Synopses & Reviews
Maps are universal forms of communication, easily understood and appreciated regardless of culture or language. This truly magisterial book introduces readers to the widest range of maps ever considered in one volume: maps from different time periods and a variety of cultures; maps made for divergent purposes and depicting a range of environments; and maps that embody the famous, the important, the beautiful, the groundbreaking, or the amusing. Built around the
functions of maps (the kinds of things maps do and have done) i>Maps confirms the vital role of maps throughout history in commerce, art, literature, and national identity.
The book begins by examining the use of maps for wayfinding, revealing that even maps as common and widely used as these are the product of historical circumstances and cultural differences. The second chapter considers maps whose makers employed the smallest of scales to envision the broadest of human stages: the world, the heavens, even the act of creation itself. The next chapter looks at maps that are, literally, at the opposite end of the scale from cosmological and world maps; maps that represent specific parts of the world and provide a close-up view of areas in which their makers lived, worked, and moved.
Having shown how maps help us get around and make sense of our greater and lesser worlds, Maps then turns to the ways in which certain maps can be linked to particular events in history, exploring how they have helped Americans, for instance, to understand their past, cope with current events, and plan their national future. The fifth chapter considers maps that represent data from scientific instruments, population censuses, and historical records. These maps illustrate, for example, how diseases spread, what the ocean floor looks like, and how the weather is tracked and predicted. Next comes a turn to the imaginary, featuring maps that depict entire fictional worlds, from Hell to Utopia and from Middle Earth to the fantasy game World of Warcraft. The final chapter traces the origins of map consumption throughout history and ponders the impact of cartography on modern society.
A companion volume to the most ambitious exhibition on the history of maps ever mounted in North America, Maps will challenge readers to stretch conventional thought about what constitutes a map and how many different ways we can understand graphically the environment in which we live. Collectors, historians, mapmakers and users, and anyone who has ever “gotten lost” in the lines and symbols of a map will find much to love and learn from in this book.
Review
"This well-illustrated, full-color book served as a companion to an exhibition of historical maps that depicted a wide
mixture of geographic settings, including the US. The exposition hosted maps, many one of a kind, from institutions
and private collectors from around the globe. Held in Chicago, followed by Baltimore, the presentation is the first of
its sort in more than 50 years. Divided into seven chapters that deal with a number of topics, which include
visualizing nature and society, the mapping of the world, and mapping imaginary worlds, the rich content makes this
volume appealing to a variety of map aficionados. Especially valuable is the inclusion of a large diversity of maps
that will aid readers in increasing their knowledge of how space has been depicted over time. Not a history of
cartography, this book introduces maps and their background, incorporating their characteristics and allowing for a
greater understanding of these tools. The bibliography is a significant addition for further reading and exploration.
Highly recommended."
Review
"Maps, say the co-editors of this extraordinary new book, are a form of communication, a universal language that transcends speech and culture. They are intuitively understood to serve as a historical archive of nothing less than mankind's progress in the world. And so, if you thought maps were merely aerial drawings of places that help us get from A to B, you will astonished by the depth and breadth of this book."
Review
"An enjoyable collection of high-standard essays. . . . The variety, quantity, and quality of illustrations (189, all in color) is truly exceptional for a non-catalogue. Maps will certainly speak to a vast audience of map collectors and map lovers, but will also appeal to academics wanting to familiarize with maps, or get a sense of current scholarship in the field."
Review
"Maps: Finding Our Place in the World shows clearly how interdisciplinary and visual the study of maps can be. . . . This book can easily serve as a primer for any art historians interested in 'finding our way' into this fascinating new set of worlds from virtually all periods and places with human visual symbols."
Review
"Maps: Finding Our Place in the World shows clearly how interdisciplinary and visual the study of maps can be. . . . This book can easily serve as a primer for any art historians interested in finding our way into this fascinating new set of worlds from virtually all periods and places with human visual symbols."-Larry Silver, The Art Book
Review
"Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. . . . The rendering of the wealth of images [is] reason enough to pay the price for this book."
Review
"From religious pilgrimages and vacation road trips to depictions of the ocean floor and the magical landscapes of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, maps chart both physical and imaginary worlds. As geographer Denis Cosgrove explains '"World" is a social concept . . . a flexible term, stretching from physical environment to the world of ideas, microbes, of sin. Arguably, all these worlds can be mapped.' And they are in this compelling and very readable companion volume to the current exhibition at the Field Museum in Chicago."
Review
"What could be more straightforward than a map? It's information from the perceived world reduced to two dimensions. Oh, if it were only so simple. In Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, co-editor Robert W. Karrow Jr. wants to stretch our idea of 'mapness' to understand that maps chart not just geography but also culture and biasand#8212;and can even obscure truth itself. The maps here are both beautiful and revelatory in the way they shape the viewer's thinking. The book also highlights the amazing variety of map materials, including a Marshall Islands 'stick chart' that helps novice mariners recognize the patterns of ocean swells as they learn to navigate local waters."
Review
"The book, which beautifully displays more than 180 maps and map-related objects, was produced in connection with the lavish exhibit of the same name. . . . The result is a meaty work that sweeps back and forth across the centuries and millenniums, spans the continents and ranges from the micro-details of a 19th Century London neighborhood to an ancient Aztec rendering of the cosmos."
Review
"This is a fine work that belongs on the shelf of every serious student not just of the history of cartography but also of maps as socio-cultural artifacts. . . . [It] admirablyand#160; captures and lucidly explains the study of cartography and its history over the last several decades. If I were to select a single work to teach a course on maps to a class whose familiarity with the subject ranged from knowledgeable to nil, I might well choose this one. . . . It contains such a wealth of information that advanced students would still learn a great deal, and it is written with sufficient clarity that beginners could understand it. Few books can make such a claim."
Review
"[This book] might be one of the most beautiful and interesting books--coffee-table or not--I've seen in a long time. . . . This book is expensive and worth it and I can't really imagine the next coffee-table book that'll make me want it as much as I want this book."
Review
"This book is a gem. There are few introductory summaries for the history of cartography that are affordable, confined to a single volume and generally intellectually up-to-date. . . . This publication moves past a coffee-table book and would be an excellent introductory volume for an undergraduate or lifelong learning course in the history of cartography."
Review
andquot;Charts the political and social upheavals of the last century by means of maps, digging below the functional surface to reveal how maps of the time reflected popular ideas, prejudices, and waves of progress. . . . The highly eclectic result serves in itself as a reminder of the myriad ways in which we see and interpret the world around us.andquot;
Review
andquot;Chronicles and#39;the first period of near-universal map literacy.and#39; Its beautiful entries are not only traditional maps; the authorsand#39; careful language shows that some of the items that were and#39;printed, drawn, or otherwise constructedand#39; last century were technically diagrams. Others showed imaginary places or were rendered as, for example, postcards. The images are accompanied by lengthy histories of the items and the circumstances under which they were created, making the work ideal for readers of cultural and cartographic history.andquot;
Review
andquot;It has been said that history is nothing more than chronology and geography. Two British specialists in antiquarian maps, Tim Bryars and Tom Harper, aim to prove this point with their book, A History of the Twentieth Century in 100 Maps, setting forth maps that serve as historic markers of the 20th century. . . . A History of the Twentieth Century in 100 Maps succeeds in showing how maps depict the brutalities and wonders of the last century.andquot;
Synopsis
The twentieth century was a golden age of mapmaking, an era of cartographic boom. Maps proliferated and permeated almost every aspect of daily life, not only chronicling geography and history but also charting and conveying myriad political and social agendas. Here Tim Bryars and Tom Harper select one hundred maps from the millions printed, drawn, or otherwise constructed during the twentieth century and recount through them a narrative of the centuryand#8217;s key events and developments.
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As Bryars and Harper reveal, maps make ideal narrators, and the maps in this book tell the story of the 1900sand#151;which saw two world wars, the Great Depression, the Swinging Sixties, the Cold War, feminism, leisure, and the Internet. Several of the maps have already gained recognition for their historical significanceand#151;for example, Harry Beckand#8217;s iconic London Underground mapand#151;but the majority of maps on these pages have rarely, if ever, been seen in print since they first appeared. There are maps that were printed on handkerchiefs and on the endpapers of books; maps that were used in advertising or propaganda; maps that were strictly official and those that were entirely commercial; maps that were printed by the thousand, and highly specialist maps issued in editions of just a few dozen; maps that were envisaged as permanent keepsakes of major events, and maps that were relevant for a matter of hours or days.
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As much a pleasure to view as it is to read, A History of the Twentieth Century in 100 Maps celebrates the visual variety of twentieth century maps and the hilarious, shocking, or poignant narratives of the individuals and institutions caught up in their production and use.
Synopsis
We often look to mapmakers in history to be the sober artists, creating tools of conquest and commerce.and#160; But every once in a while, thankfully, humor has infused, leaving a legacy of cartographic curiosities.and#160; There have been maps crafted of sushi and sashimi, maps in the shapes of animals, an olfactory map of Newport, Rhode Island, etc.and#160; And these maps have an avid fan base--with blogs dedicated to Strange Maps, for example.and#160;
This collection is a curation of cartographic curiosities from the British Library collections. The author has unearthed an array of the curious and whimsical, from game maps to maps in human form, to political, moral and religious maps.and#160; The selection is, at times, as idiosyncratic, or personal, as the curious maps themselves. And it is accompanied by discursive captions as well as an introduction that identifies some key themes of map production, curious styles, and the commerce and collection of curious maps.
Synopsis
Since that ancient day when the first human drew a line connecting Point A to Point B, maps have been understood as one of the most essential tools of communication. Despite differences in language, appearance, or culture, maps are universal touchstones in human civilization.
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Over the centuries, maps have served many varied purposes; far from mere guides for reaching a destination, they are unique artistic forms, aides in planning commercial routes, literary devices for illuminating a story. Accuracyandmdash;or inaccuracyandmdash;of maps has been the make-or-break factor in countless military battles throughout history. They have graced the walls of homes, bringing prestige and elegance to their owners. They track the mountains, oceans, and stars of our existence. Maps help us make sense of our worlds both real and imaginaryandmdash;they bring order to the seeming chaos of our surroundings.
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With The Curious Map Book, Ashley Baynton-Williams gathers an amazing, chronologically ordered variety of cartographic gems, mainly from the vast collection of the British Library. He has unearthed a wide array of the whimsical and fantastic, from maps of board games to political ones, maps of the Holy Land to maps of the human soul. In his illuminating introduction, Baynton-Williams also identifies and expounds upon key themes of map production, peculiar styles, and the commerce and collection of unique maps. This incredible volume offers a wealth of gorgeous illustrations for anyone who is cartographically curious.and#160;
About the Author
James R. Akerman is director of the Newberry Libraryand#8217;s Hermon Dunlap Smith Center for the History of Cartography and editor of Cartographies of Travel and Navigation, also published by the University of Chicago Press. Robert W. Karrow Jr. is curator of special collections and maps in the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections at the Newberry Library.
Table of Contents
Forewordand#160;
Introduction, Robert W. Karrow Jr.
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Chapter 1: Finding Our Way, James R. Akerman
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Chapter 2: Mapping the World, Denis Cosgrove
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Chapter 3: Mapping Parts of the World, Matthew H. Edney
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Chapter 4: Mapping American History, Susan Schulten
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Chapter 5: Visualizing Nature and Society, Michael Friendly and Gilles Palsky
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Chapter 6: Mapping Imaginary Worlds, Ricardo Padrand#243;n
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Chapter 7: Consuming Maps, Diane Dillon
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References and Selected Bibliography
List of Contributors
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Illustration Credits
Index