This book explores the sea and its meanings from ancient myths to contemporary geopolitics, from Atlantis to the Mediterranean migrant crisis. Richard Hamblyn traces a cultural and geographical journey from estuary to abyss, beginning with the topographies of the shoreline and ending with the likely futures of our maritime environments. Along the way the book considers the sea as a site of work and endurance, of story and song, of language, leisure and longing. By considering the sea as both a physical and a cultural presence, the book shines new light on the sea and its indelible place in the human imagination.