"David Abulafia's new book guides readers along the world's greatest bodies of water to reveal their primary role in human history. The main protagonists are the three major oceans-the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian-which together comprise the majority of the earth's water and cover over half of its surface. Over time, as passage through them gradually extended and expanded, linking first islands and then continents, maritime networks developed,...

Some five centuries ago, a major revolution overturned traditional ship designs. In just a few years, ships were transformed from small coastal-bound transports into massive ocean-going vessels capable of long-distance exploration. These designs were crucial to launching Europe's age of imperial expansion and colonial exploitation, toppling the indigenous civilizations of the New World and spreading pandemics.