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Pacific
- Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
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Pacific
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Atlantic
- Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and continues profoundly to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Spanning the ocean's story, from its geological origins to the age of exploration, from World War II battles to today's struggles with pollution and overfishing, Winchester's narrative is epic, intimate, and awe inspiring.
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
The Perfectionists
- How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
The New York Times best-selling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement - precision - in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Listen of my Audible career to date
- By Ed Chinaski on 2021-01-19
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
Krakatoa
- The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa - the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster - was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly 40,000 people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A compelling story, well narrated
- By G A Strong on 2023-02-25
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
Land
- How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 7
Land - whether meadow or mountainside, desert or peat bog, parkland or pasture, suburb or city - is central to our existence. It quite literally underlies and underpins everything. Employing the keen intellect, insatiable curiosity, and narrative verve that are the foundations of his previous bestselling works, Simon Winchester examines what we human beings are doing - and have done - with the billions of acres that together make up the solid surface of our planet.
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
The Map That Changed the World
- William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
In 1793 William Smith, a canal digger, made a startling discovery that was to turn the fledgling science of the history of the earth - and a central plank of established Christian religion - on its head. He noticed that the rocks he was excavating were arranged in layers; more important, he could see quite clearly that the fossils found in one layer were very different from those found in another. And out of that realization came an epiphany.
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
The Professor and the Madman
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Part history, part true-crime, and entirely entertaining, listen to the story of how the behemoth Oxford English Dictionary was made. You'll hang on every word as you discover that the dictionary's greatest contributor was also an insane murderer working from the confines of an asylum.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Proper Heavy
- By Mentally Guitarded on 2020-04-23
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
Atlantic
- Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
Atlantic is a biography of a tremendous space that has been central to the ambitions of explorers, scientists, and warriors, and continues profoundly to affect our character, attitudes, and dreams. Spanning the ocean's story, from its geological origins to the age of exploration, from World War II battles to today's struggles with pollution and overfishing, Winchester's narrative is epic, intimate, and awe inspiring.
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
The Perfectionists
- How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
The New York Times best-selling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement - precision - in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Listen of my Audible career to date
- By Ed Chinaski on 2021-01-19
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
Krakatoa
- The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 6
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa - the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster - was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly 40,000 people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A compelling story, well narrated
- By G A Strong on 2023-02-25
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
Land
- How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 7
Land - whether meadow or mountainside, desert or peat bog, parkland or pasture, suburb or city - is central to our existence. It quite literally underlies and underpins everything. Employing the keen intellect, insatiable curiosity, and narrative verve that are the foundations of his previous bestselling works, Simon Winchester examines what we human beings are doing - and have done - with the billions of acres that together make up the solid surface of our planet.
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
The Map That Changed the World
- William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 7
In 1793 William Smith, a canal digger, made a startling discovery that was to turn the fledgling science of the history of the earth - and a central plank of established Christian religion - on its head. He noticed that the rocks he was excavating were arranged in layers; more important, he could see quite clearly that the fossils found in one layer were very different from those found in another. And out of that realization came an epiphany.
Written by: Simon Winchester
-
The Professor and the Madman
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
Part history, part true-crime, and entirely entertaining, listen to the story of how the behemoth Oxford English Dictionary was made. You'll hang on every word as you discover that the dictionary's greatest contributor was also an insane murderer working from the confines of an asylum.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Proper Heavy
- By Mentally Guitarded on 2020-04-23
Written by: Simon Winchester
Publisher's Summary
Following his acclaimed Atlantic and The Men Who United the States, New York Times best-selling 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 16th-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, from 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.
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What listeners say about Pacific
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gerry
- 2023-01-27
Enjoyable
My third Simon Winchester audible book and each one enjoyable . Preparing to move onto my next one . Thank you Audible for having him as an author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-03-20
A fascinating history of the pacific
Not what I was expecting when I began listening to the book, but I was impressed by the engaging telling of the history of the people, places, geology, flora and fauna that make up this incredible ocean and the people who call this part of the world home.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Konrad J. Komuniecki
- 2020-12-16
How exciting could a book about an ocean be?
Well, Simon Winchester never fails. It's fantastic and interesting in my opinion. Expertly written in beautiful language and performed by the author. It made for a lot of fact swapping at the dinner table. Can't wait to listen to Atlantic next!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mark Patterson
- 2015-12-25
Political Asides Have Become Bombastic Didactic
I've listened to nearly every Simon Winchester recording available. I saw this newest title and jumped on it with eager anticipation. I didn't get far into my expected enjoyment of Winchester's smooth delivery when he began assailing me with his politics. In the past, I rather enjoyed the occasional upper-class sniffling disdain for the business of earning a living or providing security in a difficult world, relishing instead the personal context they provided his wide-ranging observations. But this time, Winchester's politics take front and center stage, and his tone verges on hortatory-- or at least self-righteously condemnatory. I couldn't finish.
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 2016-01-01
Ponderous hard to keep attention
Would you try another book from Simon Winchester and/or Simon Winchester?
I have liked many of Simon Winchester books, Atlantic, The Crack in the Edge of the Earth, Krakatoa. This is not as good.
Would you ever listen to anything by Simon Winchester again?
Yes
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
A bunch of disjointed stories that droned on and on....
What character would you cut from Pacific?
Kill the part about Sony and Surfing, and that boat that's trying to sail around the world.
Any additional comments?
Hope Simon's next book is more up to the pervious books' standards
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- William L. Cantor, MD
- 2015-12-17
Winchester books are a must read/listen
What did you love best about Pacific?
Incredible amount of important information made enjoyably digestible and read as only the author can. Serious but with wit.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Pacific?
The epilog describes the navigating skills of a Polynesian man who enables a team from Hawaii to go to Tahiti without any instruments, simply by "reading" the ocean. History, geology, politics --everyone from Sandra Dee to Douglas McArthur.
Which scene was your favorite?
I couldn't chose, I liked them all.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
NO! The true pleasure of a Simon Winchester book is to listen to 15-30 minutes and then talk about what you have learned
Any additional comments?
I have listened to all of his books and I am constantly astonished by his knowledge and ability to interweave tectonic plates and weather and history and religion into a coherent and memorable narrative. I look forward to his next book.
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Ronald E. Weiss
- 2016-11-18
A Disappointment
What did you like best about Pacific? What did you like least?
The more technical discussions-re: the deep depth exploration, navigation and such
Would you ever listen to anything by Simon Winchester again?
Yes: His Krakatoa and Atlantic were respectively a 10 and and 8. I look forward to more books with historical emphasis.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Its Simon and he speaks the kings English well.
Do you think Pacific needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
This book contained too much proselytizing. His views on immigration are appalling.he thinks Australia is populated with white drunks and lastly he proposes the USA abandon the West Pacific to the Chinese - forgetting our treaty obligations to Korea, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines. Typical far-left clap trap. But he is a left wing British Labor weenie and his tilt understandable.
Any additional comments?
What more can one say? Perhaps the book might have been better served without his far left opinions. I was hoping to get into the populating of the islands, the Cook discoveries, and the 1700-1800 commercialization. We would have been better served with more history and less opinion.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- JoAnn
- 2015-11-04
Another good Simon Winchester book
Another thoroughly researched and well written book by Mr Winchester. If you've enjoyed previous books, this one won't disappoint
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Peter MacLeod
- 2016-01-03
Topics that involve the Pacific Ocean and us.
Would you listen to Pacific again? Why?
Yes, selectively to review a particular topic.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Non fiction accounts of topics and issues that involve the inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean realm, meaning in a way, all of us.
Have you listened to any of Simon Winchester’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
This fits into all of his books with deep research, interesting anecdotes and solid performance.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, too many topics, better to give a chapter its full time then take a break and think about what you have just heard.
Any additional comments?
As current as it can be and since i heard the book, there has been a reminder in the news almost every day.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andy
- 2015-11-22
i would have given it 7 stars
Another great book by Simon Winchester. The combination of his British accent, the many new things I learned, and the breadth of the story, make for a terrific listen.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 2016-07-11
Wincester is a treasure
I've loved all his work since The Professor and the Madman.
Most non fiction like this reads like a disconnected jumble of quotes pulled from diaries, letters and other works. Simon manages to make a compelling story out of scraps and notes. Pacific could well have been the result of a bar bet between friends - "Simon - I dare you to try to write a book with the central character being the ocean and make it a page turner."
He's also one of my favorite readers and voices.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dorothy
- 2015-11-28
Navigating the biggest ocean
Simon Winchester is a master at finding the eye-opening story, just the right anecdote, the most startling tidbits of history. His book is fascinating; very wide-ranging, and probably the only book I'll ever read that explains how California surfer culture influenced Google. A great listen.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2017-10-10
Unnecessarily fluffed up and disarray execution.
Packed too much and over detailed. Less is more. Too many topics condensed. Unfortunately disappointed.
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2 people found this helpful