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A History of the World in 12 Maps Paperback – Illustrated, October 28, 2014

by Jerry Brotton (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 385 ratings
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A New York Times Bestseller
 
“Maps allow the armchair traveler to roam the world, the diplomat to argue his points, the ruler to administer his country, the warrior to plan his campaigns and the propagandist to boost his cause… rich and beautiful.” – Wall Street Journal

Throughout history, maps have been fundamental in shaping our view of the world, and our place in it. But far from being purely scientific objects, maps of the world are unavoidably ideological and subjective, intimately bound up with the systems of power and authority of particular times and places. Mapmakers do not simply represent the world, they construct it out of the ideas of their age. In this scintillating book, Jerry Brotton examines the significance of 12 maps - from the almost mystical representations of ancient history to the satellite-derived imagery of today. He vividly recreates the environments and circumstances in which each of the maps was made, showing how each conveys a highly individual view of the world. Brotton shows how each of his maps both influenced and reflected contemporary events and how, by considering it in all its nuances and omissions, we can better understand the world that produced it.

Although the way we map our surroundings is more precise than ever before, Brotton argues that maps today are no more definitive or objective than they have ever been. Readers of this beautifully illustrated and masterfully argued book will never look at a map in quite the same way again.

“A fascinating and panoramic new history of the cartographer’s art.”
– The Guardian
 
“The intellectual background to these images is conveyed with beguiling erudition…. There is nothing more subversive than a map.”
– The Spectator
 
“A mesmerizing and beautifully illustrated book.”
—The Telegraph

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  1. Print length
    544 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  4. Publication date
    October 28, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    1.4 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0143126024
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0143126027
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
385 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides compelling analysis of maps as artifacts of history and culture. They find it informative and a good gift for geography or history enthusiasts. However, opinions differ on the writing style - some find it engaging and easy to read, while others feel there is too much prose and not enough maps. There are also mixed views on the map quality, with some finding them beautiful and nicely printed, while others feel they are few and small.

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Information qualityGift valueWriting styleMap quality
27 customers mention "Information quality"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a compelling analysis of maps as artifacts of history and culture. They appreciate the well-written text and maps, which provide an interesting new angle for studying world history. The book may appeal to PhD students or geographers, but it is not suitable for casual readers.

"Bought this as a gift for my boyfriend. He seemed to enjoy all the maps, and I also enjoyed looking at the map pages...." Read more

"...This book was outstanding. The early history was fascinating and the chapter on the Cassini's and their work to map France was especially good...." Read more

"...12 Maps gave me a lot of history and a lot to think about. The writing tends to be ponderous. This makes it hard to be sure who he is speaking to...." Read more

"saw an article by this author in BBC History Magazine.... article made maps so interesting, I wanted his book." Read more

4 customers mention "Gift value"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a good gift for geography or history enthusiasts.

"...This makes a great gift for a geography or history buff." Read more

"really great book about history, fun to read, was perfect as a present. very happy with this purchase. can only recommend" Read more

"Great Gift..." Read more

"Good gift item..." Read more

15 customers mention "Writing style"9 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the writing style. Some find it compelling and informative, with an enjoyable combination of text and maps. Others feel there is too much prose and not enough maps, as well as an overwrought narrative style that is not academic or particularly inviting to a general reader.

"...smaller but the colors are bright and high quality and the text is very informative. I would recommend this for anyone who loves maps." Read more

"...The author is a brilliant researcher and writes in compelling prose...." Read more

"...The style is not academic nor particularly inviting to a general reader. For me, tugging through Brotton’s book was worth it...." Read more

"...My boyfriend now has his own copy and can read it at his leisure...." Read more

9 customers mention "Map quality"3 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the map quality. Some find the maps attractive and well-printed, while others feel there are too few and small maps in the book.

"...As there are so few maps in this hardback, and the few maps that are here are dark, illegible, and downright terrible ... if you think that you must..." Read more

"...He seemed to enjoy all the maps, and I also enjoyed looking at the map pages...." Read more

"...a bit too academic, the weakest aspect of the book is the inclusion of maps so small one can't begin to read them...." Read more

"I thought this would be more of a coffee table book but the maps are few and small. The story is good so I'am not unhappy with the purchase." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Patricia Lawlor
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great buy
    Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Bought this as a gift for my boyfriend. He seemed to enjoy all the maps, and I also enjoyed looking at the map pages. Some maps are smaller but the colors are bright and high quality and the text is very informative. I would recommend this for anyone who loves maps.
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  • deak
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I heard about this book on NPR and over the years I have become a big fan of science history. This book was outstanding. The early history was fascinating and the chapter on the Cassini's and their work to map France was especially good.

    Note: I read this book on a Kindle and there were minor issues with some of the foreign characters being rendered correctly.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Phred
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not light reading Only if maps are of special interest to you
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    afBottom Line First: 3.5 stars rounded up. Jerry Brotton’s A History of the World in 12 Maps (paperback edition) has an interesting but narrow hypothesis. His intent is to limit his discussion to just world maps and thereby artificially promote his belief. I accept his argument that maps reflect the purpose of the map maker but I am not sure that his conclusion is as significant as he does. 12 Maps gave me a lot of history and a lot to think about. The writing tends to be ponderous. This makes it hard to be sure who he is speaking to. The style is not academic nor particularly inviting to a general reader. For me, tugging through Brotton’s book was worth it. I am not sure what readers will most enjoy his book.

    The central thesis of A History of the World in 12 maps is that maps, and especially world maps are heavily reflective of the times and purposes of the both the map maker and the spirit and philosophy of their times. The earliest Western maps, mostly represented by the mapaemundi can be thought of as maps made to illustrate the prevailing belief in the Holy Trinity as being mirrored by a cruciform image of the earth. By the 3rd map we are introduced to the political map, drawn closer to a modern form but serving the imperial and diplomatic needs of the earth bound governments in Asia and later dividing the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal. Eventually map will be designed to serve commercial needs and even humanitarian ones.

    By the time Brotton discusses the important maps designed in France and the Netherlands, he concludes an earlier argument that there can never be a 100% accurate, flat, world map and that the best humans can do is make and remake new maps as humans change the geography of the planet and new methods are developed to portray geography.

    If we strictly limit ourselves to world maps produced for official purposes, to stand church based illustrations or submitted for government negotiations, it is not hard to accept that these maps have no day to day practical function. That they reflect prevailing beliefs and the needs of the institutions that sponsors them seems, if only upon reflection, obvious. Brotton makes no mention of the types of navigational charts that traders and sailors would have needed to cross the Asians grasslands or the Mediterranean Seas. I do not remember much discussion of maps in the works of Cesare, but it is an old Army truism that geography is fate. It is hard to believe that there was no one producing the kinds of maps that were designed to give navigators local or regional maps to serve the less<?> exhausted purposes such as marking out the location and frequency of safe water along desert trades routes or safe harbors for ships crossing the Indian Ocean.

    If we limit ourselves to just these maps, this question goes unanswered. The absence of this answer itself invokes a larger discussion that Brotton could have productively addressed. Initially Brotton gives himself an out by declaring his examples limited to world maps. But many of his maps are not. The wonderful maps of Napoleonic France, reflecting Cassinni surveys and Capitaine skills are wonderful. But they were intended to be maps of France. They helped Napoleon’s General to plan their movements, if only those maneuvers conducted in France, again begs the question: what had been generals been doing before Cassinni?
    When Brotton discusses Mercator, we are suddenly presented with the fact that there had been a number of projections developed before the Mercator projection. When? By Who? For what purpose? Why are these maps not important if we are to understand the relationships between maps and the societies that created the need for them?
    In terms of the production of the book, there was a convention in book publishing that discussions of illustration in the book should be referenced. The description of the floor maps in the Amsterdam Town Hall, should direct the reader to Illustration 37. The absence of this kind of help tends to make it hard to know that a particular map is illustrated in the book and where to find it. Too often important maps are not illustrated.

    A delicious speculation by Brotton is that the map makers of the time can to accept the name America as an act of political correctness. Brotton retells the problems with and the understanding of Amerigo Vespucci’s naming rights to the New World. Almost every aspect of these claims can now be regarded as doubtful. His contemporaries were clearly not unanimous in there their support for his primacy, but they may have given over the argument rather than place themselves in awkward positions between rival religious and national claims against naming rights.
    dg
    20 people found this helpful
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  • Sotto voce
    3.0 out of 5 stars Better titled "The History of 12 Maps"
    Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    First paragraph ... I winced at the author's overwrought narrative style ... too many adjectives, adverbs and thesaurus derivatives ... too little Strunk & White editing. I'm perfectly comfortable reading overly complicated narrative but it wastes time wading through it ... I can't help being irritated by the style and so risk missing the substance.

    If you can get past the overwrought writing style, you might think that the cartographer author would have taken a lesson from his own history and replaced words with sketches and notes. Every map discussed would be improved by the authors own sketch rather than 1000 words. One would expect a map book to be well illustrated but this one is not. The 5' long Hereford Mappa Mundi for example is deconstructed in narrative fashion. If the author had photographed his chosen maps ... imaged them with the best camera available... and then described them with side by side sketches, translations and notes, the book would be 100% better.

    Cartography is a reading hobby for me and there are better books. The 12 maps the author chose are interesting, but by comparison, the author makes much ado ... way to much ado, over these.

    I paid $26 for the book expecting quality maps illustrations and drawings as Kindle doesn't do maps well. As there are so few maps in this hardback, and the few maps that are here are dark, illegible, and downright terrible ... if you think that you must read the book, save the hardcopy money, buy the Kindle and use wiki to bring in the higher fidelity original images this author should have included in his book.

    p.s. I write reviews to help consumers cut through the publishers representations and call the book as I see it. The "no" vote this review got the day after I wrote it is typical of the publisher/author money making side of the transaction punishing a less than flattering review and hiding behind an anon "No" vote with no comments. These aren't going to make the work any better. I would have preferred to write a glowing review that might attract more readers to this arcane subject. But ... I said it's "OK" ... it' is just as easily tipped to 2 stars= I don't like it but give it the benefit of doubt because I want to see more authors writing great books in this genre.
    215 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I’m a map lover! This is great
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  • Clark H Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!
    Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This topic may be a bit arcane for most folks, but it's an outstanding book if you're interested in history and in mapmaking particularly. The author is a brilliant researcher and writes in compelling prose. I can't imagine a better overview of the rich history of charting the contours of life in earth.
    One person found this helpful
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  • R. Moore
    5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful maps
    Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    saw an article by this author in BBC History Magazine.... article made maps so interesting, I wanted his book.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Caro
    5.0 out of 5 stars Liked gift
    Reviewed in Sweden on November 12, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Good quality, was a gift very much appreciated
    Report
  • Andre Costa E. Silva
    1.0 out of 5 stars O livro deve ser bom, mas a fonte é praticamente ilegivel
    Reviewed in Brazil on February 14, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Uma economia triste da editora. A fonte é tão pequena que é quase impossível ler. Lastimável.
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  • Daniela
    5.0 out of 5 stars Regalato
    Reviewed in Italy on February 12, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    È piaciuto molto
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  • Safari Dino
    5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I had been wanting to read this for an age, so when I finally got the chance I dived in, and I have to say it did not disappoint. This book is an absolute gem, it is incredibly well researched and Brotton's narrative is a credit to said research. The narrative lends plenty of light & air to what could have been a dry & dusty subject, but trust me, this is anything but dry & dusty. I for one have found this to be a brilliant read and have not enjoyed putting it down between chapters.

    A quick note... this is a history book (the clue is in the title) not a geography book (use of the word map does not make it geography). Neither is is a comic book laden with pictures to ease the burden of words.
    If you're not a history buff I would recommend wikipedia as an alternative.
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  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Fine book if you can read fine print
    Reviewed in India on July 1, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Interesting book on an important subject but made hard to read by Penguin’s typical stinginess with book and text size. Another cerebral book printed as if it was pulp fiction.
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