Mapping the World: An Illustrated History of Cartography 
Product Description: - Mapping the World is a one-of-a-kind collection of cartographic treasures that spans thousands of years and many cultures, from an ancient Babylonian map of the world etched on clay to the latest high-tech maps of the earth, seas, and the skies above. With more than one hundred maps and other illustrations and an introduction and running commentary by Ralph E. Ehrenberg, this book tells a fascinating story of geographic discovery, scientific invention, and the art and technique of mapmaking.
Mapping the World is organized chronologically with a brief introduction that places the maps in their historical context. Special portfolios within each section feature key cartographic innovators and maps of exceptional artistic quality or significance, such as the 1507 Waldseemüller Map, the first to use the name America. Unusual and surprising maps are also presented, including a set of playing cards that contained a secret escape map for American prisoners in Germany during World War II.
With its broad historical and cultural range, unmatched variety of maps from the finest map collections in the world, more than one hundred illustrations, and a fresh and authoritative perspective on the history of cartography, Mapping the World will delight everyone with an interest in maps and mapmaking like no other book on the subject.
Customer Ratings: - Cartography. A must have book for anyone that loves the history of maps and how they have changed during time.
- Mapping the World. Stunning pictures, brilliant descriptions and text that is relevant, readable and informative.
- Recommend for any serious world history collection, from the high school level on up. Mapping The World: An Illustrated History Of Cartography comes from one of the major publishers specializing in geography subjects: so one would anticipate an exceptional production in book form - and it s not disappointing. Author Ralph Ehrenberg is former chief of the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress, among other major archives: his background lends to a lovely coverage of over a hundred maps from around the world and across the eras. Each full-page color maps is accompanied by a detailed history and explanation setting the map in social and historical perspective. Recommend for any serious world history collection, from the high school level on up.
- And in this corner.... Two very fine and beautiful books about maps appeared at the end of 2005, published within a month of each other. The other one is The Map Book edited by Peter Barber. I happened to discover The Map Book before Mapping the World, although the latter was published first. Like The Map Book, Mapping the World has at its center beautifully reproduced maps in chronological order with lively and informative texts and explanations. Unlike The Map Book, Mapping the World has a single author of the texts, giving the latter a more unified voice and a greater sense of historical narrative. The curious reader may delve deeper into either book on any page and become engaged in the history, culture, and technology embodied in a particular map. Both books sit on my coffee table both for easy access and conspicuous display.
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Mapping the World: An Illustrated History of Cartography (ID: 0792265254)
