Every map tells a story and this book tells the incredible history of our world through maps.
Every map tells a story—and this book tells the incredible history of our world through maps.
From Babylonian clay tablets to cutting-edge digital maps, the world has changed dramatically over the past 4,500 years—and so has the way we record and understand it. Cartography has not only reflected these changes but often shaped them, driving exploration, discovery, and global understanding.
This fully revised and updated edition brings together a stunning collection of maps that reveal the evolution of human knowledge, society, and geography. From ancient civilizations to the modern world, each map offers a unique visual insight into a moment in time—showing countries and cities rising and falling, empires expanding and collapsing, and the defining events that shaped history.
Key maps featured include:
Babylonian clay tablets (c. 2300 BC and c. 600 BC) — among the world’s oldest surviving maps
Hereford Mappa Mundi (c. 1290) — a remarkable medieval map of the world
Aztec City Maps (1524/1541) — rare images of the Aztec capital before Spanish conquest
Cook’s Chart of New Zealand (1770) — the first complete map of both islands
Selden Map of China (c. 1620) — Ming-era depiction of China and Southeast Asia
The Scramble for Africa (1852/1898) — colonial powers race to divide the continent
Booth Poverty Map (1898) — mapping deprivation in Victorian London
Ypres (1918) — showing the toll of one of WWI’s bloodiest battles
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) — map used by President John F. Kennedy
COVID Map (2021) — global impact of the pandemic
Beautifully designed and richly informative, this book is a visual journey through history, exploring how maps have documented, influenced, and illuminated our world.
