book on maritime trade and history?

by midnightverses
y_sengaku

As for the single-volume book, David Abulafia, the Boundless Sea: A Human History of the Oceans, London: Allan Lane, 2019 (paperback 2020), is the overview book, though it might not satisfy OP for the details on maritime trades. This book also got Wolfson History (Book) Prize for 2020 (with a link to the author's online lecture).

While not solely focusing on maritime trade only, Boydell's The Sea in History series, 4 vols., ed. Christian Buchet, also covers the human's involvement with different seas and maritime regions across the world from the Ancient times to the modern age: https://boydellandbrewer.com/9781783271566/the-sea-in-history-set/

The main downside (?) of the series is that some articles are written only in French (except for brief summary), but you might have access to this series if you are affiliate with the decent university with Cambridge Core e-books (that's why I also mention this series).

Just in case you are interested more in the Asian seas, I also mention some famous names like Anthony Reid and Sanjay Subrahmanyam who have authored classics of the "total history" of the Early Modern maritime world in Asia, but opinions of early modern flairs in this subreddit (who is clearly much knowledgeable than me in the field of research in question - see the subreddit's book list) should be prioritized, of course.

  • Reid, Anthony. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990.

(Added): If you specify more information on your criteria of looking for the book (specific sea vs period or general overview and so on), I'm also willing to add/ edit the recommended list.