All about the Pacific Ocean with writer Simon Winchester

Guest: Simon Winchester

[From the Radio Times archive] During his long career as a journalist and author, SIMON WINCHESTER has written about volcanoes, earthquakes, maps and the history of the dictionary. In his new book, Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World’s Superpowers, Winchester writes about an ocean—the 64 million square mile Pacific which occupies one-third of the earth’s surface. He structures the book around 10 moments in history since 1950 that point to the importance of the Pacific Ocean in the modern world and looks ahead as to the threats to and future of this vast body of water. He and Marty spoke last month.