A History of the World in 12 Maps - Hardcover

Brotton, Jerry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670023396 ISBN 13: 9780670023394

Publisher: Viking Pr, 2013

Synopsis

A fascinating look at twelve maps from Ancient Greece to Google Earth and how they changed our world
In this masterful study, historian and cartography expert Jerry Brotton explores a dozen of history s most influential maps, from stone tablet to vibrant computer screen. Starting with Ptolemy, father of modern geography, and ending with satellite cartography, "A History of the World in 12 Maps" brings maps from classical Greece, Renaissance Europe, and the Islamic and Buddhist worlds to life and reveals their influence on how we literally look at our present world.
As Brotton shows, the long road to our present geographical reality was rife with controversy, manipulation, and special interests trumping science. Through the centuries maps have been wielded to promote any number of imperial, religious, and economic agendas, and have represented the idiosyncratic and uneasy fusion of science and subjectivity. Brotton also conjures the worlds that produced these notable works of cartography and tells the stories of those who created, used, and misused them for their own ends."

About this title

Review:

"[A] rewarding journey for the intellectually intrepid."
--Kirkus
"If there's a single takeaway from this fascinating and richly illustrated book, it's that mapmaking is perennially contentious."
--The Daily Beast
"A stimulating and thought-provoking study of how the mixing of science, politics, and even religion influenced and continues to influence cartography."
--Booklist

"This history of 12 epoch-defining maps--including Google's--is a revelation... Brotton offers an excellent guide to understanding these influential attempts at psychogeographical transcendence."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Maps allow the armchair traveler to roam the world, the diplomat to argue his points, the ruler to administer his country, the warrior to plan his campaigns and the propagandist to boost his cause. In addition, they can be extraordinarily beautiful... All these facets are represented in British historian Jerry Brotton's rich "A History of the World in 12 Maps.""
--Wall Street Journal
"Author Jerry Brotton's book dips into maps spanning millenia of human experience, from Ptolemy's Geography (circa 150 AD) all the way up to Google Earth, the dynamic, increasingly omnipresent Internet Age way that we answer the age-old question "Where am I?" ...Along the way, he finds some marvelous things."
--Christian Science Monitor
"[A] rewarding journey for the intellectually intrepid."
--Kirkus

"If there's a single takeaway from this fascinating and richly illustrated book, it's that mapmaking is perennially contentious."
--The Daily Beast

"A stimulating and thought-provoking study of how the mixing of science, politics, and even religion influenced and continues to influence cartography."
--Booklist
"This history of 12 epoch-defining maps--including Google's--is a revelation... Brotton offers an excellent guide to understanding these influential attempts at psychogeographical transcendence."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Maps allow the armchair traveler to roam the world, the diplomat to argue his points, the ruler to administer his country, the warrior to plan his campaigns and the propagandist to boost his cause. In addition, they can be extraordinarily beautiful... All these facets are represented in British historian Jerry Brotton's rich "A History of the World in 12 Maps.""
--Wall Street Journal

"Author Jerry Brotton's book dips into maps spanning millenia of human experience, from Ptolemy's Geography (circa 150 AD) all the way up to Google Earth, the dynamic, increasingly omnipresent Internet Age way that we answer the age-old question "Where am I?" ...Along the way, he finds some marvelous things."
--Christian Science Monitor

[A]rewarding journey for the intellectually intrepid.
Kirkus

If there s a single takeaway from this fascinating and richly illustrated book, it s that mapmaking is perennially contentious.
The Daily Beast

A stimulating and thought-provoking study of how the mixing of science, politics, and even religion influenced and continues to influence cartography.
Booklist
This history of 12 epoch-defining maps including Google s is a revelation Brotton offers an excellent guide to understanding these influential attempts at psychogeographical transcendence.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Maps allow the armchair traveler to roam the world, the diplomat to argue his points, the ruler to administer his country, the warrior to plan his campaigns and the propagandist to boost his cause. In addition, they can be extraordinarily beautiful All these facets are represented in British historian Jerry Brotton s rich "A History of the World in 12 Maps. "
Wall Street Journal

Author Jerry Brotton's book dips into maps spanning millenia of human experience, from Ptolemy's Geography (circa 150 AD) all the way up to Google Earth, the dynamic, increasingly omnipresent Internet Age way that we answer the age-old question "Where am I?" Along the way, he finds some marvelous things.
Christian Science Monitor"

About the Author:

Jerry Brotton is Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary University of London and a leading expert in the history of maps and Renaissance cartography. His most recent book, "The Sale of the Late King s Goods: Charles I and His Art Collection" (2006), was short-listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize as well as the Hessell-Tiltman History Prize. He lives in London."

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Pr
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0670023396
• ISBN 13: 9780670023394
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 521