Every once in a while, my childhood interest in marine biology merges with my ever-present love of history. Reading the description for David Gibbins’ recent book, A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks easily caught my attention. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (I think I was expecting or hoping more for something focused on specific wrecks that had a more direct impact on world history rather than the other way around, like how the destruction of the USS Maine or the sinking of the Lusitania helped lead the US into war). And though the book meandered a bit, focusing more on wrecks linked to British history, I still thoroughly enjoyed the underlying concept for the book and found the approach to exploring world history to be unique and engaging. Spanning from the earliest prehistory through to World War II, Gibbins’ personal experience diving many of the wrecks he writes about frequently brings details of the archaeological process to the fore and adds an air of a memoir to the book.

Beginning with an early Bronze Age wreck that has revealed to historians a lot about how the earliest voyages back and forth across the English Channel, Gibbins gives what history he can about the discoveries and recovery processes for each wreck. Each wreck’s origin date gets closer and closer to the present, but the history of the archaeological recoveries and analysis varies. For the earlier wrecks that aren’t specified in the historical record, Gibbins uses the recovered artifacts and other, similar recoveries to help tie the wreck to local and global historical context. As the wrecks reach the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there’s greater documentation about the ships, their passengers and crew, their cargoes, and their specific voyages to provide accounts not just of the time period and its trade or the state of international relations, but also of the specifics of how, when, and why the ships foundered and were lost.

The use of “A” instead of “The” at the beginning of the title is clearly deliberate given the twelve wrecks that the book focuses. I might argue it would be even more accurate if the title were A History of the British World in Twelve Shipwrecks given how much Gibbins ties each wreck specifically back to British history. There were no wrecks that were based in or around South America (allusions to the Caribbean are about as close as it got on that front). The majority of the ships had direct ties to Britain whether it was the Romans who occupied parts of Britain, government agents being sent to oversee colonies or the Empire, exploratory expeditions, or ships acting in the interest of the British during times of war. Most of the ships that make up the book even wrecked in waters that were quite close to the British Isles with three in the same specific stretch just off the coast. It’s unclear how much Gibbins focused on these wrecks because of his personal experience diving them but given the level of detail and the descriptions for them, it makes sense why he would. Of course, the personal touch is nice, but also adds another element to the book itself, veering close to memoir.

While those personal touches can be fascinating, they also contribute to the frequent feeling of jumping around, adding further timelines to the story being told when there are already so many. For some of the wrecks there’s the historical context of the ship in its original “present” and the circumstances surrounding its wreck. Then there’s the different attempts made through history, of which, some of the wrecks garnered several. Those sometimes diverge into a history of diving and salvaging itself as Gibbins explains specific techniques attempted (and largely, failed). Then there may be his own personal history diving the wreck or working the most recent recovery efforts related to it. Moving between the different timelines and their various tangents leaves the book feeling a little scattered. Gibbins is thorough and I’m not sure there’s any better way to organize and tackle the different threads he addresses… but it just doesn’t feel like it quite works as a whole. I think it’s simply a case of trying to include too much.

There are numerous cases in history where one little thing could have saved the ship....or sunk the ship. Of course, this is true of anything and everything in history. This novel is somewhat about the 'butterfly effect' but on a scale the size of the seven seas.
I loved it! And read it in bite-sized chunks since each shipwreck was its own story. But having loved that part of it, I really wish the book as a whole was better organized.
Even ten pages in, let alone when finished, gave me a huge appreciation and respect for the labor of love this author undertook to share these disasters.

In his book, A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks, David Gibbons, underwater archeologist, gives a fascination look at history from the 2nd millennium BCE to WWII through the exploration of shipwrecks. He looks at what is known of each ship’s provenance, where it originated, where it had been before it sank, what it is known about its cargo including what has survived, and a bit of the history of the area where the ship was found and little bit about important historical events of the time.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot but, as other reviewers have pointed out it reads in parts much like a text book and could be rather dry in some places. And, like any book, that covers large periods of history, some is bound to resonate more than others based on the reader’s specific interests. Still, for anyone interested in snapshot portraits of various periods of history, underwater archeology, or the evolution of commerce and/or shipbuilding through the ages, it is well worth a read.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review

Sea Bottom Time Capsules

Civilization is driven by commerce and technology. One feeds the other. Historically, much of that commerce has moved by sea. In turn, ships moving cargoes are influenced by their times’ technology. Historian Fernand Braudel called the sea “the greatest document of its past existence.”

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks by David Gibbins shows how, through marine archaeology, the sea allows the world’s history to be read. He uses twelve wrecks as a springboard for looking at the state of the world when the ships sank.

He starts in prehistory examining a 2nd Millennium BC Bronze Age vessel. He finishes 4000 years later, looking at a 20th century steamer torpedoed and sunk during World War II. Along the way he stops at ten different places: Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, Byzantium, Tang China, the Viking Era, King Henry VIII’s England, the Dutch Golden Age, 18th century piracy, and 19th century exploration.

Each chapter uses a period wreck to examine the ship and the times which created it. Every shipwreck is a time capsule, preserving the history of the period it was built. It reveals goods traded, existing inventions, evidence of how people lived and indications of their interests. Diet, living standards, education levels and religious beliefs are preserved in part by the sea, waiting to be uncovered.

This book is also a history of marine archaeology, a discipline which emerged in the last half of the 20th century. Gibbins explains how technologies like the aqualung and remote operating vehicles offered access to previously inaccessible wrecks starting in the 1960s. He describes the growth of underwater archaeology and the increasing sophistication of the technologies used to find and preserve artifacts on the sea bottom.

He also shows how and why wrecks offer special access to history. They sharply define a point in time, and reveal the lives of the individuals involved, from a merchant in Tutankhamun’s time to a survivor of a torpedoed ship in the Atlantic.

For Gibbins, a renowned underwater archaeologist, this is intensely personal story. He participated in many of the expeditions to the wrecks highlighted in this book. He helped make the discoveries and contributed to interpreting results. The twelve wrecks explored are highlights of his career.

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks is at once a history and an adventure tale. It brings the realities of the past to life, while illustrating the excitement resulting from uncovering it.

“A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks,” by David Gibbins, St. Martin’s Press, 2024, 304 pages, $32.00 (Hardcover), $15.99 (E-book), $20.89 (Audiobook) $45.95 (Audio CD)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.

Who is not intrigued at exploring a shipwreck? Come on, there might be treasure! Or at least very cool stuff, right? Well, David Gibbins, an archeologist and diver, strongly believes that the stuff found in a shipwreck reflects the trade history and economic environment at the time the ship went down. In A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks, he provides the reader a chance to explore that history.

The first shipwreck was found in Dover during a excavation below the road. This boat was used to trade across the Channel during the middle of the Bronze age (about 1550 B.C.). The next shipwreck comes from the Mediterranean coast of Turkey from the time of Tutankhamun or Nefertiti based on a gold scarab found in the wreck. Also in the wreck were copper and tin ingots, jars of terebinth resin, glass ingots, various Cypriot dining dishes, and ivory from elephants and hippopotamus. The third wreck was also off of Turkey, but on the Aegean coast and dated to be from the classical age of Greece. The wreck had 196 wine amphoras and associated drinking-ware.

Wreck number four was a cargo ship with olive oil and fish sauce from A.D. 200 during the reign of Septimius Severus off the coast of Sicily right near where the author's grandfather had landed in WWII. Wreck number five was also off the coast of Sicily filled with prefabricated marble elements for a church sent out from Constantinople by Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century A.D. For wreck number six, the reader travels to Indonesia to explore a wreck that could have been featured in the tales of Sinbad the Sailor. The wreck had 57,000 Tang Dynasty Chinese bowls created for export to Abbasid Persia along with other cargo.

Next David Gibbins uses several Norse ships found in scattered locations to talk about the trade, explorations, and conquests made by the Vikings that culminated in the invasion of England in 1066 A.D. Wreck number eight looks at the sinking (1545 A.D.) and recovery of The Mary Rose, King Henry the VIII's flagship. Wreck number nine has Gibbins diving on the Mullion Pin Wreck (1667 - Santo Christo de Castello) off Cornwall and discussing the cargo lost in that wreck which included lost paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn, thousands of brass clothing pins, spices, hides, and other trade goods.

Wreck number ten was The Royal Anne Galley (1721) which sank off Lizards Peninsula in Cornwall while conveying the new governor of Barbados and then off to pursue pirates such as Bartholomew Roberts. Wreck number eleven has Gibbins returning to Canada to dive on the HMS Terror which sank in 1848 as part of the John Franklin expedition disaster. Wreck number 12 covers the story of SS Gairsoppa which was sunk in 1941 by a U-Boat while carrying 17 tons of silver from India to Great Britain.

In each chapter of A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks, David Gibbins provides the reader a chance to experience the thrill of undersea exploration while providing a context for the wreck and its place in world history. So read this title and find out for yourself!

This book needed more paragraphs. The chunks of text were so dense and at times difficult to read. The tangents that the author went off on were also so distracting at times. I wanted to really delve into some of the wrecks that I hadn't read about before, but there were only little bits of actually talking about the ships in between long context passages about the time. I guess I understand how this would be useful for some people, but I really wanted more of the actual shipwrecks.

This work uses 12 shipwrecks that have been studied/explored to examine small portions of their contemporary periods of history. The work starts quite Euro-centric and largely stays that way. I think this is due to the author’s experience as an archaeologist who worked on some of the wrecks, and that the wrecks he included in this book are more within his area of expertise. The non-European wrecks are an Egyptian wreck from the 14th century BC and one dating to the Tang Dynasty in China. The wrecks explored date from the 2nd millennium BC to 1941.

Each shipwreck is discussed, some in more detail than others – the wrecks that the author worked on have more details relating to the actual excavations of the artifacts and to the artifacts. The technology/construction techniques of the ship are discussed and detailed. The wrecks are then situated within the larger context of the area, relating to politics, trade routes, and contemporary technologies. Excerpts from contemporary writings are also included when applicable, and there are a few times when the author was able to find mercantile texts that discuss shipping items similar to those found on these shipwrecks.

If you’re interested in bite-sized histories and shipwrecks, then this one is worth checking out. It’s rather dry and reads a bit like a textbook, so do keep that in mind before jumping in. My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A very thorough account of shipwrecks through time. I do realize this is a history and it is detailed one at that. I just wish the abundance of facts was presented in more of a narrative. I felt overwhelmed at times and if presented in a different way I feel I would have been more engaged.

Gibbins has for a long been fascinated with shipwrecks and his expertise in both archaeology and diving helped him writing this book. The author has personally dived on more than half the wrecks discussed in the book. The other cases, he has drawn on historical records and accounts. “Wrecks offer special access to history at all…levels,” he writes. Several archaeological sites such as a wreck represents a single event in which most of the objects were in use at that time and can often be closely dated. Maritime archaeologist Gibbins writes an entertaining and knowledgeable survey of world history with a seafaring spin that makes reading it very enjoyable.

I'm not a huge history reader, but the shipwrecks drew me in. This was interesting, but ultimately quite dry and not what I was looking for -- I think I was hoping for more drama or excitement because: SHIPWRECKS!? When Gibbins wrote about his personal diving experiences, I was much more engaged than during the straight recounting of historical facts. This is definitely well-researched and well-written, so I'm glad I gave it a whirl even if ultimately it wasn't for me. I think a lot of people who regularly enjoy reading straight-up history books will appreciate this more -- I'm planning to get a copy for my father-in-law (who reads ALL of the thick historical books) because I think he'll be into it.

Not a light beach read. Gibbins gives a detailed history of the period around each wreck as well as an inventory of what was found. There are wonderful description of what each item was intended for, inventory numbers, the trade or fight involved in it's sailing and sinking. It's fascinating but reads like a textbook. A history lovers dream but in order to appreciate the detail involved it takes time & effort.

The story is part autobiography, part human history, part ship building techniques, part naval history. It's a wondrous tome for a history buff but casual readers will not be engaged.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#AHistoryoftheWorldinTwelveShipwrecks #DavidGibbins # St.Martin'sPress #Netgalley #navalhistory #shiphistory #Archaeology

In A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks, David Gibbons takes you through twelve shipwrecks from an archeological standpoint and explains what the discoveries mean for our understanding of history. My personal favorite chapters were on the Golden Age of Greece and the HMS Terror. More than half of the shipwrecks in the book Gibbons has personally excavated or dived on.

Twelve Shipwrecks wasn't my cup of tea. Despite being about shipwrecks, it was a bit too dry for me. It felt more like reading individual academic papers than reading a whole book (which means you could skip chapters if you wanted). It also worked off the assumption that the readers already have a very strong base knowledge about history and terms (this was more apparent in the earlier chapters). Some chapters weren't a problem for me because I had studied the subjects in depth before, but others I struggled with because I didn't know as much. The scholarship was great, but just know this would not be friendly to those with limited historical knowledge and studies since it's dense at times. 

I bumped this up from a two-star to a three-star review because I really did enjoy the whole chapter on the HMS Terror. Here, the writing was accessible, the connections were historically clear, and it felt tangible and entertaining in a way I was missing in many of the earlier chapters. Gibbons writing was the most engaging when he was exploring the humanity of the shipwrecks and the lost lives.

If you've read A History of the World in 6 Glasses, this is not quite that. Twelve Shipwrecks is a bit more textbook-like and a little less focused on entertaining. But if you love archeological dives and all the nitty gritty that comes with it, this is going to be your new favorite. I recommend giving it a shot if you think you'll be interested; it just unfortunately was not 100% for me.

I'm interested in history and archaeology, and A History of the Word in Twelve Shipwrecks provides a fascinating exploration of both by esteemed underwater archaeologist David Gibbins. The author is an accomplished diver, and his firsthand experience with undersea wrecks and artifacts lends the book a unique and personal perspective. It is exceptionally well written and researched, and each shipwreck is described alongside a wealth of historical context, and the effect is scholarly and informative. From the Bronze age through the twentieth century, the author connects different shipwrecks into a cohesive historical narrative that examines the way that ships contributed to the spread of people, goods, ideas, language, and culture.

If you are interested in the role of boats and ships in human history, and the unique insights that shipwrecks can provide as snapshots in time of people, place, and culture, this will be an interesting and enjoyable read for you. It isn't the type of book to tear through breathlessly, but I enjoyed it leisurely, a little at a time.

Thanks to David Gibbins, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a fascinating read!! I'm obsessed with the Titanic and shipwrecks, in general. When I think about shipwrecks, beyond the history of the ship itself, I've never thought much about them outside of diving them. I now know that shipwrecks often serve as time capsules that teach us not only about the lives of those aboard and the state of the world at the time the ship sank, but also can expand on our knowledge of things you wouldn't associate with a ship such as the wine and ceramic industry. We learn about the money and valuable object of the time. We've even recovered written documents that give first hand accounts of the world. There's archaeology, sociology, and history all interwoven in this book and I highly recommend it! Oh, I also loved learning that not all shipwrecks are explored in the water. The Viking chapter discusses how some shipwrecks have been pulled from the water, or have had the water pulled from around them.

This was an interesting exploration of history told through twelve different shipwrecks and by examining their treasures under the sea.

I enjoyed this book for its history and look at how people lived in the past. My favorite part was the information about people who were sailing aboard these ships. Their personal artifacts found in the shipwrecks give a fascinating glimpse into their lives, their belongings, and what they considered important enough to bring on the voyage.

Personally, I didn’t care for the list of guns and cannonballs or detailed scuba information. I would have liked more information about what was found on the wrecks and what that said about the people who were onboard.

The author’s experience excavating shipwrecks around the world really shines through in the book. I highly recommend it for history lovers and diving enthusiasts alike!

4.5 / 5.0 A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks by D Gibbins was an enjoyable read for me.

I love history, I love archeology, and I love shipwrecks, so it was a perfect fit. The writing is a little dense and could be dry at times, but the overall writing was good and the information was fascinating. I have a number of history fans in my family and so will be adding this to my gift list this year for them.

Until Next Time,
MC

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for access to this book for review.

I really tried with this book but just couldn't get into it. I even tried to listen to it as an audiobook but it was just boring. The author included a lot of research but it bogged down the story and some of the details were hard to follow. Unfortunately, I gave up after only about 10%.

The premise of this book was absolutely fascinating! And Gibbins excels in those chapters about dives/shipwrecks he got to participate in; there's something about experience that lends an added gravitas and level of excitement to a topic that just isn't there otherwise. (As could be said about the other chapters, heh; they were interesting enough, but paled in comparison--and read _very_ academically/textbook-like--to these.)

I appreciated that Gibbins included a couple links to pictures; they truly are worth a thousand words, and I think the book would have been even better to include them inline, or include _any_ pictures inline and still link out to these ones. :D What can I say? I like pictures, haha!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Cool focal points like shipwrecks to talk about global history is a way in, right? To talk about politics, global leaders, mythical/folkloric groups, the science of building, and art like pottery by what was discovered and found in the shipwrecks is an approach because so much can be revealed however I think Gibbins went a little too far into the history and not enough into the shipwreck itself. The intrigue is in the discovery and whatever excavation or things that can be understood (even if it's left at the bottom of the sea) like the way [book:The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked, and Found|31159619] approached it and the history comes second- in this one the history came first and the ship came second.

Of course there are some that are more interesting to me than others-- I'm always fascinated by the Vikings and even the Mary Rose being retrofitted with guns was cool but overall the book lost me in too many very specific details, but that's more my reading preference rather than a knock against the book. And I'm always intrigued by how someone trains and learns as Gibbins details at various points in the book- his biography embedded in the story was well-woven.

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks is a deeply fascinating read - part adventure story and part history - that captures, as described, the literal history of the world through what we learn from excavating and/or diving shipwrecks. Despite being a history novel, the writing style is engaging and keeps you pulled in throughout! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.