Coastlines - by Ben Wilson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Wilson is an erudite, creative guide to the history of civilization"--TIME Magazine

From the award-winning and bestselling author of Metropolis, an inspiring narrative tracing the significance of the coastline in our planet's history that asks: What if the story of civilization wasn't written on land, but where land meets sea?

"Coastlines have held us in the grip for millennia," writes Ben Wilson at the start of his globe-spanning ode to the narrow strip separating land and sea. "Yet only now are we beginning to understand how deeply they have shaped human life."

Though we identify as a land-based species, we have always adapted to the ocean's energies and resources, respecting its risks while harvesting its rewards. Wilson argues that the coast is not only the source of life on our planet, but was the birthplace of civilization itself, from ancient fishing societies and lawless port cities to contemporary fragile wetlands and eroding beaches. Indeed, humanity's future largely depends on our ability to protect this vital realm.

Coastlines takes readers through history and around the world, introducing prehistoric cave dwellers in South Africa responsible for the earliest known artistic expression; imperial societies shaped by whoever mastered the coast and controlled the movement of goods and people; mangrove ecosystems that sequester carbon many times faster per acre than rainforests; and the Tlingit nations of the Pacific Northwest, whose annual herring roe celebration underscores our essential relationship to the restless shore. Ben Wilson weaves history, anthropology, and geology into an epic narrative that recenters the coast as the world's most under-explored engine of migration, exchange, empire, and innovation. With engrossing detail, he challenges us to understand and preserve this most essential part of our natural world.

Review Quotes

Praise for Ben Wilson:

"Metropolis is a bold undertaking that makes for gripping reading."--The New York Times Book Review

"[Urban Jungle] soars like a falcon over global cities on five continents while leading the reader through centuries of history . . . Full of statistics and eye-catching examples."--The Washington Post

"A towering achievement . . . Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time--dazzling."--The Wall Street Journal on Metropolis

"The scholarship is certainly impressive but the drama is what delights. Wilson's knack for detail is what brings this history alive . . . Heyday is a lot like its subject; it's a big-bearded book of enormous scope and unstoppable momentum."--The Times (UK)

"Illuminating . . . Wilson leaves readers with hope about the future of efforts to preserve the ecosystems that surround us, as well as a new perspective that looks beyond the concrete and asphalt when walking along a city's streets."--The Associated Press on Urban Jungle

"Capacious, entertaining and rich in wondrous detail."--Internationally bestselling historian Tom Holland on Metropolis

"A rip-roaring style to match his subject . . . Wilson's grasp of the interplay between politics, economics and individuals is admirable. This is narrative history of the highest quality."--The Daily Telegraph (UK) on Heyday

About the Author