*One of The Economist's Best Books of 2024 So Far!*
"An imaginative and engrossing trip through three millennia, and a book that fully lives up to its bold title." -
Wall Street Journal "Vivid...This approach to the past suits the present perfectly."
-The Economist
"Entertaining and knowledgeable... A well-informed and dynamic narrator, Gibbins glides breezily between stories of his scuba dives and quotes from medieval Chinese poetry. History buffs will find this smooth sailing."
-Publishers Weekly
"Enlightening...Gibbins combines historical knowledge with a sense of adventure, making this book a highly enjoyable package." -
Kirkus Reviews "Gibbins' remarkable research will grant both maritime and general historians a deeper perspective on how our world developed." -
Booklist
"A well-informed and dynamic narrator, Gibbins glides breezily between stories of his scuba dives and quotes from medieval Chinese poetry. History buffs will find this smooth sailing." -
Publishers Weekly
"A real-life Indiana Jones takes readers on a dive through these underwater museums, revealing the sunken secrets of the past... Prepare to be flabbergasted by the treasures Gibbins uncovers and by the stories they represent." -
The Times (UK) "Fascinating... [Gibbins] offers wonderful material, well researched and placed in its wider context, illuminating the history of trade and warfare from unaccustomed angles." -
David Abulafia, Spectator
"Captivating." -
Unseen Histories
"Excellent, endlessly interesting...richly detailed, often spellbinding narratives... mesmerizing...beautifully written." -
The Irish Independent "[Gibbins] gives a history of the world in a sea-salted way that has never been done before. A bravura work, insightfully woven, grippingly told and beautifully illustrated." -
Mensun Bound, bestselling author of The Ship Beneath the Ice "This book will be treasured by all who are hooked on the mystique of loss, the romance of discovery and the sense that shipwrecks give of having captured a moment in time."
-Sir Tim Smit, co-founder, the Eden Project "David Gibbins' deep dive into maritime archaeology is masterful and entrancing - this is big history at its best. Absolutely fascinating, beautifully written and impeccably researched." -
Professor Alice Roberts, TV broadcaster and bestselling author of Ancestors
