Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators and Fading Empires - Softcover

9780062315427: Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators and Fading Empires
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One of Library Journal's 10 Best Books of 2015

Following his acclaimed Atlantic and The Men Who United the States, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature.

As the Mediterranean shaped the classical world, and the Atlantic connected Europe to the New World, the Pacific Ocean defines our tomorrow. With China on the rise, so, too, are the American cities of the West coast, including Seattle, San Francisco, and the long cluster of towns down the Silicon Valley.

Today, the Pacific is ascendant. Its geological history has long transformed us--tremendous earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis--but its human history, from a Western perspective, is quite young, beginning with Magellan's sixteenth-century circumnavigation. It is a natural wonder whose most fascinating history is currently being made.

In telling the story of the Pacific, Simon Winchester takes us from the Bering Strait to Cape Horn, the Yangtze River to the Panama Canal, and to the many small islands and archipelagos that lie in between. He observes the fall of a dictator in Manila, visits aboriginals in northern Queensland, and is jailed in Tierra del Fuego, the land at the end of the world. His journey encompasses a trip down the Alaska Highway, a stop at the isolated Pitcairn Islands, a trek across South Korea and a glimpse of its mysterious northern neighbor.

Winchester's personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives.

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Review:
"Revealing... delightful... fascinating... highly recommended."--Janet Napolitano, San Francisco Chronicle

"Winchester does a virtuoso job. ... A giant Aladdin's rug, which he then gamely invites his readers to climb aboard."--New York Times

"Fascinating, provocative, and at times, mildly terrifying. ... The hallmarks of Winchester's best work -- a fertile, curious mind, impeccable research and command of complex material -- are on full display here."--Miami Herald

"Winchester has a smooth and easy prose style, one that is trustable and clear. ... He excels at guiding the reader with a contagious sense of wonder."--Boston Globe

"[Winchester is] a terrific raconteur with a knack for making connections that might have eluded you between events behind the headlines. ... Where Pacific opts to go, it goes with savvy and verve."--Seattle Times

"Winchester writes books like someone telling a good yarn around the fireplace... by interweaving history, fascinating trivia, and acute observation."--New York Times Book Review

"Winchester is a terrific helmsman, both confident and smooth."--Telegraph (UK)

"Winchester has prodigious gifts as a popular historian and an explainer of faraway events."--Los Angeles Times

"Provocative... and lively."--Wall Street Journal

"Popular history at its finest."--Library Journal
From the Back Cover:

Winchester recounts the atomic tests on the atoll of Bikini. He takes us to the launch of "Gidget" and her surfboards that would forever change how the world's youth views a rising wave. He also tells the story of the little transistor radio and how it sparked the digital revolution, from Japan to Silicon Valley, altering the ocean's destiny. Winchester includes tales of alarming discoveries on the Great Barrier Reef and grand expeditions to mysterious vents on the ocean's floor. He examines the geopolitical shifts that shaped the ocean's vast land areas, from the rise of North Korea's rogue state to the environmental degradation and climate shifts that now threaten this majestic body of water.

Pacific calls upon Winchester's many journeys throughout the Pacific and its surrounding areas, his formidable historical understanding, and his singular talent for storytelling in a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty and myth.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherHarper Perennial
  • Publication date2016
  • ISBN 10 0062315420
  • ISBN 13 9780062315427
  • BindingPaperback
  • Number of pages512
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780062315410: Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers

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ISBN 10:  0062315412 ISBN 13:  9780062315410
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2015
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  • 9780062421630: Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers

    Harper..., 2015
    Softcover

  • 9780062446879: Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers - Autographed Signed Copy

    Harper, 2015
    Hardcover

  • 9780062440730: PACIFIC Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming of the World's Superpowers.

    Harper, 2015
    Hardcover

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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. One of Library Journal's 10 Best Books of 2015Following his acclaimed Atlantic and The Men Who United the States, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature.As the Mediterranean shaped the classical world, and the Atlantic connected Europe to the New World, the Pacific Ocean defines our tomorrow. With China on the rise, so, too, are the American cities of the West coast, including Seattle, San Francisco, and the long cluster of towns down the Silicon Valley.Today, the Pacific is ascendant. Its geological history has long transformed us--tremendous earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis--but its human history, from a Western perspective, is quite young, beginning with Magellan's sixteenth-century circumnavigation. It is a natural wonder whose most fascinating history is currently being made.In telling the story of the Pacific, Simon Winchester takes us from the Bering Strait to Cape Horn, the Yangtze River to the Panama Canal, and to the many small islands and archipelagos that lie in between. He observes the fall of a dictator in Manila, visits aboriginals in northern Queensland, and is jailed in Tierra del Fuego, the land at the end of the world. His journey encompasses a trip down the Alaska Highway, a stop at the isolated Pitcairn Islands, a trek across South Korea and a glimpse of its mysterious northern neighbor.Winchester's personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780062315427

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