cover image The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography

The World Through Maps: A History of Cartography

John Rennie Short. Firefly Books, $40 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-55297-811-5

Mapping the world is one of humanity's most enduring passions, something we've done with varying degrees of success for over a thousand years. Short, a geography professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has managed to compile an astonishing number of those efforts in his latest book. From aboriginal rock carvings to Native American celestial charts to modern-day satellite maps, all types of maps are included in this gorgeously illustrated volume. The book's chronological structure is simple yet elegant, drawing readers along as cartography develops in different lands and different cultures. And its histories are nothing if not comprehensive, with examples plucked from countless periods. But rather than combining the mesmerizing illustrations with poetic odes to humanity's quests, Short offers text that's almost jarringly basic (e.g.,""The producers of maps are called mapmakers""). But the engrossing visual tale of humankind's struggle to chart the world--part adventure, part art--is enough to stand impressively on its own. 200 photos, maps and diagrams