For over two thousand years people have drawn maps to help them define the world they inhabit. Each mapmaker's perception of his or her world has been influenced by the religious, political, social or economic climate in which they lived. Early Christian maps placed Jerusalem at the centre of the world, or divided the land into three continents given to Noah's sons. Later mapmakers such as Pierre Desceliers in 1550 stressed the importance of trade routes and colonies in the New World while still including descriptions of legends such as Prester John in Africa. In our own age images created by computer modelling have shown us a new view of the world.

From the classic Greek origins of the world map, through the elaborately decorated manuscript maps and printed maps of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which are works of art in themselves, to modern scientific maps showing the ocean floor, Peter Whitfield examines the history of world mapmaking through 70 outstanding individual examples. He discusses each map in relation to the religious, political, social or economic climates in which they were produced and considers what these maps reveal about the perceptions of their makers. This updated edition of a hugely popular book draws on the wide variety of maps held by the British Library and other major collections throughout the world. 


'Whitfield uses a wonderful selection of world maps to explain the flow of ideas through the ages.' Time magazine

'A new approach to cartography... A gift from the gods.' Education magazine