Maps and History: Constructing Images of the Past [Paperback]

Jeremy Black (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300086938 | ISBN-13: 978-0300086935 | Publication Date: September 10, 2000

Historical atlases offer an understanding of the past that is invaluable to historians, not only because they convey a previous age's sense of space and distance but also because they reveal what historians and educators thought important to include or omit. This book - the first comprehensive and wide-ranging account of the historical atlas - explores the role, development and nature of this important reference tool and discusses its impact on the presentation of the past. 'This book is more than an excellent guide to the subject: it also provides a vast quarry of information on how visions of the world and the past have been warped by political and cultural prejudices ... A veritable encyclopaedia of the subject, in which every contributor to the tradition gets a mention and every technical advance is recorded.' Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Literary Review 'Remarkably, this is the first survey in English of how people in Europe and America depicted the space in which they lived from Abraham Ortelius's historical atlas of 1570 to the latest moment.' Jonathan Clark, The Spectator Jeremy Black is Professor of History at the University of Exeter. He is the author of many books on British and European history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300086938
• ISBN-13: 978-0300086935
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,584,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Short on insight, long on useless detail, January 11, 2007

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R. L. Clark - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maps and History: Constructing Images of the Past (Paperback)

I read a lot on cartography, particularly cartographic history, and I was excited to get this book. Unfortunately it was very disappointing. It has masses of carto-bibliographical detail, not put to much use in supporting a broader argument. And it is very short on any insight or analysis beyond the most superficial and obvious. Historical maps reflect the concerns and attitudes of the times and cultures in which they were produced - I didn't need to wade through this book to know that. This book could be useful for reference, but it won't deepen your understanding.