About book En El Mapa. De Cómo El Mundo Adquirió Su Aspecto (Spanish Edition) (2012)
I have just started this book, and am still in the introduction, but this struck me "For the Internet has effected an extraordinary and significant change. Before astronomers faced the gallows for suggesting otherwise, our earth stood firmly at the center of the cosmos; not so long ago, we placed Jerusalem at the center of our maps; or if we lived in China, Youzhou. Later, it might be Britain or France, at the heart of their empires. But now we each stand, individually, at the center of our own map worlds. On our computers, phones and cars, we plot a rout not from A to B but from ourselves ("allow current location") to anywhere of our choosing; every distance is measured from where we stand, and as we travel we are ourselves mapped, voluntarily or otherwise." (pg 19) Good - but....This a quick romp through the history of maps and it is lavishly illustrated - in tiny grey reproductions which are often impossible to read. Fortunately Garfield's writing is witty and informative and the range of maps covered is impressive. What other book includes the Mappa Mundi, the London A-Z, Snow's cholera map & Skyrim.. Worth a read but you may as well get an e-book version even if ( as I suspect) the map repro would be bad, the paperback has nasty cheap paper and appalling reproductions and is quite chunky ...
Do You like book En El Mapa. De Cómo El Mundo Adquirió Su Aspecto (Spanish Edition) (2012)?
A very accessible book for the amature, curious cartographer.
—cleto
Very interesting. Very dry. Only true map lovers should read.
—afript3
