Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester
Maintain your method to be right here and read this web page finished. You can enjoy browsing the book Pacific: Silicon Chips And Surfboards, Coral Reefs And Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, And The Coming Collision Of The World's Superpowers, By Simon Winchester that you actually describe get. Here, obtaining the soft file of guide Pacific: Silicon Chips And Surfboards, Coral Reefs And Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, And The Coming Collision Of The World's Superpowers, By Simon Winchester can be done conveniently by downloading and install in the web link web page that we provide below. Naturally, the Pacific: Silicon Chips And Surfboards, Coral Reefs And Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, And The Coming Collision Of The World's Superpowers, By Simon Winchester will be yours earlier. It's no should await the book Pacific: Silicon Chips And Surfboards, Coral Reefs And Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, And The Coming Collision Of The World's Superpowers, By Simon Winchester to get some days later on after buying. It's no have to go outside under the heats up at mid day to visit guide store.
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester
Free Ebook Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester
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.
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester- Amazon Sales Rank: #34585 in Books
- Published on: 2015-10-27
- Released on: 2015-10-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x 1.53" w x 6.00" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 512 pages
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)“A series of high-resolution literary snapshots. ... As we’ve come to expect from Winchester, there are plenty of delights. ... Winchester’s passionate research... undergirds this superb analysis of a world wonder.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred 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)“Winchester’s vigorous prose and tireless dragnetting of interesting lore make this an entertaining read.” (Publishers Weekly)ONE OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL’S “BEST BIOGRAPHIES OF 2015” (No Source)ONE OF KIRKUS REVIEWS’ “BEST BOOKS OF 2015” (No Source)
From the Back Cover
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.
About the Author
Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts.
Where to Download Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester
Most helpful customer reviews
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful. This book is in its way superb. Not all readers will agree with me given some of the content. But, Bravo, Simon Winchester! By lyndonbrecht Let me start by saying that this is Winchester's best book. As in all his books (at least the four I have read) this means a story well told, thoroughly researched and informed by extensive personal experience traveling in the places he writes about. Now, I need to add that some, perhaps many readers, will be puzzled by the structure of the book and by its tone. His chapter on American treatment of Pacific islanders is one that should shame Americans, but may rile some readers because of its rather anti-American policy tone (but not fundamentally anti-American; do remember he is British). The book also powerfully evokes change, in particular what academics might term a loss of hegemony--the French loss of Indochina, the British retreat from Asia, the rise of Chinese power sufficient to challenge the United States. The book is also hopeful of the growth of respect and understanding (the last few pages articulates this sense, using the story of the Hawai'ian ocean-going canoe Hokole'a. The book is somewhat chronologic, but the intent is to give a sense of complexity and interconnection, because a literal history would be at minimum several volumes.Winchester covers history rather well in a backstory sense, but the book starts with January 1, 1950. This is the defined date for the "present," in the sense that a date of say 3,000 BP now means 3,000 years before 1950. The chapters start with short historical or human stories and segue into larger topics. For example, Chapter 10 starts with the eruption of Mt Pinutubo in the Philippines, destroying two major US bases, then segues into another volcano, growing Chinese economic and military strength, including the extremely effective Chinese strategies now unfolding in the seas adjacent to and extending from China's coast. This chapter, by the way, should be required reading for anyone interested in China's military.His introduction is, I think, superb. Read it and perhaps that will decide you to either read or not read the rest. Chapter 1 concerns the atomic and nuclear era, in particular nuclear testing. This is the section that discusses some quite shameful American treatment of islanders, a shame continuing into the present. It will probably anger some readers. Chapter 2 is more benign, describing the rise of Sony and its famed transistor radio. Chapter 3 may interest readers with little interest in the rest of this book, because it describes the rise of surfing into an international sport.Chapter 4 tells the story of an American officer who used a grease pencil on a map to suggest the 35th parallel as the border of influence between Soviet and American occupations of Korea. This has some wonderful (and quite strongly biased against North Korea) writing about the Koreas and is one of the best chapters. Chapter 5 starts with the burning of the liner Queen Elizabeth in Hong Kong, well past her glory days, and segues into the recession, so to speak, of Hong Kong to China. This has some interesting discussion of European recession from Asia as well, the French and British, especially. Chapter 6 starts with the 1974 typhoon that destroyed Darwin (in Australia) and segues into weather patterns; I really liked this chapter, but readers who do not credit global climate change will be very upset at Winchester's assumptions. It fits with the rest of the book in the sense the Pacific is an ocean but is also connective tissue, connecting the Eastern nations (on the ocean's western rim!) and the Western nations (on its eastern rim!)--we're all in this climate change thing together, this chapter says.Chapter 7 is largely Australia, and I suspect that many US readers will yawn as they read this section, which is too bad. Chapter 8 looks at the submersible Alvin and the discoveries of what have come to be called black smokers and white smokers, hot deep ocean vents. Something that will surprise many readers--it did surprise me--is that these vents offer a wealth of minerals that will soon be mined, the technology is being developed now, and the ecologic and environmental effects may be huge. But who are we Americans, considering all we have done, to tell Asian nations to cool it on this, asks Winchester. This chapter is a bit pessimistic in tone with the sense that the resource is rich and will be exploited because it will make people, some people, rich.Chapter 9 is more strongly environmental, discussing coral bleaching and other problems--reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef, may be gone in this century. But he also has some encouraging counters that give the chapter a sense of, a small sense of, a positive future. The 10th chapter is as noted above mostly about the rising Chinese power.
27 of 31 people found the following review helpful. Pacific: A far vaster ocean than the Atlantic presented in a less coherent book By Merrily Baird Simon Winchester's "Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers" signals via its title that this companion book is radically different from the same author's book on the Atlantic Ocean. That earlier study, published in 2010, opened hundreds of million years ago with the formation of the world's oceans and continents, the first movement of ancient man down to life by the seashore, and the early navigation of blue waters. In contrast, as Winchester explains in an author's note, the start line for "Pacific" is 1 January 1950, the dawn of the thermonuclear age and the first of ten events chosen for the subject matter of the book's ten chapters.As is typical in Winchester's books, "Pacific" benefits from fine, and occasionally even poetic, prose. Its organization, however, is more than a bit puzzling, for creating a list of ten events provides no guarantee of thematic relevance. In this case, the book moves back and forth from a concentration on the ocean itself and countries that sometimes just happen to be located in the Pacific basin. In "Atlantic," Winchester's organizing theme was Shakespeare's Seven Ages of Man, which paralleled the book's chronological flow and mankind's progressive mastery of the Atlantic. Less successful is Winchester's use here of the event-driven hook which gives the impression that "Pacific" is a compilation of ten separately conceived and delivered lectures.Chapter 1 addresses the thermonuclear age, but then follow a study of Japan's development of radio technology and the pleasures of a laid-back lifestyle in Hawaii. Chapter 4 returns to a country focus, in this instance the paranoid regime of North Korea. Then it is on to three chapters that look at Hong Kong, long but no-longer a British outpost, storms in southern Pacific climes, and Australia.Chapter 8 deals with deep-sea exploration and the Pacific's volcanoes and plate tectonics, material that plays to Winchester's Oxford University training in geology. Chapter 9 concerns environmental problems, while Chapter 10, the most timely of all in a strategic sense, addresses the dangerous, largely Chinese-driven competition for expanded control of territorial waters. In summing up, my preference would have been to have learned even more about the Pacific as a platform for mineral exploitation and earth science study and as a stage for Law of the Sea issues. Some other readers may instead welcome the greater attention that Winchester pays throughout the book to country studies, and for them "Pacific" as presented may well be a standout achievement.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Good read, but take with a grain of Pacific sea salt By Carl E. Johnson Jr. Simon Winchester is a wonderful writer -- an expert user of the English language. I love to read him just for the writing. Beyond that, not so much. This book is a collection of stories or essays about political, scientific, social and ecological issues that touch the Pacific region. E.g., the development of the transistor radio in Japan by what's now called Sony Corp., America's atomic and hydrogen bomb testing, volcanic eruptions, China's increasing interest in control of the South China Sea, the USS Pueblo affair, surfing, how world weather patterns are driven by the Pacific region, and more. Most of this a well-read person of a certain age will already know about, but pick up some interesting details and have a refresher course. However, it's all very superficial, and I kept asking myself, "Is this really right? There must be more to it." And finally, factual errors. I kept thinking, "I need to check that out." Then on pages 424-425 Winchester places Des Moines, Iowa, USA, on the Mississippi River, which it is not, and both Hannibal, Missouri, and Des Moines south of St. Louis, Missouri, which they are not. I did not have to look that up. Don't publishers (Harper, in this case) use fact checkers any more?
See all 75 customer reviews... Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon WinchesterPacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester PDF
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester iBooks
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester ePub
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester rtf
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester AZW
Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, by Simon Winchester Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar