The Charting of the Oceans: Ten Centuries of Maritime Maps [Hardcover]

Peter Whitfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

This book from the Peter Whitfield cartographic series traces the history of humankind’s relation to the sea as revealed in ten centuries of maritime maps. Presenting sixty maps reproduced in color over double-page spreads, and commentary describing their special features and their significance in the history of navigation, the book explores ancient navigation; the Middle Ages and the Age of Discovery; the printed sea chart, 1600-1800; and the modern sea chart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Peter Whitfield's The Charting Of The Oceans: Ten Centuries Of Maritime Maps traces the history of maritime and nautical charts, not as technical documents but as eloquent witnesses to the discovery of the world beyond Europe, and to man's evolving knowledge of the oceans. These charts employed a vivid artistic idiom which expressed man's passionate feeling for the sea: the gilded compasses, the nightmarish sea-=creatures, the stately ships, the royal crests -- all these were fused into a minor art-form which flourished for four centuries. Superbly illustrated, The Charting Of The Oceans presents some of the riches of Europe's maritime and nautical chart traditions, together with an absorbing narrative summarizing the vital role of sea-power in European history. The nautical charts of today are impersonal technical documents designed for navigation at sea; but behind these austere modern charts lie centuries of exploration and conflict, science and imagination. Highly recommended! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Pomegranate Communications; 1St Edition edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764900099
• ISBN-13: 978-0764900099
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 10.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,161,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Overview, June 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Charting of the Oceans: Ten Centuries of Maritime Maps (Hardcover)

By all accounts, this book should have received 5 stars. It's well written, richly illustrated and covers, albeit superficially, the history and problems the earliest mariners faced as they ventured beyond the sight of land into the trackless sea. Although the book lacks a certain depth (it's only 144 pages), Whitfiled uses an economy of prose to make a number of excellent bullet points as he walks us through the history of charting. It's also refreshing to see that while he may advise his readers that certain theories have been advocated about how the mariners of the past found thier way across the seas, he makes a point to say there is no conclusive proof to support a particular claim; he simply gives his readers the facts and correctly assumes we can use our own judgement to evaluate these theories.

I must also say I found the index in the book lacking to some extent; it appeared to be too brief and did not refer the reader back to key elements in the book. But, overall, well done and very informative. It will be a nice addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of mapping.