MAPS THAT MADE HISTORY: THE INFLUENTIAL, THE ECCENTRIC AND THE SUBLIME. by Smart, Lez - 2004

Kew, Richmond: National Archives, 2004. 191 pp, small 4to (10 1/2" H). Profusely illustrated in colour and b&w with maps, battle plans, photographs, reproductions. "Here we present 25 glorious examples (of maps), reproduced large-scale with magnified details. This thought-provoking collection features maps that record major and minor events; maps that have influenced and inspired; even maps that have deceived. Each gives a fascinating insight into the times in which it was created. Lez Smart tells the story behind each map and reflects on what it reveals about its makers and users, from the early cartographers to the Elizabethan explorers to the soldiers of the Second World War. Join him on a journey across time and territory to encounter: the location of Noah's Ark and El Dorado; the spa 'holiday resorts' strung across the Roman Empire; human sacrifice in the sacred precinct at Tenochtitlan; the catastrophic battle that led to the banning of Scottish tartan; the ghost stations of the London Underground; Polar bears in Antarctica, 'gyants' in Virginia, and the first European sighting of a kangaroo." Dust jacket has very light wrinkling at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good+.