Mapping the World: Stories of Geography
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.26 (837 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1554075254 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-02-16 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Caroline Laffon is a documentary filmmaker and author. They are the coauthors of A Home in the World and several other reference books.. Martine Laffon is an editor, writer and philosopher
By patiently creating maps, globes, charts and atlases, humans have sought to understand the universe and our place in it.Mapping the World explores many rare and fascinating mapping artifacts, beginning with the first crude drawings and progressing to the stunning satellite views of today. Thirty essays answer the questions map-makers have asked and reveal the roles their maps played in finding those answers.Color reproductions of beautiful maps and charts include:A Chinese map dated to 1229 that shows the city's bridges, pagodas and gardensA French 15th-century interpretation of the four corners of the EarthA painted silk map of the universe dating from the 1830sA modern "inverse" world map from Australia's perspectiveThe cosmos as imagined in 1750.With 87 maps in all, Mapping the World will fascinate general readers, map collectors, geographers, cartographers and historians.. An illustrated history of explorers' maps and the questions they answer.More than the detailed representation of the geographical areas that their makers explored, maps reveal their makers' worldview as well as the myths, beliefs and legends of their times. Many of these examples will be unfamiliar even to serious cartographers and collectors
Thoughtful, innovative Although I believe this book is intended for a young audience, I is incredibly thought-provoking, creative, and innovative, but above all accessible. I bought this for a nephew and then turned around and got one for myself.. "Fun & Informative" according to Art Dog. Visually appealing as well as easy to read, this book is an asset for artists and educators. Highly recommended to anyone interested in history, culture and art.
For it is not a history of maps, nor does its text mechanically describe the 87 images of historical maps on offer. To the Laffons, a map is not a tool to orient oneself in a new territory; it is more like a border between such things as the sea and the land, the sky and the earth, the known and the unknown. The cover art, for example, resembles a modernist abstraction of sinuous lines; its color reproduction and text, contained in the body of the book, explain that it is really an eighteenth-century Vietnamese map of China depicting a river