Maps & civilization

Norman J. W. Thrower offers a brief survey of how mapmaking has developed alongside human history, tracing the connections between maps and the societies that made them from the ancient world up to today. Numerous illustrations support the narrative, ranging from the oldest known map to modern maps produced with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and they show how different cultures have understood and represented the spaces around them.

This second edition has been revised throughout and includes new material. Thrower is professor emeritus of geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his other works include Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: A Longer View of Newton and Halley and Sir Francis Drake and the Famous Voyage, 1577-1580.