Customer Reviews

The Shape of the World

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THE SHAPE OF THE WORLD,a global mapping DVD set goes beyond just a documentary. It's a detailed in-depth educational study of maps of all kinds. From the earliest to today's computer and satellite images--it's all covered. Meet the adventurers that paved the way.

It's easy for us to key in an address and get a road map or birds-eye view of nearly any location in the world on a computer screen from our home, office, or car. But how did that all come about? Who made it possible? When did the mapping begin? Why? Was it all for the good? What is next?

It's all covered in this scholarly set. The people who gave their lives, used their careers, spent fortunes, and suffered innumerable hardships are presented in an easily understood, but quite comprehensive explanation of how our earth has been measured, mapped, photographed, and the information made available to virtually all of mankind.

Fantastic visual presentations (travelogue quality) of countries, locations, artifacts, people, and other aspects of mapping the earth are provided in this beautiful, colorful, 3-DVD set. It includes narration by Patrick Stewart (also in "PLAYING SHAKESPEARE"), interviews from princes & scientists, to commoners, and a musical score pleasing to the ear.

"THE SHAPE OF THE WORLD" taught me more about maps and geography than I learned through 4 years of high school. It's entertaining, on an intellectual level. This is a map evolution documentary, not a TV comedy/romance series. But expect to be awed by adventure and bravery of those who worked to make life better for the rest of us. These chart making pioneers have done more for mankind than almost any political leader could claim. A TOP documentary production.

Episode 1: Heaven and Earth, Egypt, China, Greeks, & Christian influence;
2: Secrets of the Sea, Sea charting, awesome;
3: Staking a Claim, countries seek supremacy via maps;
4: Empire!, surveying India, narrator's favorite;
5: Pictures of the Invisible, the ocean floor & under the ice;
6: The Writing on the Screen, what today and tomorrow?

SUBTITLES-YES!! They help, because not everyone in the world pronounces locations the same.

An elegant well-produced 306 minutes of an educational series recommended for any school, university, library, or home seeking mental enrichment.

This set covers the exploration and mapping of the world in a way that I wish my geography and history texts, in school, had. School textbook writers often display an uncanny ability to take all the excitement out of some very interesting subjects. The fact that the maps of early European exploration routes were so valuable that they were top secret and that obtaining copies was of national importance is overlooked in most history and geography courses. This information makes, what are often considered dull subjects, far more interesting. If you are a geography or history teacher, this series is guaranteed to engage students and be a perfect starting point for classroom discussions and reading assignments.

The importance of Malta, in map making, is often overlooked in history courses. Since it was the Jewish community of Renaissance Malta, who were responsible for these important maps, this provides a good opening to many other discussions, such as how prejudice can harm a country, and the importance of various ethnic or religious groups in history.

The other reviewer has covered the description of this set very well, so I will not engage in unnecessary repetition. I just want to say that if you watch this series, you will learn many things that you should have, but didn't learn in school, and you will enjoy geography far more.