I came across the Lincoln Paine history The Sea and Civilization in a Niall Ferguson book. Ferguson referred to it as a perfectly realized book, or something like that, which made me think I should pick it up.

I got it, and it sat on my shelves for a long time; it’s daunting as an oversized paperback book of 600 pages of text. Then, I finally decided to give it a go. It is, as the title suggests, a history of civilization through the prism of the sea. I can’t say I read every word, but I read enough of it to get the gist.

It is truly a masterpiece, one of those books where it’s hard to fathom one person possibly knowing enough to write it. If you are interested in the sea, and willing to invest some time (as in, maybe a couple of months), it’s worth checking out.