Book Series Guide

Author guide

Simon Winchester Books in Order

Simon Winchester is a British-American journalist and author whose career spans reporting, travel writing, memoir, fiction, and popular history. His books explore subjects including the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the British Empire, Korea, China, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, earthquakes, the Oxford English Dictionary, geology, precision engineering, land ownership, knowledge transmission, and wind. He was awarded an OBE for services to journalism and literature.

nonfictionhistorypopular sciencebiographytravel literaturememoirjournalismfictionyoung adultillustrated nonfiction

Simon Winchester's Newest Book

Cover of The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind

The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind

popular science · First published 2025

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Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words

The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words

The most accessible introduction to Winchester's signature narrative-history style.

Cover of The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

A strong starting point for readers interested in science, biography, and intellectual history.

Cover of Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers

Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers

A representative large-scale history combining geography, politics, technology, and culture.

Read in order

Books by series

publisher series · ongoing

Smithsonian Natural Disasters

Illustrated middle-grade nonfiction books about major natural hazards, written by Simon Winchester for the Smithsonian.

Series guide →
  1. 1
    When the Earth Shakes: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Tsunamis

    Book 1 · young adult nonfiction · 2015

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  2. 2 Cover of When the Sky Breaks: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and the Worst Weather in the World
    When the Sky Breaks: Hurricanes, Tornadoes, and the Worst Weather in the World

    Book 2 · young adult nonfiction · 2017

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Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (5)
  1. In Holy Terror: Reporting the Ulster Troubles

    nonfiction · 1974

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  2. Cover of Their Noble Lordships: Class and Power in Modern Britain
    Their Noble Lordships: Class and Power in Modern Britain

    nonfiction · 1982

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  3. Pacific Rising: The Emergence of a New World Culture

    nonfiction · 1991

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  4. Hong Kong: Here Be Dragons

    illustrated nonfiction · 1992

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  5. Pacific Nightmare: How Japan Starts World War III: A Future History

    novel · 1992

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Nonfiction (21)
  1. American Heartbeat: Notes from a Midwest Journey

    travel literature · 1976

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  2. Prison Diary: Argentina

    memoir · 1983

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  3. Cover of Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire
    Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire

    travel literature · 1985

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  4. Cover of Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles
    Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles

    travel literature · 1988

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  5. Cover of The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time
    The River at the Center of the World: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time

    travel literature · 1996

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  6. Cover of The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words
    The Surgeon of Crowthorne: A Tale of Murder, Madness and the Love of Words

    biography · 1998

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  7. Cover of The Fracture Zone: A Return to the Balkans
    The Fracture Zone: A Return to the Balkans

    travel memoir · 1999

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  8. Cover of The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
    The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

    biography · 2001

    Amazon ↗
  9. Cover of The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
    The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary

    history · 2003

    Amazon ↗
  10. Cover of Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883
    Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883

    history · 2003

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  11. Cover of A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
    A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906

    history · 2005

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  12. The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom

    biography · 2008

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  13. Cover of Atlantic: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories
    Atlantic: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories

    history · 2010

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  14. Cover of The Alice Behind Wonderland
    The Alice Behind Wonderland

    biography · 2011

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  15. Cover of The Men Who United the States: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics, and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible
    The Men Who United the States: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics, and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible

    history · 2013

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  16. The Man with the Electrified Brain

    memoir · 2013

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  17. Cover of Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers
    Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers

    history · 2015

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  18. Cover of The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World
    The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

    history · 2018

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  19. Cover of Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
    Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World

    history · 2021

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  20. Cover of Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
    Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge from Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic

    history · 2023

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  21. Cover of The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind
    The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind

    popular science · 2025

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Essays and speeches (1)
  1. Cover of Simon Winchester's Calcutta
    Simon Winchester's Calcutta

    essay collection · 2004

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Other (2)
  1. Small World: A Global Photographic Project, 1987–94

    photography book · 1995

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  2. Skulls: An Exploration of Alan Dudley's Curious Collection

    graphic work · 2011

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