As albums of cartography go, this one possesses qualities for the unconventional connoisseur. For it is not a history of maps, nor does its text mechanically describe the 87 images of historical maps on offer. Rather, the authors discuss the meaning of geographical representation in cosmic and imaginative terms. To the Laffons, a map is not a tool to orient oneself in a new territory; it is more like a border between such things as the sea and the land, the sky and the earth, the known and the unknown. The cover art, for example, resembles a modernist abstraction of sinuous lines; its color reproduction and text, contained in the body of the book, explain that it is really an eighteenth-century Vietnamese map of China depicting a river, a road, and mountains, and intended to show the difficulty of travel, not the route. Such visual surprises abound in the Laffons’ work, for which they select illustrations from Chinese and Ottoman as well as Western sources. An unusual yet arresting treatment, the Laffons’ inventive approach to cartography has definite artistic appeal. --Gilbert Taylor
Review
The Laffons emphasize that maps bring us more than the geographic coordinates... they tell us stories about the landscape. (Brian Hayes
American Scientist, Vol. 98 2009)
There are no GPS pictures [here] but there are beautiful maps spanning thousands of years. (Paul Carbray
Saskatoon Star Phoenix 20100206)
Mapping the World is a beautifully illustrated and produced volume that would be a worthwhile addition to any library. (Clarence J. Murphy, emeritus, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
Science Books and Film 201003)
An unusual yet arresting treatment, the Laffons's inventive approach to cartography has definite artistic appeal. (Gilbert Taylor
Booklist 20091215)
Beautiful maps spanning thousands of years, from outlines of a Chinese city to modern satellite maps. (Paul Carbray
Montreal Gazette 20091128)
Mapping the World excavates the history of cartography with enticing examples from a wide variety of places and eras. (Lisa Rossi
Wall Street Journal 20091212)
Beautiful. . . . Exotic and fantastical antique maps. . . . Mapping the World shows both the precision and the disorder underscoring the evolution of mapmaking, and how mistakes altered and confused perception, depending on where the maps were made. (
The New York Times Book Review )
A fascinating and authoritative introduction to the science of meteorites. (Rob Mooy
Frontenac This Week/Kingston This Week )
This book is short but pithy, and has over 100 photographs, charts and drawings... Meteorites look no better than your average plucked chicken, but the sky shots in the book are terrific. (Irving Spivak
RALPH )
