Duke University Press The Ocean Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The World Readers)

From prehistoric times to the present, the Ocean has been used as a highway for trade, a source of food and resources, and a space for recreation and military conquest, as well as an inspiration for religion, culture, and the arts. The Ocean Reader charts humans' relationship to the Ocean, which has often been seen as a changeless space without a history. It collects familiar, forgotten, and previously unpublished texts from all corners of the world. Spanning antiquity to the present, the volume's selections cover myriad topics including the slave trade, explorers from China and the Middle East, shipwrecks and castaways, Caribbean and Somali pirates, battles and U-boats, narratives of the Ocean's origins, and the devastating effects of climate change. Containing gems of maritime writing ranging from myth, memoir, poetry, and scientific research to journalism, song lyrics, and scholarly writing, The Ocean Reader is the essential guide for all those wanting to understand the complex and long history of the Ocean that covers over 70 percent of the planet. Review "A timely addition to a growing body of literature that seeks to historicize the world's oceans occupying an expanding 70 per cent of the Earth's surface.... Especially for individuals tasked with the difficult assignment of putting together a course on the oceans, possibly even through the ever-increasing virtual format, Roorda's reader offers an outstanding starting point."--Rainer F. Buschmann "Journal of Pacific History" (10/6/2020 12:00:00 AM) "The short extracts from a wide range of larger works in The Ocean Reader at times have the rapid-fire feeing of an overstuffed lecture--but it is the best kind of lecture, the sort that has its audience madly scribbling down bibliographical details to follow up on later.... It would make an excellent backbone text for an introductory classroom or a stimulating reference for researchers looking to expand their view of the Ocean."--Steve Mentz "Journal of Historical Geography" (1/1/2021 12:00:00 AM) "A rich and valuable addition to anthologies of maritime writings.... A wonderful supplement for a global or maritime history course or an interdisciplinary course that explores the Ocean on its own terms."--Dr. Patricia B. Bixel "World History Connected" (2/1/2021 12:00:00 AM) "It's easy to pay lip service to the Ocean's vastness and its essential importance in human history. And yet, as Eric Paul Roorda notes, we still hold on to the conceit that only life on land really matters. This fabulous anthology--as deep as the Ocean itself--is a stunning compendium of materials that, for the landlubbers among us, opens up remarkably new understandings."--Orin Starn, Professor of Cultural Anthropology and History, Duke University "Comprising 71 percent of the planet, the oceans are undoubtedly multifaceted, as this rich collection demonstrates, further exploring how humans have interacted and changed this vast watery realm over time. Recommended. All readership levels."--JB. Richardson III "Choice" (7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM) "Eric Paul Roorda's selections for The Ocean Reader constitute an essential introduction to the wealth of writing--factual, fictional, and meditative; historical, experiential, and environmental--generated by people around the world throughout the course of recorded history. This volume is an essential companion for anyone interested in the story of our collective engagement with the world Ocean that touches us all."--Lincoln Paine, author of "The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World" "The very breadth of the selections and some of the breeziness of some of the writing keeps things on an even keel. Extra credit for including a geek's delight that combines the absurd with a hint of the ominous: The story of how rubber duckies flung overboard in a storm proceeded to become pioneering conquerors of the Northwest Passage. The once-mythical trade route that swallowed up entire exp