A Mapmaker's Dream

A Mapmaker's Dream PDF Author: James Cowan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780091834999
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
A compelling work of historical re-creation, philosophical intrigue and spiritural enquiry: a sixteenth century monk struggles to create a complete and perfect map of the world.In sixteenth century Venice, in an island monastery, a cloistered monk experiences the adventure of a lifetime - all within the confines of his cell. Part historical fiction, part philosophical mystery, A Mapmaker's Dream tells the story of Fra Mauro and his struggle to realise his life's work: to make a perfect map - one that represents the full breadth of Creation. News of Mauro's project attracts explorers, pilgrims, travellers and merchants, all eager to contribute their accounts of faraway people and places. As he listens to the tales of the strange and fantastic things they've seen, Mauro comes to regard the world as much more than just continents and kingdoms: that it is also made up of a vast and equally real interior landscape of beliefs, aspirations and dreams. Mauro's map grows and takes shape, becoming both more complete and more incomprehensible. In the process, the boundaries of Mauro's world are pushed to the extreme, raising questions about the relationship between representation, imagination, and the nature of reality itself.Praise for A Mapmaker's Dream:'Full of startling leaps of imagination and thought, this small gem of a book proves that the mind's desire can be seaworthy a vessel as a schooner exploring new world's. US Publishers Weekly'An unquestionably brilliant contemplation of maps, both esoteric and exoteric, that propels the literary traveller into a series of philosophical and meditative twists and turns that never fail to astonish and provoke.' Rudlolph Wurlitzer, author of Hard to Travel to Sacred Places'To read this multilayered journey around the world and across time is to fall headlong into the emotional tumult of an antique map - one with sea serpents devouring ships and fair winds blowing out of cherubs' mouths. James Cowan tells the farthest-flung adventure story through the eyes of a monk who never leaves his cell. And every exotic word works. Dava Sobel, author of Longitude.

A Mapmaker's Dream

A Mapmaker's Dream PDF Author: James Cowan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780091834999
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Get Book Here

Book Description
A compelling work of historical re-creation, philosophical intrigue and spiritural enquiry: a sixteenth century monk struggles to create a complete and perfect map of the world.In sixteenth century Venice, in an island monastery, a cloistered monk experiences the adventure of a lifetime - all within the confines of his cell. Part historical fiction, part philosophical mystery, A Mapmaker's Dream tells the story of Fra Mauro and his struggle to realise his life's work: to make a perfect map - one that represents the full breadth of Creation. News of Mauro's project attracts explorers, pilgrims, travellers and merchants, all eager to contribute their accounts of faraway people and places. As he listens to the tales of the strange and fantastic things they've seen, Mauro comes to regard the world as much more than just continents and kingdoms: that it is also made up of a vast and equally real interior landscape of beliefs, aspirations and dreams. Mauro's map grows and takes shape, becoming both more complete and more incomprehensible. In the process, the boundaries of Mauro's world are pushed to the extreme, raising questions about the relationship between representation, imagination, and the nature of reality itself.Praise for A Mapmaker's Dream:'Full of startling leaps of imagination and thought, this small gem of a book proves that the mind's desire can be seaworthy a vessel as a schooner exploring new world's. US Publishers Weekly'An unquestionably brilliant contemplation of maps, both esoteric and exoteric, that propels the literary traveller into a series of philosophical and meditative twists and turns that never fail to astonish and provoke.' Rudlolph Wurlitzer, author of Hard to Travel to Sacred Places'To read this multilayered journey around the world and across time is to fall headlong into the emotional tumult of an antique map - one with sea serpents devouring ships and fair winds blowing out of cherubs' mouths. James Cowan tells the farthest-flung adventure story through the eyes of a monk who never leaves his cell. And every exotic word works. Dava Sobel, author of Longitude.

A Mapmaker's Dream

A Mapmaker's Dream PDF Author: James Cowan
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1590305205
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
In sixteenth-century Venice, in an island monastery, a cloistered monk experiences the adventure of a lifetime—all within the confines of his cell. Part historical fiction, part philosophical mystery, A Mapmaker's Dream tells the story of Fra Mauro and his struggle to realize his life's work: to make a perfect map—one that represents the full breadth of Creation. News of Mauro's projects attracts explorers, pilgrims, travelers, and merchants, all eager to contribute their accounts of faraway people and places. As he listens to the tales of the strange and fantastic things they've seen, Mauro comes to regard the world as much more than continents and kingdoms: that it is also made up of a vast and equally real interior landscape of beliefs, aspirations, and dreams. Mauro's map grows and takes shape, becoming both more complete and incomprehensible. In the process, the boundaries of Mauro's world are pushed to the extreme, raising questions about the relationship between representation, imagination, and the nature of reality itself.

The Mapmaker's War

The Mapmaker's War PDF Author: Ronlyn Domingue
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451688903
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
From the critically acclaimed author of The Mercy of Thin Air comes the profound story of a strong, resilient woman who risks everything to be true to herself, “an otherworldly tale that charts the all-too-human territory between heartbreak and hope” (Deborah Harkness, New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night). In an ancient time, in a faraway land, a young woman named Aoife is allowed a rare apprenticeship to become her kingdom’s mapmaker, tasked with charting the entire domain. Traveling beyond its borders, she finds a secretive people who live in peace, among great wealth. They claim to protect a mythic treasure, one connected to the creation of the world. When Aoife reports their existence to her kingdom, the community is targeted as a threat. Aoife is exiled for treason and finds refuge among the very people who had been declared her enemy. With them, she begins a new life surrounded by kindness, equality, and cooperation. But within herself, Aoife has no peace. She cannot share the grief she feels for the home and children she left behind, nor can she bear the warrior scars of the man she comes to love. And when she gives birth to their gifted daughter, Aoife cannot avoid what the child forces her to confront about her past and its truth. On this most important of journeys, there is no map to guide her.

The Mapmakers

The Mapmakers PDF Author: John Noble Wilford
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0375708502
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
In his classic text, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner John Noble Wilford recounts the history of cartography from antiquity to the space age. They are among the world's great pioneers and adventurers: the mapmakers who for centuries have been expanding our knowledge of who and where we are, and where we want to go. From the surprisingly accurate silk maps prepared by Chinese cartographers in the second century B.C., to medieval mapmakers who believed they had fixed the location of paradise, through to the expeditions of Columbus and Magellan, John Noble Wilford chronicles the exploits of the great pioneers of mapmaking. Wilford brings the story up to the present day as he shows the impact of new technologies that make it possible for cartographers to go where no one has been before, from the deepest reaches of the universe (where astronomers are mapping time as well as space) to the inside of the human brain. These modern-day mapmakers join the many earlier adventurers—including ancient Greek stargazers, Renaissance seafarers, and the explorers who mapped the American West—whose achievements shape this dramatic story of human inventiveness and limitless curiosity.

A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State

A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State PDF Author: Pat Murphy
Publisher: Untreed Reads
ISBN: 1611873916
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 17

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Book Description
Traveling across the Martian polar cap, the second TransPolar Expedition is tracing the shape of the hidden lands beneath the ice and snow, but the world is not all that it seems on the surface. Beneath the polar ice lies danger and discovery.

Map: Assembling the World in An Image

Map: Assembling the World in An Image PDF Author: Phaidon Editors
Publisher: Phaidon Press
ISBN: 9780714869445
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
300 stunning maps from all periods and from all around the world, exploring and revealing what maps tell us about history and ourselves. Selected by an international panel of cartographers, academics, map dealers and collectors, the maps represent over 5,000 years of cartographic innovation drawing on a range of cultures and traditions. Comprehensive in scope, this book features all types of map from navigation and surveys to astronomical maps, satellite and digital maps, as well as works of art inspired by cartography. Unique curated sequence presents maps in thought-provoking juxtapositions for lively, stimulating reading. Features some of the most influential mapmakers and institutions in history, including Gerardus Mercator, Abraham Ortelius, Phyllis Pearson, Heinrich Berann, Bill Rankin, Ordnance Survey and Google Earth. Easy-to-use format, with large reproductions, authoritative texts and key caption information, it is the perfect introduction to the subject. Also features a comprehensive illustrated timeline of the history of cartography, biographies of leading cartographers and a glossary of cartographic terms.

On the Map

On the Map PDF Author: Simon Garfield
Publisher: Avery
ISBN: 1592407803
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Examines the pivotal relationship between mapping and civilization, demonstrating the unique ways that maps relate and realign history, and shares engaging cartography stories and map lore.

Maps of the Imagination

Maps of the Imagination PDF Author: Peter Turchi
Publisher: Trinity University Press
ISBN: 1595340947
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Maps of the Imagination takes us on a magic carpet ride over terrain both familiar and exotic. Using the map as a metaphor, fiction writer Peter Turchi considers writing as a combination of exploration and presentation, all the while serving as an erudite and charming guide. He compares the way a writer leads a reader though the imaginary world of a story, novel, or poem to the way a mapmaker charts the physical world. "To ask for a map," says Turchi, "is to say, ‘Tell me a story.’ " With intelligence and wit, the author looks at how mapmakers and writers deal with blank space and the blank page; the conventions they use or consciously disregard; the role of geometry in maps and the parallel role of form in writing; how both maps and writing serve to re-create an individual’s view of the world; and the artist’s delicate balance of intuition with intention. A unique combination of history, critical cartography, personal essay, and practical guide to writing, Maps of the Imagination is a book for writers, for readers, and for anyone interested in creativity. Colorful illustrations and Turchi’s insightful observations make his book both beautiful and a joy to read.

The Cartographers

The Cartographers PDF Author: Peng Shepherd
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062910728
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
USA TODAY AND LA TIMES BESTSELLER Finalist for the LA Times Book Prize! “The Cartographers is one of those brilliant books you have to read twice.” — Washington Post “There are echoes of Borges and Bradbury, Pynchon and Finian’s Rainbow, but Ms. Shepherd’s exhilarating and enjoyable work casts a magical glow all its own.” — Wall Street Journal From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father’s belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret—one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family’s dark history. What is the purpose of a map? Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map. But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence...because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way. But why? To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps... Perfect for fans of Joe Hill and V. E. Schwab, The Cartographers is an ode to art and science, history and magic—a spectacularly imaginative, modern story about an ancient craft and places still undiscovered.

Prisoner of the Black Hawk

Prisoner of the Black Hawk PDF Author: A. L. Tait
Publisher: Lothian Children's Books
ISBN: 9780734415790
Category : Adventure stories
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
As the race to map the world continues, so does farmboy turned reluctant adventurer Quinn's voyage into the unknown. When the Libertas docks in the exotic jungle port, of Barbarin, they are shocked to discover another Verdanian living there - a notorious thief who has been on the run for decades. He and his family may be enemies of the King, but they can also help Quinn and his friends survive this dangerous land. After being betrayed by a fellow scribe, Quinn is captured by ruthless Gelynion explorer Juan Forden, who will stop at nothing to beat the Verdanians. On board Forden's ship, the Black Hawk, Quinn struggles to outwit his captors, makes new enemies and unexpected allies, and encounters bloodthirsty pirates. Is this the end of the race for Quinn - or just the beginning of another incredible adventure? THE MAPMAKER CHRONICLES continue in this rollicking story, filled with strange lands, dangerous creatures, secrets, pirates and fierce battles.