"A maritime history of the world"-- A retelling of world history through the lens of maritime enterprise, revealing in depth how people first came into contact with one another by ocean and river, lake and stream, and how goods, languages, religions, and entire cultures spread across and along the world's waterways, bringing together civilizations and defining what makes us most human. Above all, Paine makes clear how the rise and fall of civilizations can be linked to the sea.