Map: Exploring the World

300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves.

Map, Exploring the World brings together more than 300 fascinating maps from the birth of cartography to cutting-edge digital maps of the twenty-fist century. The book's unique arrangement, with the maps organized in complimentary or contrasting pairs, reveals how the history of our attempts to make flat representations of the world has been full of beauty, ingenuity and innovation.

Selected by an international panel of curators, academics and collectors, the maps reflect the many reasons people make maps, such as to find their way, to assert ownership, to record human activity, to establish control, to encourage settlement, to plan military campaigns or to show political power. The selection includes the greatest names in cartography, such as James Cook, Gerard Mercator, Matthew Fontaine Maury and Phyllis Pearsall, as well as maps from indigenous cultures around the world, rarely seen maps from lesser known cartographers, and maps of outstanding beauty and surprising individuality from the current generation of map makers.

Advisory panel: Lauren Beck, Daniel Crouch, Catherine Dunlop, Daniel Huffman, Kimberly Kowal, P.J. Mode, Peter Nekola, Richard Pflederer, Dennis P. Reinhartz, David Rumsey, Susan Schulten, Patricia Seed and Ruth Watson

Additional texts: Mirela Altic, Lauren Beck, John Blake, David Bower, David Buissert, Kris Butler, Mario Cams, John Cloud, Peter Collier, Tim Cooke, Daniel Crouch, Kenneth Field, John Hessler, Jason Hubbard, Daniel Huffman, Laura Beltz Imaoka, Carla Lois, Gregory McIntosh, David B Miller, Rebecca Morrill, Toby Musrave, Peter Nekola, Thomas O'Loughlin, Richard Pflederer, Alex Rayner, Dennis P. Reinhartz, Patricia Seed, Susan Schulten and Ruth Watson

This book was created by the editors at Phaidon. Phaidon is the premier global publisher of the creative arts with over 1,500 titles in print. We work with the world's most influential artists, chefs, writers and thinkers to produce innovative books on art, photography, design, architecture, fashion, food and travel, and illustrated books for children. Phaidon is headquartered in London and New York City.