"This book highlights more than a hundred maps from every era and every part of the world. Organized chronologically, they display an astonishing variety of cartographic styles and techniques. They range from priceless artistic masterworks like the 1507 Waldseemuller world map, the first to use the name "America, " to such practical artifacts as a Polynesian stick chart, a creation of bent twigs, seashells, and coconut palms that was nevertheless capable of guiding an outrigger canoe safely across thousands of miles of trackless and seemingly endless ocean. Some, like the portolans, or sea charts, of the Age of Discovery, were closely guarded state secrets that shaped the rise and fall of empires; others circulated widely and showed such fabled routes as the Silk Road across western Asia and the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails that opened up the American West."--Jacket.

An illustrated history of cartogrphy and what it reveals about the world around us.

The cover image, World Map by Fra Mauro c. 1450, is one of the most important and famous maps of all time. This monumental map of the world was created by the monk Fra Mauro in his monastery on the island of San Michele in the Venetian lagoon. Now the centrepiece of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in St Marc’s Square in Venice, the map in its nearly 600-year history has never left Venice – until now. Renowned for its sheer size - over 2.3 metres square - and stunning colours, the map was made at a time of transition between the medieval world view and new knowledge uncovered by the great voyages of discovery. Brilliantly painted and illuminated on sheets of oxhide, the sphere of the Earth is surrounded by the sphere of the Ocean in the ancient way. Yet Fra Mauro included the latest information on exploration by Portuguese and Arab navigators. Commissioned by King Afonso V of Portugal, it is the last of the great medieval world maps to inspire navigators in the Age of Discovery to explore beyond the Indian Ocean.

`Using up-to-date data, modern cartographic methods, and an approach that addresses students' everyday lives, Danny Dorling has produced an engaging introduction to the contemporary geography of the UK. It will be the focus of many lively discussions of patterns and trends’ - Ron Johnston, School of Geography, University of Bristol Using statistics from many sources in an engaging and accessible way, Human Geography of the UK is written from the perspective of a beginning undergraduate, it's objective is to define the key elements of population geography and show how they fit together. Highly visual – with maps and figures on every page – the text uses different data to describe the social landscape of the United Kingdom. Organized in ten short thematic chapters, explaining the nuts and bolts of population, including: birth, inequality; education; mobility; work; and mortality. The book concludes with a comparative analysis of UK in global context. Human Geography of the UK features practical exercises, and clear summaries in tables and specially drawn maps.

Organized by five fundamental geographic themes: the world in spatial terms; places, regions, and landscapes; human systems; environment and society; and uses of geography.

A history of mapmaking showing how maps both reflect and change people's view of the world.

Feeling lost when it comes to maps? With this fun and informative series, you'll soon know exactly where you are when it comes to maps and mapping! What is a map? What are maps used for? How do you read a map? Find your way to the answers and take a journey into mapping as you learn how to make your own maps of everything from your school, your town, your country, even the whole world!

Readers learn about the different areas of the United States in this stimulating library bound book. Featuring vividly colored examples of various maps, including physical, political, and thematic, this book will have readers engaged and inspired to learn more about the different parts of the U.S. and to create a map of their own!

From the crude maps of ancient Babylon to the satellite-fueled precision of Google Maps, cartography has been both a record of dreams and of discoveries. Maps have played midwife to empires, helped win wars, and encouraged humanity to venture beyond boundaries of space and time. Containing numerous maps from the archives of the Royal Geographical Society, Mapping the World tells the story of the philosophers, explorers, artists, and scientists who brought together their skills to produce some of the most intriguing artifacts ever created.

Get to Know the Earth's Many Forms with Dozens of Fun and EasyProjects From finding directions by the stars, to mapping your neighborhood,to making an earthquake in a box, you'll have a great time learningabout the world with The Geography Book. You'll find out how todetermine location on the Earth, how maps can provide us with awide range of information, how different landforms were created,how water has helped shape the Earth, and much more. Using simple materials you'll be able to find around the house orin your neighborhood, you'll be able to create things like a giantcompass rose, a balloon globe, a contour potato, a map puzzle, anda tornado in a jar. So get ready for a fascinating trip around theglobe.