Hugo Gernsback tells the legend of the Pacific

Author: A. de Saint-Exupéry
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This is the largest ocean in the world, covering one-third of the Earth's surface. Its area exceeds the total land area of the planet. From the Bering Strait to the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, its length exceeds 32,000 kilometers; from Panama to the Himalayas, it could swallow them whole with ease. "The Master Storyteller," A. de Saint-Exupéry, uses his brilliant pen to narrate the legends of this vast, deep, and island-rich ocean. Saint-Exupéry views this expanse of water as an extension of the "Mediterranean," perhaps due to the "Mediterranean mindset" of Westerners. But his keen observation is still correct. This ocean, which is rapidly becoming the "inner sea" under the Stars and Stripes, is also quickly turning into the "ocean of conflict" due to its immense interests.
Why Read This Book: Did the Westerners discover the Pacific first? Saint-Exupéry firmly tells us: No! He states: The earliest explorers of the Pacific were neither Magellan, Tasman, nor Cook. The arrival of whites in the Pacific was already late. In 842 AD, the Chinese explorer Li Lingde reached Japan; between 1405 and 1433 AD, the Chinese admiral Zheng He led his fleet to Java; between 1520 and 1521 AD, the European Magellan first reached Pacific islands. In the 16th and 18th centuries, Spanish, Dutch, and British explorers followed one after another. By the late 19th century, European powers had established colonial spheres of influence and trade networks across the Pacific region.
Recommended for the following readers:
- Scholars or enthusiasts of maritime culture
- Historians or enthusiasts of history and archaeology
- Researchers of colonial history
- Popular science writers or enthusiasts of social sciences
- Students and teachers
The ancient Chinese concept of the "Sea within the Earth" may not be the ravings of a madman. Modern scientists largely believe that the Earth did indeed float in a vast ocean in its early days, with a single "supercontinent." The current four oceans and five continents formed much later. This book tells us about the geographical Pacific, its formation and evolution; about the political Pacific, its past, present, and future "dominance"; and, most importantly, about the historical Pacific, describing the "development history" of this vast expanse of water.
Among Saint-Exupéry's many excellent works, this may not be the best. But to convey this colossal "discovery history" in such concise language is no easy feat. This book can be seen as a concise "biography of the Pacific." Among biographies of the Pacific, even if it is not the best, it is certainly among the best.