The Library of Lost Maps - by James Cheshire (Hardcover)

About the Book

Join renowned geographer James Cheshire on a tour through a forgotten collection of maps that shaped over 200 years of Western history.

Book Synopsis

Join renowned geographer James Cheshire on a tour through a forgotten collection of maps that shaped over 200 years of Western history.

Tucked just beyond offices and a lecture hall in the heart of London lies a turquoise door. Intrigued, James Cheshire stepped through and was astonished by what he found inside: thousands of maps and atlases, spilling out of wooden drawers. It was a map library.

In The Library of Lost Maps, Cheshire transports us to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when the library's maps were wielded for war and negotiated during peace; when its charts traced, for the first time, the icy peaks of the Himalayas. Maps have played a vital role in shaping our scientific knowledge of the world, inspiring the theory of plate tectonics and showing the impact of climate change. They have also guided politicians, encouraging both beneficial reforms and horrific conquests, the consequences of which we live with today.

Brimming with surprising discoveries and stunning four-color map reproductions, The Library of Lost Maps unveils the power of maps to remind us of our past and inspire us toward a better future.

Review Quotes

"A beautifully illustrated book . . . The Library of Lost Maps collects and presents some of the great maps of the past for leisurely perusal. Readers needn't travel down dusty corridors or through mysterious doors to find them. Although that does sound like fun." --The Wall Street Journal

"[An] exquisite volume . . . Cheshire not only shares his joy at digging through the archives, but also astutely charts how maps offer a new angle on historical events . . . It amounts to an enlightening and lovingly presented tribute to the necessity and wonder of libraries and archives." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[A] handsomely illustrated study of mapmaking . . . [Cheshire] is an infectious guide, tracing how maps evolved from hand-tinted curiosities to instruments of science, propaganda, and power . . . A concise and engrossing study of cartographers' urge to make the world behave." --Kirkus Reviews

"Digging into the dusty archives of an old map library at UCL, James Cheshire unearths stories of explorers and imagined landscapes, WWII intrigue, geopolitics and social change-in this astonishingly fresh and insightful perspective into history and geography. A triumph." --Alice Roberts, author of THE COMPLETE HUMAN BODY and EVOLUTION

"A magnificent book that sings of the romance and mystery that only old maps possess. Wandering The Library of Lost Maps, I didn't want to find my way back." --Edward Brooke-Hitching, author of THE PHANTOM ATLAS and THE MADMAN'S LIBRARY

About the Author

James Cheshire is Britain's only Professor of Geographic Information and Cartography. A world-leading map maker, his creations have been enjoyed by millions. He is an elected fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and has been recognized with awards from the Royal Geographical Society and the British Cartographic Society. His co-authored book Atlas of the Invisible won the American Association of Geographer's Globe Award. When he is not making, writing about, or teaching with maps, James spends his time scouring eBay, in hope that one day, he'll have a map library of his own. He lives in London.