Book description
Vast Expanses is a cultural, environmental and geopolitical history that examines the relationship between humans and oceans, reaching back across geological and evolutionary time and exploring different cultures around the globe.
Our ancient connections with the sea have developed and multiplied with industrialization and globalization, a trajectory that runs counter…
Why read it?
1 author picked Vast Expanses as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Helen Rozwadowski draws attention to what should be obvious, the ocean matters not just because of what happens on it, but what happens in it.
In Vast Expanses, Rozwadowski plumbs the depths of the ocean’s history from the geological past to visions for its future to make the point that through trade and fishing, exploration and entertainment the accumulation of knowledge about the seas has defined and redefined the relationship between humans and the ocean.
From reaping natural resources, to expanding state power, and even to rest, respite, and leisure, the connection between society and sea has been a complex…
From Thomas' list on why the history of the ocean matters.
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