses a very interesting structure to tell the story of the Atlantic Ocean, Shakespeare's Seven Ages. He begins the book by telling of his own first experience of travelling the ocean, going over to Montreal on the Empress of Britain in 1963 (by coincidence, my birth year!). Then he talks about the structure he will use.
For the first age "At first the infant, mewling...more Having read other books by Winchester, I was delighted to pick up this one and even more so to discover that he was reading it.
He uses a very interesting structure to tell the story of the Atlantic Ocean, Shakespeare's Seven Ages. He begins the book by telling of his own first experience of travelling the ocean, going over to Montreal on the Empress of Britain in 1963 (by coincidence, my birth year!). Then he talks about the structure he will use.
For the first age "At first the infant, mewling and puking in the nurse's arms" includes the physical and geographic history of the ocean, how it came to me and what it consists of. The second age, "the whining schoolboy with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail unwillingly to school", tells the story of discovery. We see the various expeditionary trips across, the misconceptions, the discovery that it was really a bridge to a new land, and all the things we learned about it.
The third age, "the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress' eyebrow" includes the ocean in art. We hear of poems, prose, paintings, architecture, and music. This is a wealth of wonderful references to the influence of the Atlantic in culture. The fourth age, "a soldier, full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard, jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon's mouth" covers the wars fought across and in the Atlantic and they include many battles. The fifth age, "the justice in fair round belly, with good capon lin'd, with eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws, and modern instances" includes trade and commerce. Covered here is not only the trade across the ocean, and around the ocean, but also the commerce of the ocean's wealth, marine life. We see the wealth of the ocean in the fisheries within it.
The sixth age, "the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, with spectacles on nose, and pouch on side, his youthful hose well sav'd, a world too wide, for his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, turning again towards childish treble, pipes and whistles in his sound" covers the shrinking of the ocean. This is the easy crossing of the ocean, using the new technology of flight; the diminishing of its fisheries due to overuse; the effect of pollution both in and above it, and the lack of respect man has paid to it. The final section, the seventh age, "second childishness and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything" looks at the future of the ocean. Will it be able to overcome what we and nature have done to it? Is there hope for new life? As the world warms and ice melts, and the ocean grows, how will that affect those who live around and on it? Will it fight back with more large natural events like hurricanes and tsunamis? Raising lots of interesting questions, this section offers new information, ways to look forward and hope for the future.
Winchester finishes with another personal experience, an Atlantic shipwreak on the skeleton coast that captured his imagination and drew him to search it out and leave his own mark.
As usual, Winchester takes a large topic, makes it come alive and allows us to see its many aspects, and ignites our imaginations. Wonderful.(less)

like · see review

Aug 06, 2012 Sean Wylie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Simon Winchester writes a biography of The Atlantic Ocean! The book is sorted into 7 sections corresponding to the stages of a man’s life from Shakespeare’s monologue from As You Like It (monologue printed below). Simon uses moments from his own life lived around the Atlantic ocean to add flavor and context to the 7 stages of the story of The Atlantic Ocean, the most important Ocean to human beings, and the one we have exploited the most for good and bad. It has been a dramatic story for the Atl...more

like · see review

Mar 24, 2012 Jay rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a great companion book to "The Fourth Part of the World," Toby Lester's book about the early exploration of the Americas and the history of New World Maps. "Atlantic" is the epic story of mankind's relationship with the Atlantic Ocean, from the fear it inspired in early peoples, to the opportunities it presented to Europeans of the Renaissance and Industrial Age, through the sometimes bored familiarity and even abusive contempt we moderns have for it today. In Winchester's inimitable sty...more

like · see review

Oct 22, 2011 Lori L (She Treads Softly) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories is Simon Winchester's biography of the Atlantic Ocean. Winchester decided that, since the ocean is a living thing, the story of the Atlantic could be told in the format of a biography. In an extension of this comparison, Winchester decided to structure the chapters in the book based on the seven stages of man as outlined in Shakespeare's As You Like It:

"Infant; School-boy; Lover; Soldier; Just...more Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories is Simon Winchester's biography of the Atlantic Ocean. Winchester decided that, since the ocean is a living thing, the story of the Atlantic could be told in the format of a biography. In an extension of this comparison, Winchester decided to structure the chapters in the book based on the seven stages of man as outlined in Shakespeare's As You Like It:

"Infant; School-boy; Lover; Soldier; Justice; Slipper'd Pantaloon; and Second Childishness. It seemed all of a sudden, just about the ideal. Pinioned within these seven categories, the stages of our relationship with the ocean could be made quite manageable.

"I could examine in the First Age, for example, the stirrings of humankind's initial childlike interest in the sea. In the second, I could examine how that initial curiosity evolved into the scholarly disciplines, of exploration, education, and learning - and in this as in all the other Ages I could explore the history of that learning, so that each Age would become a chronology in and of itself. I could then become captive in the Third Age - that of the lover - by the story of humankind's love affairs, by way of the art, poetry, architecture, or prose that this sea has inspired over the centuries.

"In the Fourth Age - that of the soldier - I could tell of the arguments and conflicts that have so often roiled the ocean....In the Fifth - that of the well-fed Justice - I could describe how the sea became a sea of laws and commerce....In the sixth Age, that dominated by the fatigue and tedium of the pantaloon, I could reflect upon the ways man has recently wearied of the great sea, has come to take it for granted....And in the Seventh and final Age....I could imagine the ways by which this much-overlooked and perhaps vengeful ocean might one day strike back, reverting to type, reverting to the primal nature of what it always was. (pg. 26-27)"

As a fan of Winchester's books, I was really looking forward to reading Atlantic, and, as much as I enjoyed it, I must add a few precautions for those considering reading this massive narrative. First, it helps if you have read other books by Winchester and appreciate his writing. Since he's a talented writer who has a good eye for interesting details and can share many entertaining anecdotes, many people will find this part easy. Second, this is not an easy-to-read-light-hearted-entertainment. While it is entertaining and Winchester can be humorous, it's also dense, expansive and detailed - it's not a quick read. You need to know you will be investing some time in reading. Third, it will help if potential readers have an appreciation for a wide range of topics from ancient history to geology to art to military history, to exploration.

Atlantic includes: A Table Of Contents, List of Maps and Illustrations, Preface, Prologue, Seven Chapters, an Epilogue, Acknowledgments, A Glossary of Possibly Unfamiliar Terms, Bibliography, and Index.

Very Highly Recommended; http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/
(less)

like · see review

Oct 17, 2011 Alan rated it 2 of 5 stars

In short...a great opportunity wasted. Winchester set out to accomplish the bold task of describing the natural and human history of the Atlantic Ocean...probably an impossible task for anyone.

Winchester does an admirable job of describing the geologic past and future of this ocean basin, but in between it seemed like he was unable to develop a meaningful train of thought. And even worse, he couldn't keep himself out of the narrative. It's almost like he didn't think anyone would believe him un...more

like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Karl Rove added it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011

I admit I'm a Simon Winchester fan. I met him with THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, a slim and fascinating book about the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Being the son of a geologist, I was wowed by THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD and blown away by his KRAKATOA. So I was eager to dive into ATLANTIC. It's good, but not great. Winchester is a wonderful storyteller, particularly good at coming out of left field with a connection of Point A and Point B that's unexpected and brilliant. But...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 23, 2011 Caitlin Marineau rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

I really wanted to love this book. I love stories about sailing, adventure, and the sea, and, as a history nut this seemed right up my alley. However, I just could not get into it. I listened to the audiobook of this particular title, and I kept getting lost because it just could not hold my attention, and his subjects switched around so much that if I ever zoned out I completely lost the thread of the book. Though full of interesting information, the book feels disorganized, rather like the aut...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2011 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got a lot of flak from the librarians when I checked this out. They wondered why I’d abandoned good ‘ol fiction and turned to the incredibly boring non-fiction section of the library. And I decided the simple reason is that I miss learning. I miss making new connections, learning new things, and having my brain challenged. The result being that I’ve increased my non-fiction interests. This book seemed perfect and overall I’d say it accomplished what I wanted it to do. The author gives you a hi...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2011 Andrew Walczak rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am a huge Simon Winchester fan...My dad consistently passes his books down to me, and was quite pleased when Atlantic finally showed up at my house!

In sum, this book is all over the place. Winchester has a background in geology, so a good bulk of the book describes the scientific history of the Atlantic. By no means am I a scientist, but his descriptions on the origins of the Atlantic were informative, and the type of science writing a novice like me can comprehend. From there, Winchester del...more I am a huge Simon Winchester fan...My dad consistently passes his books down to me, and was quite pleased when Atlantic finally showed up at my house!

In sum, this book is all over the place. Winchester has a background in geology, so a good bulk of the book describes the scientific history of the Atlantic. By no means am I a scientist, but his descriptions on the origins of the Atlantic were informative, and the type of science writing a novice like me can comprehend. From there, Winchester delves into the early exploration, trade, battles, art, and current environmental issues of the Atlantic Ocean.

The early exploration of the Atlantic is a familiar story those of us who have sat through an 8th grade history course. Winchester writes about the usual suspects (Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, et. al.), but also includes the history of the Vikings, Irish, Scots, and Phoenicians. I found myself with an atlas at my side, as Winchester references dozens of obscure islands/land masses that these early explorers confronted.

Other highlights from the book come from the history of Atlantic trade, the sea battles, and the evolution of ocean liners. Again, all new information for me, and frequently put into historical context. The history and then depletion of the Grand Banks cod fishery was a nice combination of trade/environmental degredation.

Ultimately, the book disappoints in a number of ways. The chapter on the connection between the Atlantic the arts was particularly dull. I read the first five pages and then skipped ahead. The final 75 pages or so about global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps is information included in most 3rd grade science textbooks. The utter lack of maps in the book, is an egregious omission. Unless you majored in Trivial Atlantic Ocean Island Geography, the sheer mass of geographical references boggles the mind.

In sum...Winchester earns about a B-, a little editing, and tightening up of the narrative would have gone a long way to a more readable book.(less)

like · see review

Mar 23, 2011 Libby rated it 4 of 5 stars

Simon Winchester is a magic man of words,cunning and devious at sucking you into his subject matter. He takes on a mighty subject, the Atlantic, embarking on a voyage to places like Hy Braseal, St. Helena,
Tristan de Cunha, Patagonia and Vinland. He shows us bloody-handed pirates, dogged rescuers, explorers, daredevils and merchant adventurers. We get a look at desperate battles, with heroes such as Horatio Nelson and Francis Drake. We double Cape Bojador with Gil Eannes, a Portuguese navigator....more

like · see review

Mar 01, 2011 Ross rated it 3 of 5 stars

The author refers to this book as "a biography of the Atlantic Ocean." It is a substantial work: indeed it takes 50 pages just to get through the preface and the prologue.
Basically it is a large collection of vignettes, essays and journals of personal expeirence of the author dealing with directly, or sometimes very indirectly, the ocean of the title.
It opens with a discusion of the original creation of the Atlantic around 200 million years ago when the proto continent of Pangea ruptured with No...more

like · see review

Feb 06, 2011 Ray rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't feel this book lived up to its subtitle: "Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories", other than the "million stories" part. Part of my disappointment may have been thinking it would live up to the subtitle and be more exciting. The only part of the subtitle which seemed accurate was the part about "a million stories". Winchester covered a lot, perhaps too much, from the formation of the earth and oceans over the past millions of years t...more

like · see review

Jan 30, 2011 Jaylia3 rated it 3 of 5 stars

A thorough and leisurely accounting of the Atlantic from its creation 195 million years ago, when the supercontinent Pangaea began to break apart, to its eventual demise millions of years in the future, when the continents will have coalesced again. Despite the book's broad scope most of the focus is on the ocean's history with humans, beginning 164,000 years ago in South Africa where humans first lived by the sea, eating shellfish, honing blades and decorating themselves with ocher. From there...more A thorough and leisurely accounting of the Atlantic from its creation 195 million years ago, when the supercontinent Pangaea began to break apart, to its eventual demise millions of years in the future, when the continents will have coalesced again. Despite the book's broad scope most of the focus is on the ocean's history with humans, beginning 164,000 years ago in South Africa where humans first lived by the sea, eating shellfish, honing blades and decorating themselves with ocher. From there the story continues on through the exciting early days of exploration when sailors first dared to leave the relative calm of the Mediterranean. Eventually the book describes the current state of the Atlantic which means, of course, overfishing, pollution, and global warming. One bright spot towards the end of the book is the 1986 discovery of Prochlorococus, a tiny oceanic microorganism that supplies as much as 20% of the world's oxygen. Obviously it would be very bad if anything happened to these vital but previously unknown little creatures. Fortunately they seem to like warm water so rather than being harmed by global warming they may actually lessen some of its damaging effects.

Like any reader, certain parts of the book were more enjoyable to me than others. I was less interested in Winchester's accounts of his own adventures and emotions, but some of the history and science was fascinating.

I read Winchester's Atlantic at the same time as I was reading Monsoon, a recent book by Robert D. Kaplan about the Indian Ocean, and I highly recommend looking at both of them. Both books make cases for the global importance of their body of water. Both authors traveled extensively in the areas they write about. Each book covers history and there is some interesting overlap, for instance the Portuguese explorers show up in both accounts. Monsoon spends more time than Atlantic on current culture and politics, with full chapters on many of the countries lining the Indian Ocean including Oman, the coastal areas of Pakistan and India, Sri Lanka, Burma, Indonesia, Zanzibar and China.
(less)

like · see review

Dec 26, 2010 Erik rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’ve been a huge fan of Winchester’s writing since his best-selling The Professor and the Madman. And the number one reason is his amazing attention to detail in recounting a historical subject that is often ignored by more traditional historians. His works are typically less broad in subject (although the context in which he narrates is certainly well-described), and more esoteric and biographical (think the employment of the titular “madman” by the creators of the Oxford English Dictionary in...more I’ve been a huge fan of Winchester’s writing since his best-selling The Professor and the Madman. And the number one reason is his amazing attention to detail in recounting a historical subject that is often ignored by more traditional historians. His works are typically less broad in subject (although the context in which he narrates is certainly well-described), and more esoteric and biographical (think the employment of the titular “madman” by the creators of the Oxford English Dictionary in the aforementioned book). And these are precisely the qualities he possesses as a writer that make his works so amazing and mesmerizing. (Think also The Meaning of Everything and The Map that Changed the World.)

With this latest historical text, Atlantic, Winchester is a bit off his game in that his focus is too broad, as it comes in as his longest work yet. But also in that his narrative becomes too anecdotal, skipping from detail to detail, story to story. For the first half, I became irritated that he lingered for too short a time on what could have been better-written and more interesting that was written details about humankind’s experience with the Atlantic. For example, when he begins one section telling us “The modern sea is awash with literary sailors, and an immense treasury of literature has been produced over the year. Dickens, Trollope, and Poe…Melville, Thoreau, Emerson, Virginia Woolf, Belloc, and Eliot…” he never elaborates further on any of these. And well he might have, to great effect.

He does, however, provide just enough of his proven yarn-spinning in the last half to make up for the lack thereof in the first. One example is the life of James Riley, who – white man born in Connecticut -- became a slave in Northern Africa in the early part of the nineteenth century; an inverted version of the traditional American slave narrative, if you will. Another is the German U-boats who menaced the Allied shipping convoys during WWII.

Although not as tight a narrative read as his earlier works, Atlantic still manages to satisfy by book’s end. Of course, here’s hoping that he returns to his a smaller subject and tighter narrative style in future books. He’s starting to remind me of where Bill Bryson has gone slightly askew in recent years far over-reaching A History of Everything and At Home.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 14, 2012 A.J. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Some interesting stories in here - quite a few were familiar, but just as many weren't and I put the book down feeling that I'd increased my general knowledge about the Atlantic quite a bit. Some aspects of the book made me a little uncomfortable: the very Euro-centric (Anglo-centric) point of view, for example which is understandable given that the writer is a Brit, but made me feel that the inhabitants of other continents around the ocean had been short-changed. A good example of this is in th...more

like · see review

Jul 30, 2012 Ian Durham rated it 3 of 5 stars

For the most part, I liked the book. But I had two main problems with it. First, I thought he was a little too generous with his use of interjections. Sometimes it felt as if his sentences went on forever. Second, given that the book was only very recently written, I was very disappointed at his presentation of global warming science. It was as if he went out of his way to give the global warming skeptics their due, so much so that it made him look like a skeptic (perhaps he is, but that's an ar...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2013 Neil Crawford rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is first book by Simon Winchester that I have read. I found his style a little infuriating at times. Far too much detail, often repetitive, and obviously poorly edited.

I enjoyed the book – I like the coverage, however, it could have been much better presented. I have since read “Krakatoa” by the same author so I was ready for his style (which had not changed.)

The history of the exploration and exploitation of the Atlantic is both fascinating and instructive. I still feel distressed that t...more

like · see review

Feb 14, 2012 Murdo Morrison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Atlantic is not one of the author's better efforts. Based on a potentially intriguing concept, the history of an ocean, it would have benefited from considerably more editing. A book that might have entertained delightfully with fascinating history and facts struggles to emerge from a writing style that is convoluted and frustrating for the reader. The problem, I suspect, may be related to the author being a British writer of a certain age. Paragraph-long sentences, some covering half a page, ar...more

like · see review

May 09, 2013 Braden rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Like many others have commented, Winchester tried to cover way too much ground here with an over-reliance on questionable and mostly random "facts." The most interesting sections of the book were ones that covered a topic on which I had read much more in-depth, focused books. And what interest I did have in those sections came about simply because those other books had peaked my interest.

One truly frustrating aspect of this book was its Euro-centrism. Last time I checked, thousands of miles of S...more Like many others have commented, Winchester tried to cover way too much ground here with an over-reliance on questionable and mostly random "facts." The most interesting sections of the book were ones that covered a topic on which I had read much more in-depth, focused books. And what interest I did have in those sections came about simply because those other books had peaked my interest.

One truly frustrating aspect of this book was its Euro-centrism. Last time I checked, thousands of miles of South American, Central American, and African coastlines border the Atlantic in some capacity but these regions are largely glossed over or merely used as the background for European exploits. Furthermore, Winchester exhibits a most peculiar northern European bias; several prejudiced remarks are aimed at southern and/or Catholic populations, most especially the Irish, Spanish, and Italians, and the indigenous populations of North America also take a beating from Sir Winchester (my personal favorite is his use of the term "Eskimo" to describe the Dene; not only is Eskimo an outdated and insulting term, but he didn't even manage to apply it to the nation that it has traditionally described: the Inuit).

But most frustrating of all is the complete lack of sources for his often bizarre or irrelevant claims. Yes, there is a bibliography, but these titles are by-and-large secondary sources themselves. And one would have to do an awful lot of reading through these titles to find the source for some claim made by Winchester as he gives absolutely no indication of where he dug up any of his tidbits.

Throughout the book, Winchester seems quite enamored by the distances between two random points. A fun drinking game would be to have a shot every time he tells the reader how many miles separate two points on the map. In addition to that, if you have a shot each time Winchester inserts himself into the book you'll be drunk in no time (probably the first ten pages or so). And if you have a second shot for each time his personal anecdotes paint himself in a ridiculously good light, you'll certainly die of alcohol poisoning.(less)

like · see review

Dec 09, 2010 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: jan-feb-2011

Reviews of Atlantic all seemed to begin with roughly the same assumptions. First, Simon Winchester is one of the best-loved nonfiction writers in the English-speaking world: his journalistic style has won over millions, and the minority that find it annoying already know why. Second, Winchester's project -- a comprehensive history of the Atlantic -- is simply impossible. Therefore, most reviews measured the book's success as a great writer's attempt at a worthy challenge. Critics all assessed th...more

like · see review

May 29, 2011 Nicole Marble rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well, I think Winchester is one of the best writers and will read anything he writes. He has chosen the Atlantic Ocean as his topic. I'll save you the effort unless you know nothing about that ocean.
First, his information on the ocean in his Prologue on the formation of the Earth, and incidentally the Atlantic, is so well and vividly written it should be in school textbooks as it could grab the attention of even the most distracted student.
Second, Winchester has done a lot of reading and resear...more

like · see review

Jan 04, 2012 Dan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Billed as a "biography of an ocean," Simon Winchester's Atlantic really felt more like a British perspective on "the pond." There was some great geological stuff in here - how the ocean was formed, approximately how long it's been around and when it'll cease to be, etc - but the history part felt very European- and British-, in particular, centric for my taste. I'm no historian, but it would seem to me that given the millions of years that the Atlantic has been around, and the thousands of years...more Billed as a "biography of an ocean," Simon Winchester's Atlantic really felt more like a British perspective on "the pond." There was some great geological stuff in here - how the ocean was formed, approximately how long it's been around and when it'll cease to be, etc - but the history part felt very European- and British-, in particular, centric for my taste. I'm no historian, but it would seem to me that given the millions of years that the Atlantic has been around, and the thousands of years mankind has lived beside and traversed it, the Falkland war of the 1980s couldn't possibly merit more than a paragraph, and, yet, it shows up repeatedly here. That's just one example. There are more, but I don't want to turn this review in a rant. There was actually a lot to recommend this book. It delved into the various fisheries of the Atlantic, touching on whaling and, most importantly, cod on the Grand Banks. Winchester elaborated on the story of Leif Erickson, the first European to arrive in America, which made a nice counterpoint to the subsequent Spanish et al colonizers' arrival four hundred years later. The discovery in the 1980s of microscopic lifeforms that, likely, provide 20% of our breathable oxygen was great. At times the prose was expectedly purple, Winchester does not lack for superlatives (or poetic wax) when describing the much-storied Atlantic, but it was in service to humanizing what is, essentially, an amoral accident of geology and planetary position, which, of course, is arguably necessary if one is to write a "biography of an ocean." In the end, I return to my initial criticism. Why was there not more about the rest of the Atlantic nations? We got plenty of Europe, the U.S., Liberia and South Africa, but places like Brazil and the island of Hispaniola (home to present day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) barely got mentioned. Sure, the big wars staged on the Atlantic were largely European affairs, but what of regional trade between Latin American countries? Surely, Venezuela and Cuba have had notable relations as of late, to say nothing of the affairs of any of the other nations bordering the Atlantic ocean.

My reading goal for 2012 is to read thirty books of non-fiction, and, ultimately, I would say this was a great start. I would recommend Atlantic to fans of broad and popular histories. It's a nice jumping off point for further reading into the exploits of Western civilization, particularly from 1492 on, just don't expect a true, unbiased perspective.(less)

like · see review

Aug 31, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

This biography of the Atlantic Ocean is a true epic. It includes natural history, from the origins of the Atlantic 370 million years ago to its presumed demise a few more million years in the future. Much of the book is devoted to the Atlantic’s human history – exploration, trade, exploitation, and warfare; as well as its inspiration on poets, painters, and writers. While it is vast in scope, the book also focuses on the small stories that bring the Atlantic to human scale. Reflecting extensive...more

like · see review

Sep 17, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having read and really enjoyed The Professor and the Madman, I picked this one up at a used bookstore because I love anything nautical and figured he'd be able to tell the story in an entertaining way. It wasn't quite as captivating as The Professor but held my attention enough considering its heft.

[Warning: Politics ahead]

I must say though, he lost me at the climate tirade. I felt like he had to tiptoe around the politics so incessantly and obviously that I don't even think it was worth inclu...more Having read and really enjoyed The Professor and the Madman, I picked this one up at a used bookstore because I love anything nautical and figured he'd be able to tell the story in an entertaining way. It wasn't quite as captivating as The Professor but held my attention enough considering its heft.

[Warning: Politics ahead]

I must say though, he lost me at the climate tirade. I felt like he had to tiptoe around the politics so incessantly and obviously that I don't even think it was worth including. While he agrees that climate change is occurring, he is one of these people who kindofsortof leaves it open as to whether mankind has any sort of significant hand in it. He uses phrases like, "many well respected scientists" and "a good deal of climatologists" (and throws in "so-called" quite a bit), which just doesn't do it for me. I took a peek at the bibliography and from what I could tell the books that have anything to do with climate are written by skeptics. He seems to be of the attitude that it's pure hubris to think that we lowly humans could have that much of an effect on so great and mighty a thing as the Atlantic. He concedes that climate seems to be changing, but buffers it with claims that we really don't have enough recorded history to REALLY know. Oh, and then there's the part where he blames the effects of natural disasters such as Katrina on people living too close to the ocean. I just think that climate change is such a hot button political topic that you can't just dip your toe in and provide *some* opinion and *some* fact. I understand that with most hot topics, the best thing to do is take a moderate stance, but he seemed to do it in a cowardly anecdotal way, rather than stating the facts and leaving it at that. Not to mention, this isn't a situation where we can just sit around and "wait and see." I think it's fine to mention the probably trajectory of the Atlantic from a geologic standpoint, but I think it's best to leave the science to the scientists.
(less)

like · see review

Sep 22, 2011 Virginia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, audiobook, nonfiction, 2011books

This is absolutely NOT a definitive work on the Atlantic, which I think should have been clarified in the title, because it makes it sound as though it is. This is sort of a scattershot overview of the general history of the Atlantic from a European perspective. It seems like it was written by assembling facts about the Atlantic onto post it notes or index cards, and then sorting these into vaguely connected groups. I think the subject was entirely too large to tackle in such a short book. Each...more This is absolutely NOT a definitive work on the Atlantic, which I think should have been clarified in the title, because it makes it sound as though it is. This is sort of a scattershot overview of the general history of the Atlantic from a European perspective. It seems like it was written by assembling facts about the Atlantic onto post it notes or index cards, and then sorting these into vaguely connected groups. I think the subject was entirely too large to tackle in such a short book. Each one of the facts mentioned has had volumes written about it, and to sum each thing up into a sentence or two, or even a paragraph, didn’t really do justice to anything.

However, I listened to this as an audiobook, and that kind of format worked well for keeping me interested & awake while driving. Most of the facts & anecdotes, aside from the author’s own personal experiences, were things I already knew. The author’s personal story was used as one of the narrative threads that held this book together, along with a parallel loosely drawn to Shakespeare. I think if the author DIDN’T inject his own observations and experiences into this, it would have had nothing at all making it unique or having any semblance of cohesion.

I found it a little odd that while the topic was The Atlantic Ocean, most of the discussion revolved around humankind’s activities on the SHORES of the Atlantic, or men mucking about in boats. A relatively small number of pages were dedicated to the actual biological, technological, or geophysical goings on IN the Atlantic.

This was also heavily weighted with a European perspective of the Atlantic – South America, North America, and Africa, which all border the Atlantic just as much as (if not moreso than) Europe does, were only mentioned or brought up when they had something to do with European goings on in the Atlantic. It felt unbalanced, but made more sense considering the author’s background.

In reading this, I found myself really wishing that the author would have picked three or four topics and really looked in-depth into THOSE, instead of not really writing about much for more than a page or two.

I am also a little shocked that I agree with Karl Rove on his review of this book.(less)

like · see review

Nov 24, 2010 Jenny Brown rated it 1 of 5 stars

Contains huge chunks of information taken from other recent books without attribution, for example the story of the castaways whose fate is echoed in Shakespeare's Tempest laid out in the book, The Brave Vessel, by Hobson Woodward. It struck me as one of those books that would never have been published had the author not been a bestseller. The research is so sloppy that I noticed quite a few errors. Franklin would not "go on to" discover the lightning rod after his voyage in the mid 1780s, for e...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 09, 2012 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Simon Winchester does a masterful job of combining geology, history, economics, politics, and personal anecdotes in this book. My only caveat/issue with the book is the occasional typographical error. I'm not sure whether this is more the fault of the author, the editor, or some "lowly" copy-editor, but when I'm reading a New York Times Bestseller, by an author who's also written "Krakatoa" -- among many others -- I expect the text to be free of errors. Especially in the paperback version, which...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 94 95 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (13)

More editions...

Genres

History

158 users

Non Fiction

107 users

Science

34 users

Travel

15 users

Environment > Nature

14 users

Environment

7 users

Science > Geography

6 users

Science > Natural History

5 users

History > World History

5 users

History > American History

5 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Simon Winchester

Simon Winchester, OBE, is a British writer, journalist and broadcaster who resides in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. As an author, Simon Winchester has written or contributed to over a dozen nonfiction books and authored one novel and his articles appear in several travel publi...more Simon Winchester, OBE, is a British writer, journalist and broadcaster who resides in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. As an author, Simon Winchester has written or contributed to over a dozen nonfiction books and authored one novel and his articles appear in several travel publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic.

In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.

After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.

Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.

Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998) published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and the rights to a film version were optioned by Mel Gibson; likely to be directed by John Boorman.

Though he still writes travel books, Winchester has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World focused on geologist William Smith and was his second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earth quake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham who helped to expose China to the western world. Simon Winchester's latest book The Alice Behind Wonderland was released March 11, 2011.[22](less)

More about Simon Winchester...

Books by Simon Winchester

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Atlantic: Great S...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
avg rating	preview: Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories Goodreads rating: 3.58 (1174 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7001285-atlantic?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1287450329l/7001285.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7001285-atlantic?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Simon Winchester[/url]

Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms & a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website