Atlantic: a Biography of the Ocean will be published by HarperCollins, London, October 11th, and by HarperCollins, New York, November 2nd.
The book was delivered to the publisher on January 14. Now comes the long process of editing, designing, the choosing of illustrations and maps and the design of the jacket - all of which I will endeavor to tell you about as the weeks ago by .
Here are some Audio Postcards sent to PRI's The World
Simon Winchester's Atlantic World
Seal colony on Namibia's Skeleton Coast
April 6th, 2009Simon Winchester's latest postcard reached us from a perilous stretch of coastline in southern Africa. Cold offshore ocean currents produce dense fog, and a harsh and steady wind drives the surf. That makes going ashore here next to impossible Over the centuries, more than a thousand ships have tried, only to end up smashed on the rocks.
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South Georgia mountains
March 12th, 2009In March Simon Winchester sent an audio postcard from the Sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, where he follows in the footsteps of explorer Ernest Shackleton in 1916. Shackleton's ship, The Endurance, had sunk, and with two of his crew, Shackleton rowed and sailed for three weeks in a small open boat, and then walked across the glaciers to the whaling station on South Georgia. His first sight of the station, when he knew that at last he and his men would be safe, was a momentous occasion, and Simon Winchester tells us more from the very spot where Shackleton first saw the station:
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March 5th, 2009Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Simon Winchester about the Falkland Islands. Winchester visited the British territory 27 years after the United Kingdom and Argentina fought a war over these islands in the South Atlantic. He reflects on the what life is like on this remote Atlantic outpost then (1982) and now.
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March 2nd, 2009
This time Winchester sends us an audio postcard from an island that inspired Shakespeare.Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
February 2nd, 2009The Purple Islands (or Iles Purpuraires) played a big role in the history of the Atlantic Ocean dating back as far as the ancient Phoenician civilization. Simon Winchester explains all in an audio postcard that's postmarked the Purple Islands:
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