Oxford Atlas of Exploration
- Book Review,
by Oxford University Press, Oxford
Amazon.com
Humans have always been explorers. Countless millennia ago our distant ancestors were traversing glaciers and negotiating savannas; today we seek the mysteries of the ocean floor, of the mountain summit, and of deepest space. This hefty compendium of exploration lore accounts for all these quests and more, with more than 100 maps and 300 photographs and drawings to liven the discussion. Full of details, The Oxford Atlas of Exploration is a fact-finder's dream. Alexander the Great, we learn, took his army through 20,000 miles of hostile territory; Marco Polo reveled in trout fishing; Lewis and Clark passed their first winter on the Pacific Coast reading by the light of candles made from a beached whale. For history and geography buffs, The Oxford Atlas of Exploration is a must.
From Library Journal
While historical atlases often include one or more maps illustrating the European "discovery" of the Western Hemisphere, Africa, and Asia, Oxford has assembled an entire atlas devoted to the subject of exploration that avoids a Eurocentric viewpoint. Beginning with the expeditions of the Egyptian nobleman Harkhuf to the upper Nile c.2300 B.C.E., the editors of this work chronicle humanity's quest to explore the unknown through 100 original color maps and 300 mostly color illustrations. Coverage includes Muslim, Chinese, and Polynesian explorers and scientific, commercial, and military expeditions. The very informative text is divided into ten primarily geographical sections. The atlas's value as a reference tool is greatly enhanced by an additional section of "Biographical Details" featuring 210 explorers, geographers, and cartographers with reference to where they appear in the text. There is also a "Time Chart of Exploration" arranged geographically. This handsome publication would be a useful and affordable addition to any reference collection and is highly recommended for all libraries.?Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. System, Ft. Pierce, Fla.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
With modern maps overlaid with the routes of explorers, this colorful album covers the globe and should be a delectable treat for patrons since it provides an exciting visual introduction to the subject, backed up by a concise summary of explorers and their motives. The authors, under the auspices of Britain's Royal Geographic Society, begin with the earliest recorded voyages--those of Egyptians and Phoenicians--and present information about pre-1500 explorers who usually languish in obscurity, namely, two Europeans who preceded Marco Polo along the Silk Road and Islamic pathfinders who charted Arabia and the Indian Ocean. The book is organized by continents and poles and traces how the impulses of greed and conquest gave way over the centuries to science, epitomized by the voyages of James Cook, and plain curiosity, as in the search for the sources of the Nile. Curiosity, subsumed into environmentalism, concern the concluding features about current explorations of the oceans and atmosphere. An eminently browsable library book. Gilbert Taylor
Book Description
The history of exploration is the history of human fascination with the world. Almost from the beginning of humanity, people have felt impelled to venture into unknown regions, displaying incredible endurance and bravery in the face of harsh environments and hostile inhabitants. From the daring Polynesian navigators who, more than 3000 years ago, first began to advance across the vast Pacific Ocean in dug-out canoes with only the stars to guide them, to the Victorian missionaries and adventurers who opened the way for European colonial expansion, to the scientists of our own time, with their sophisticated navigational and observational technology, explorers have tested their imaginations against an uncharted world. The Oxford Atlas of Exploration is a splendid and authoritative history of this endeavor. With a highly readable and informative text, supported by nearly 100 specially drawn maps and 300 vivid photographs and illustrations, it traces the journeys of the discoverers of our world, recording their achievements and their varied motives: desire for land, wealth, and fame; missionary zeal; political and cultural empire-building; scientific inquiry; and sheer, irresistible, curiosity. The book begins with the earliest recorded journeys of exploration in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and ranges from the time of the Phoenicians' voyages in the North Atlantic and Egyptians' travels in the Arabian Sea. We follow Cortes in Mexico, La Salle on the Mississippi, Darwin in the Galapagos Islands, James Cook in the Antartctic, and many others. In each section, the main routes of explorers are depicted on graphic relief maps, while photographs, paintings and engravings brilliantly portray the great variety of terrain through which these courageous men and women passed. Also included are maps from different historical periods which reveal cartographers' growing knowledge of the shape of the world's continents and oceans. The final section of the atlas contains fascinating biographical details of many of the great explorers, geographers, and cartographers whose achievements have supplied our sense of the shape and texture of the earth. It is followed by a time chart which summarizes the history of exploration over 5000 years. From the High Andes to the ocean depths, from the Sahara desert to the polar ice caps, The Oxford Atlas of Exploration allows us to rediscover all the extraordinary ways humans have come to know their world. Opening its pages is taking the first step on a grand adventure.
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