Vast Expanses presents a cultural, environmental, and geopolitical history of humanity’s relationship with our oceans, one that spans geological eras, evolutionary history, and every corner of human culture. It follows our enduring ties to the sea from earliest times, showing how industrialisation and globalisation deepened and expanded those links—undermining the long-held Western view of the ocean as a distant realm untouched by our actions.
The book makes the case that our understanding of the sea—gained through labour and leisure, scientific discovery, and the aspirations we have held for it—has always shaped how we relate to this immense, unmarked, and mysterious space. Ultimately, the story of the oceans is our own story: what we have taken from them, what we have dreamed for them, and what we must now learn to safeguard.
Size: 198 x 129 (paperback)
Pages: 272 (65 illustrations)
Publisher: Reaktion Books