Mapping the Silk Road : 2, 000 Years of Exploiting the East. This item is unavailable.Mapping the Silk Road : 2, 000 Years of Exploiting the East

Mapping Asia presents an authoritative selection of the most important antique maps of Asia and the Middle East produced from the time of Alexander the Great to the early nineteenth century, by cartographers from England, France, Portugal, Holland, Turkey, Italy, and China. A fascinating visual chronicle of the maps and their makers, this book explores the history of Europe’s discovery of lands to the east, from Constantinople to present-day Alaska. It tells the stories of the thriving trade that linked east and west beginning with the ancient Silk Road, the explorers — such as Magellan and Sir Francis Drake — who continually searched for new lands and routes to reach the east beginning in the fifteenth century, and the indigenous peoples who struggled to retain their autonomy in the face of European missionary activity and influence.

Mapping Asia reproduces in full color 80 beautifully rendered and rare maps, more than 40 of which have never been published for the general public. Each map is accompanied by an accessible essay that provides extensive background on the mapmaker and how the map was originally produced, and describes the geography, sites, and details on the map. Most of the maps feature fascinating flourishes, cartouches, and curious details, such as camel caravans making their way across the Silk Road, illustrations of native plants and animals, battle scenes and cityscapes.

Reproducing the images of 80 historical maps, this collection is something to behold for cartography connoisseurs. Chronologically, its selections span a millennium, from diagrams in illuminated manuscripts, to fanciful early modern maps of Prester John's mythical Christian kingdom, to the charts resulting from James Cook's voyages. Spatially, they depict the trade routes connecting Europe to the Orient, and descriptively--well, that's where Nebenzahl arrives with his expertise. To the untutored eye, premodern maps are colorful but confusingly busy. For each map, Nebenzahl describes its features; its degree of geographical speculation and accuracy; and its contexts of trade, exploration, or conquest. The era of exploration inspired the majority of the maps, including, most rarely, diagrams resulting from the voyages of Chinese admiral Zheng He in the early 1400s. As pleasing as Nebenzahl's book will be to map enthusiasts, the caveat to the acquiring library is that Silk Road fans will find their topic, the title notwithstanding, a faint presence in the work. Gilbert Taylor
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