{"id":5666,"date":"2013-12-29T20:48:59","date_gmt":"2013-12-30T01:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2013\/12\/a-history-of-the-world-in-12-maps\/"},"modified":"2018-04-08T16:03:20","modified_gmt":"2018-04-08T20:03:20","slug":"a-history-of-the-world-in-12-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2013\/12\/a-history-of-the-world-in-12-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: A History of the World in Twelve Maps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>If somebody who was vaguely interested in maps wanted a book to get them started, I think I might point them toward A History of the World in Twelve Maps<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, written by Renaissance Studies professor Jerry Brotton<\/a>. This book first appeared in September 2012 in Great Britain, where it’s now out in paperback. The U.S. edition came out last month in hardcover.<\/p>\n

It’s a history of cartography that takes a rather unique approach: instead of providing a straight narrative history, Brotton focuses on twelve maps (or, more precisely, mapmaking endeavours), ranging from Ptolemy’s Geography<\/em><\/a> to Google Earth<\/a>. But Brotton does a lot more than talk about just twelve maps.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Familiar maps like the Waldseem\u00fcller map<\/a> and even the Peters projection<\/a> share the spotlight with maps that are perhaps less well-known: the maps of al-Idrisi<\/a> and Diogo Ribeiro<\/a>, the Kangnido map<\/a>, the geopolitical maps of Halford Mackinder<\/a>. Brotton didn’t choose these maps for their intrisic qualities, but for their historical siginificance: for example, both the Hereford Mappa Mundi<\/a> and Mercator’s world map<\/a> reflect the religious imperatives of their times; Blaue’s Atlas Maior<\/a><\/em> is placed in the context of a fiercely competitive 17th-century Dutch mapmaking industry; Cassini map of France<\/a> demonstrates the shift to institutional mapping and modern surveying methods.<\/p>\n

It’s accessible and engaging, but fiercely erudite. To a certain extent the maps themselves are sidelined by Brotton’s examination of their makers and their historical context, but that context is precisely the sort of thing I’m interested in. If nothing else, that context demonstrates that none of these maps were isolated productions: the products of trade, exploration, diplomacy and religious tradition. Not to know that is not to understand the maps.<\/p>\n

Because this book is not lost in its own arcana despite being a serious and scholarly work, I suspect that it might well serve as a university-level introduction to the history of cartography. I’m quite impressed with A History of the World in Twelve Maps<\/em>: I’ve been mucking about with maps for more than a decade, and this book still showed me that I had significant gaps in my understanding. I wish that this book existed a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/a> | iBooks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If somebody who was vaguely interested in maps wanted a book to get them started, I think I might point them toward A History of the World in Twelve Maps, written by Renaissance Studies professor… More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2],"tags":[30,312],"class_list":["post-5666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-antique-maps","category-book-reviews","tag-books","tag-history-of-cartography"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1787640,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/08\/reviews-of-edneys-cartography\/","url_meta":{"origin":5666,"position":0},"title":"Reviews of Edney’s Cartography","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 August 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"Matthew Edney\u2019s Cartography: The Ideal and Its History was published by the University of Chicago Press last April. I have a review copy and a review is in the works. While you\u2019re waiting for me to get said review written, here are a couple of reviews to tide you over:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/edney-cartography-ideal-history-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1787490,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/07\/talking-maps\/","url_meta":{"origin":5666,"position":1},"title":"Talking Maps","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"5 July 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"Talking Maps, opening today at the Bodleian Libraries, is a major new map exhibition featuring maps from the Bodleian's collections. Highlights on show include the Gough Map, the earliest surviving map showing Great Britain in a recognizable form, the Selden Map, a late Ming map of the South China Sea,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/talking-maps-148x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/talking-maps-148x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/talking-maps-148x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/talking-maps-148x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/talking-maps-148x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1788711,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2020\/04\/star-maps-history-artistry-and-cartography\/","url_meta":{"origin":5666,"position":2},"title":"Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 April 2020","format":"link","excerpt":"The March 2020 issue (PDF) of Calafia, the journal of the California Map Society, has as its theme the mapping of space. It also has something from me in it: my review of the third edition of Nick Kanas\u2019s Star Maps: History, Artistry, and Cartography. An excerpt: It\u2019s important to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/IMG_8122.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1787849,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/10\/cartography-the-ideal-and-its-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":5666,"position":3},"title":"Cartography: The Ideal and Its History","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"1 October 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Matthew H. Edney\u2019s Cartography: The Ideal and Its History (University of Chicago Press, April) is a full-throated jeremiad against the concept of cartography itself\u2014the ideal of cartography, which after 237 densely argued pages Edney says \u201cis quite simply indefensible.\u201d Or as the subtitle to the first chapter states: \u201cThere is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cartography (cover)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/edney-cartography-ideal-history-210x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":513340,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2017\/12\/a-book-roundup-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5666,"position":4},"title":"A Book Roundup","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"19 December 2017","format":"link","excerpt":"The Routledge Handbook Out last month, the expensive, 600-page\u00a0Routledge Handbook of Mapping and Cartography\u00a0(Routledge). Edited by Alexander J. Kent (who co-wrote\u00a0The Red Atlas) and Peter Vujakovic, the book \"draws on the wealth of new scholarship and practice in this emerging field, from the latest conceptual developments in mapping and advances\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antique Maps"","block_context":{"text":"Antique Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/antique-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/social-life-of-maps-142x150.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1698,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2016\/04\/maps-and-civilization-fourth-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":5666,"position":5},"title":"Maps and Civilization, Fourth Edition","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"22 April 2016","format":"link","excerpt":"While poking around the University of Chicago\u00a0Press website yesterday, I noticed that a fourth edition of Norman J. W. Thrower\u2019s history of cartography textbook,\u00a0Maps and Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society, is due out this month:\u00a0Amazon. The changes\u00a0from the third edition (Amazon, iBooks) appear to be limited: \"For the fourth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cartography"","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5666"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1785321,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5666\/revisions\/1785321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}