The Book Prize Index

The Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans

David Abulafia

"David Abulafia's new book guides readers along the world's greatest bodies of water to reveal their primary role in human history. The main protagonists are the three major oceans-the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian-which together comprise the majority of the earth's water and cover over half of its surface. Over time, as passage through them gradually extended and expanded, linking first islands and then continents, maritime networks developed, evolving from local exploration to lines of regional communication and commerce and eventually to major arteries. These waterways carried goods, plants, livestock, and of course people-free and enslaved-across vast expanses, transforming and ultimately linking irrevocably the economies and cultures of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas"--

HistoryWorld History · medium confidenceWorld History81 signalsLlm Classifier: World History -> World HistoryOpen Library: History -> HistoryKeyword Classifier: American History -> American HistoryOceans, Rivers & WaterTravel, Exploration & PlaceAfrica & the African DiasporaAsia & the Pacific

Award History

0 wins · 1 total

AwardYearResultCategory / Notes
Wolfson History PrizeMajor2022ShortlistOfficial source
View all award history (1)
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies

This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.

  1. 01 Central figures

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

  2. 02 Central places

    None extracted with sufficient confidence.

    These suggestions did not meet the normal display threshold and are more likely to be wrong.

    • Atlantic55%
    • Pacific55%
    • Indian52%

  3. 03 Suggested argument

    No argument inferred with sufficient confidence.

    This suggestion did not meet the normal display threshold and is more likely to be wrong.

    The Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans drive human history by enabling expanding passage and maritime networks that transported people and goods, transforming and irrevocably linking economies and cultures across continents.

    Model confidence 58%

  4. 04 Reading orientation

    45 / 100 academic

    Trade / academic crossover

    An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.

Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 55%.