Simon Winchester

A wonderful journey through time, along the waves of our planet's most significant ocean, in an irresistible blend of gripping history, fascinating science and exhilarating reportage.

On 27 August 1883 a terrific volcanic eruption destroyed the island of Krakatoa and killed about 40,000 people. The physical impact was truly global with after effects even being experienced in London. Socially and politically too, there were world wide after effects, all dramatically discussed in this book.

William Smith had a passion for rocks and fossils and single-handedly mapped the geology of Great Britain, making him one of the most significant men of the nineteenth century. His map fundamentally changed the way we look at the world but his vision eventually ruined his life.

Travelling the circumference of the gigantic Pacific Ocean and navigating the newly evolving patterns of commerce and trade, Simon Winchester tells the story of the world's largest body of water. With the world's most violent weather and fascinating histories, and problems in matters economic, political and military - this is truly the ocean of the future.

The compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary was a fifty year task needing many volunteers. One of these was a surgeon turned lunatic, imprisoned in Broadmoor Asylum for murder!

In 1906 San Francisco came crashing down beneath the wave of a horrifying earthquake. Simon Winchester's breathtaking story portrays the lives of the people who suffered and survived the devastation. He also tells of the hubris of man as he ignores the warnings of nature and how we try to understand the world around us.