The Trace Of Maps

Cartographies of the Human.

This is not a history of cartography. It is not a book about the greatest or most spectacular maps ever made. Plenty of good books have been written about that already. What you’ll find in this book is evidence of the important role maps have played in shaping our cultural and mental idiosyncrasy, both past and present. You will come to understand their undeniable influence on our lives, and on cultures the world over, from Australia to Colombia, via Africa, Europe, North America and the Pacific Islands.

This book is born of the need to broaden our notion of what cartography is. Its goal is to demonstrate that while their shapes, traditions and methods may vary, maps are everywhere, across every culture, every corner of the globe. And that historically, socially, economically and geopolitically speaking, it’s maps that make us.