Books like The Power of Maps by Denis Wood

xiii, 234 pages : 24 cm

A lively exploration of how maps shape and reflect civilization, highlighting the bidirectional influence between cartography and history through engaging stories and map lore.

This book introduces the OSM project, its aims and objectives, and its history, then guides you through the process of gathering, editing, and using OpenStreetMap data using a series of real-world examples. This book is the perfect aid for geographic-information professionals interested in using OpenStreetMap in their work and web designers and developers who want to include mapping in their sites, and want a distinctive style. It is for you if you have a need to use maps and geographic data for work or leisure, and want accurate, up-to-date maps showing the information youre interested in, without details you dont need. If you want to use maps for navigation and want more or less detail than traditional printed maps give this book is perfect for you.

Make It Work! Geography is a hands-on approach to learning geography that clarifies the study of the Earth through practical model making. The thorough text and the models and their associated activities give a clear understanding of the forces and principles that act upon the Earth.

A detailed history of cartography that follows humanity’s adventures, discoveries, and technical innovations in mapping the globe, the moon, and the planets.

From James Rennell's survey of Bengal (1765-71) to George Everest's retirement in 1843 as surveyor general of India, geography served in the front lines of the British East India Company's territorial and intellectual conquest of South Asia. In this history of the British surveys of India, focusing especially on the Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS) undertaken by the Company, Matthew H. Edney relates how imperial Britain employed modern scientific survey techniques not only to create and define the spatial image of its Indian empire but also to legitimate its colonialist activities as triumphs of liberal, rational science bringing "civilization" to irrational, mystical, and despotic Indians. The reshaping of cartographic technologies in Europe into their modern form, including the adoption of the technique of triangulation (known at the time as "trigonometrical survey") at the beginning of the nineteenth century, played a key role in the use of the GTS as an instrument of British cartographic control over India. In analyzing this reconfiguration, Edney undertakes the first detailed, critical analysis of the foundations of modern cartography. The success of these new techniques in mapping British India depended on the character of the East India Company as a gatherer and controller of information, on its patronage system, and on the working conditions of surveyors in the field. Drawing on a wealth of data from the Company's vast archives, Edney shows how these institutional constraints undermined the GTS and destabilized this high point of Victorian science to the point of reducing it to "cartographic anarchy." Thus, although the GTS served at the time to legitimate British rule in India, its failure can now be seen as a metaphor for British India itself: an outward veneer of imperial potency covering an uncertain and ultimately weak core.

"A fascinating look at twelve maps-from Ancient Greece to Google Earth-and how they changed our world In this masterful study, historian and cartography expert Jerry Brotton explores a dozen of history's most influential maps, from stone tablet to vibrant computer screen. Starting with Ptolemy, "father of modern geography," and ending with satellite cartography, A History of the World in 12 Maps brings maps from classical Greece, Renaissance Europe, and the Islamic and Buddhist worlds to life and reveals their influence on how we-literally-look at our present world. As Brotton shows, the long road to our present geographical reality was rife with controversy, manipulation, and special interests trumping science. Through the centuries maps have been wielded to promote any number of imperial, religious, and economic agendas, and have represented the idiosyncratic and uneasy fusion of science and subjectivity. Brotton also conjures the worlds that produced these notable works of cartography and tells the stories of those who created, used, and misused them for their own ends"-- "In this masterful study, historian and cartography expert Jerry Brotton explores a dozen of history's most influential maps, from stone tablet to vibrant computer screen. Starting with Ptolemy, "father of modern geography," and ending with satellite cartography, A History of the World in 12 Maps brings maps from classical Greece, Renaissance Europe, and the Islamic and Buddhist worlds to life and reveals their influence on how we--literally--look at our present world. As Brotton shows, the long road to our present geographical reality was rife with controversy, manipulation, and special interests trumping science. Through the centuries maps have been wielded to promote any number of imperial, religious, and economic agendas, and have represented the idiosyncratic and uneasy fusion of science and subjectivity. Brotton also conjures the worlds that produced these notable works of cartography and tells the stories of those who created, used, and misused them for their own ends"--