Ebook: Theater of the world: the maps that made history

A beautifully illustrated full-color history of mapmaking across centuries-a must-read for history buffs and armchair travelers. Theater of the World offers a fascinating history of mapmaking, using the visual representation of the world through time to tell a new story about world history and the men who made it. Thomas Reinertsen Berg takes us all the way from the mysterious symbols of the Stone Age to Google Earth, exploring how the ability to envision what the world looked like developed hand in hand with worldwide exploration. Along the way, we meet visionary geographers and heroic explorers along with other unknown heroes of the map-making world, both ancient and modern. And the stunning visual material allows us to witness the extraordinary breadth of this history with our own eye.;The first images of the world : prehistoric maps, stories of creation, and Sumerian, Babylonian and Egyptian maps -- Like frogs about a pond : Ptolemy, one of the greatest geographers of his time, and the Greeks' increasing knowledge of the world throughout antiquity -- Holy geography : a world made for humans by God, in which the clerics and cartographers of the Middle Ages depict the holy story of creation -- The first atlas : Abraham Ortelius and Gerardus Mercator map the world's expansion as a result of the Europeans' numerous voyages and the Renaissance thirst for knowledge -- Venturing out : a Norwegian map on the move, Dutch nautical charts, the battle for the biggest atlas, and more about Mercator and all he never managed to complete -- The great surveys : France, Denmark and Norway learn to survey large areas, Kongsvinger gets a prime meridian in 1779, and maps play a role in central government administration -- White spaces in the North : the second Fram expedition sets out in 1898, in the wake of the many others that had previously tried to map the northern regions -- As seen from above : the First World War paves the way for aerial surveys, which in turn pave the way for a Norwegian economic map series and the appearance of maps in most areas of society -- Blue planet : about the seven tenths of our planet that are covered by water, and Marie Tharp's attempts to understand what the ocean floor looks like, and why -- The digital world : satellites and computers provide and manage vast amounts of information, and give us maps that are able to speak to us.