Books by David Abulafia
The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans
by David Abulafia
***Winner of the 2020 Wolfson History Prize***
The Boundless Sea is a fascinating book which tells the human story through our relation to the oceans—from the early settlement of the Polynesian islands of the Pacific 3,000 years ago to the present day. Extraordinary in its scope and fascinating in its detail, Abulafia ends with a plea for the sea to be protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. According to Paul Lay, editor of History Today, “David Abulafia is a remarkable historian and this is, I think, his masterpiece."
Editor's note: due to its size, it may be worth getting The Boundless Sea as an ebook, especially if you use an iPad or other tablet, and can still see the book's photos (many of sea-faring vessels) in full-colour.
“It’s sweeping in its coverage across time and space, and he has a magisterial command of the scholarship on the extraordinarily diverse range of regions, periods and events tackled. The sea covers most of the globe, but here we have a history that takes it as a single topic. It’s staggeringly learned but it’s also very readable.What’s impressive about it is that it’s not Eurocentric. It gives equal weight to the whole range of seagoing civilizations. So, for example, famously in the Middle Ages, the Chinese emperor had fleets built that sailed to at least Africa.He tells the fascinating story of these epic voyages, but also cuts it down to size. Legends have inflated the size of these fleets to quite unbelievable levels, and Abulafia takes a more realistic view without in any way diminishing their achievement.Global history has made great strides in the last 15 years or so, and The Boundless Sea is a very good example of how history on a global scale is being written in Britain at the moment.” Read more...
The Best History Books: the 2020 Wolfson Prize shortlist
Richard Evans, Historian
The Mediterranean in History
by David Abulafia
The book is not just about Aragon, but Aragon is a big chunk of it – and it was a big chunk of the Western Mediterranean for 500 years
Interviews where books by David Abulafia were recommended
The best books on Europe’s Vanished States, recommended by Norman Davies
The rise of China means the study of its history is suddenly in vogue. But, says historian Norman Davies, there’s as much to learn, if not more, from looking at states that have disappeared
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1
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
by Hallie Rubenhold -
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The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans
by David Abulafia -
3
Chaucer: A European Life
by Marion Turner -
4
A History of the Bible
by John Barton -
5
A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution
by Toby Green -
6
Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire
by Prashant Kidambi
The Best History Books: the 2020 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Richard Evans
The Best History Books: the 2020 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Richard Evans
If you’re looking for the best history books published this past year, the annual Wolfson History Prize is a great place to start. Each year, the judges pick out outstanding books that are both originally researched and readable. Historian and Wolfson judge Richard Evans talks us through the six history books that made the 2020 shortlist.
The Best History Books of 2019, recommended by Paul Lay
From the most brutal siege of World War I to the renewed significance of an ideology many of us had dismissed as defunct, 2019 was a good year for traditional history books on big themes. Paul Lay, editor of History Today, talks us through his picks of the best history books of the year.
