The Mapmakers: Revised Edition
by John Noble Wilford
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Book Summary Information
Author: John Noble WilfordEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-12-04
ISBN: 0375708502
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of The Mapmakers: Revised Edition
Book Review: Maps of the world and beyond
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a history of map making, and hence a history of the world. Starting with the earliest known maps in Iraq in -2300 BCE, both the history of discovery of the world and the cartographic principles are traced. For those of us that were taught that Columbus discovered the world is round, the calculation of the earths diameter in 300 BC shows this was widely known. Ptolemy's first cartographic principles are presented. Past the middle ages and their mythical maps, we are introduced to Mercator's projection, a measurement of degrees, and John Harrison's lifetime quest for measuring longitude (readers of this will enjoy Dava Sobel's book Longitude). Three chapters are devoted to the mapping of America (there is more than just Lewis and Clark).
The final two parts of the book discuss some of the newer mapping techniques including aerial and radar mapping; geologic and seismic mapping, Antarctica, and Oceanic sea floor. Although large expanses, some of these area have just been mapped in the 20th century. The final part discusses Global Position Systems, and mapping of the moon, mars, and the cosmos. For those of us working with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) this book provides a nice antidote to thinking that mapping starting with the computer.
The book is well illustrated, but some of the pictures could really have improved with a little color. The book does really well at presenting a background of the people involved, and realizing their own personal quests. Some of the underlying cartographic principles are also presented.
Summary of The Mapmakers: Revised Edition
In his classic text, two-time Pulitzer Prize?winner John Noble Wilford recounts the history of cartography from antiquity to the space age. With this revised edition, Wilford brings the story up to the present day, as he shows the impact of new technologies that make it possible for cartographers to go where no one has been before, from the deepest reaches of the universe (where astronomers are mapping time as well as space) to the inside of the human brain. These modern-day mapmakers join the many earlier adventurers?including ancient Greek stargazers, Renaissance seafarers, and the explorers who mapped the American West?whose exploits shape this dramatic story of human inventiveness and limitless curiosity.The Greco-Egyptian emperor Ptolemy III made a shrewd hire when, in about 240 B.C., he appointed a bookworm and poet named Eratosthenes to be the librarian of the great Alexandrian Museum. Eratosthenes, derided by his envious colleagues as a second-stringer, nursed an insatiable curiosity about the natural world. Acting on hunches and sailors' reports, he decided to conduct an experiment to measure the earth's circumference, which he eventually reckoned to be 46,000 kilometers--a little far off the actual mark of 40,000 kilometers but close enough that both Eratosthenes and Ptolemy entered history as founding fathers of the modern science of cartography.
In this vigorous history of maps and their creators, New York Times science writer John Noble Wilford recounts the accomplishments of dozens of cartographers from many cultures and times, among them Gerardus Mercator, Francis Beaufort, Charles Mason, and Jean Fernel. Ranging from ancient Chinese scrolls to the latest satellite images of distant planets, he renders a history full of "heroics and everyday routine, of personal and national rivalries, of influential mistakes and brilliant insights." He also reviews key scientific and technological advances that have accompanied the rise of modern maps, among them the development of fractal geometry, geosynchronous displays, remote sensing, and ever more accurate surveying instruments and techniques. --Gregory McNamee
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