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

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 modern world affairs, 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, making the Pacific Rim the new center of global power.

Today, the Pacific is ascendant. Its turbulent 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—from military history to environmental science—is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives.

Winchester masterfully connects geology, history, and human experience to tell the definitive story of the ocean that will define our future:

• The Ring of Fire: Discover the raw power of the ocean’s tectonic architecture, from massive earthquakes and volcanoes to the devastating tsunamis that have shaped human history for millennia.
• Geopolitical History: Witness the rise and fall of empires, the dawn of the nuclear age at Bikini Atoll, and the ascent of China as a new world power on the shores of the Pacific.
• Human Exploration: Follow Winchester’s own journey from the Bering Strait to Cape Horn as he traces the path of Magellan, the voyages of ancient Polynesian navigators, and the relentless human drive to conquer the world’s largest ocean.
• Culture and Technology: Explore the forces defining our modern world, from the birth of the transistor radio and the rise of surfing culture to the challenges of environmental change on a vast and fragile sea.