Tracks on the Ocean by Dr Sara Caputo

‘Enthralling’ Philip Ball

‘Ingenious’ Sujit Sivasundaram

In Tracks on the Ocean, Sara Caputo tells how our journeys around the globe became fixed lines on maps – and how journey lines themselves reshaped maps and the way that we view the world. From Captain Cook’s route across the South Seas to the disorientating power of digital technology, the tracks we’ve left on the oceans – trading, exploring and conquering – are a hidden record of humanity’s impact on the planet. Revealing their histories, Caputo uncovers a fascinating new history of maritime travel and modernity.

Weaving human history, cartography, literature and climate science, Tracks on the Ocean reveals how, on the path to discovery, we have changed the world.

A trailblazing history of how the marks left on maps tell the story of the world.

About the Author: Dr Sara Caputo is a Senior Research Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge. A specialist in maritime history, she is the winner of the Prince Consort and Thirwell Prize, as well as the Boydell and Brewer Prize. Tracks on the Ocean was awarded the Ideas Prize for non-fiction.

04 Sep 2025
 

Tracks on the Ocean: A History of Trailblazing, Maps and Maritime Travel by Dr Sara Caputo ISBN 9781788168830